Chew on that

For years our liberal culture has used the military as a testing ground for politically popular ideas and concepts, like women in combat and the forced acceptance of homosexuals, while forcing our military to live in poverty. Now the left has inadvertently provided documented proof, from Vanderbilt University's study of schools on military bases and other studies, of the viability and quality of traditional educational methods ("School madness," March 16). Let the National Education Association chew on that for a while. - -Tom Kresnicka,, Arlington Heights, Ill.

The obvious

I find it interesting that the teaching profession is finally reconsidering the mode of instruction that worked so many years ago, and that the military is still using in their on-base schools. Thanks for discussing the obvious about our school system. I hope more of the teaching profession will some day wake up. - -Jim Dollar, Corvallis, Ore.

Cheap shot

I think Cal Thomas's column about Billy Graham's comments to President Nixon is a cheap shot, and I am disappointed in Cal Thomas and in WORLD ("Silence of the shepherd," March 16). - -Bruce Barrett, Lake Lure, N.C.

No heavenly good

I appreciated Andree Seu's "Seeing is believing" (March 16). One of the problems with American Christianity is that many are so earthly minded that they are of no heavenly good. - -Kent Scantlin, Fort Wayne, Ind.

See again

I was greatly touched by "Seeing is believing." I have seen in my own life that "without a vision, the people perish." May we earnestly search for, and may God restore, the vision that He intends for us. - -Jalee Gill, Richardson, Texas

Amen

In response to the Ramirez comic depicting lawyers taking over the operating room because doctors can't afford to practice, I can only give a sad and pessimistic "Amen" (March 16). As a board-certified family physician, I am facing the exact dilemma portrayed in this cartoon. Malpractice insurance costs are skyrocketing, and many physicians face closing their practices or limiting services. This is in part because the insurance industry has suffered severe losses over the past year, and because the American public has a lottery mentality fueled by the legal system's huge settlements. As a Christian physician who delivers over 200 babies each year, my heart breaks for every mother and father who face difficult pregnancies or whose child is born with complications or deficits. But so does God's. If we would turn to Him instead of the less-than-perfect medical and legal systems man has devised, we would find a lot more peace and a lot less stress, anger, and bitterness. America really does have the best medical system in the world. Hopefully we will not be the generation to see its collapse due to greed. - -William C. Wright, Globe, Ariz.

Realistic

Thank you to Gene Edward Veith for "One of a kind" (March 16). I've read a lot of articles about the "Copy Cat" but they all describe what wonderful technology was used. I was very glad for a Christian view on the matter that was also realistic. - -Chloe A. Engel, 13, Bryson City, N.C.

Unconvinced

I am not convinced that we should abandon the idea of education vouchers as a reasonable means of providing more choice in education ("Credits are due," March 9). Radical secularists in the public-school system have convinced a large segment of our society that those who don't want the secular-humanist brand of education, which regularly assaults the values of people of faith, should not use their share of the tax money for education. Why should we accept this unfair notion? - -Melvin Swanson, Carver, Minn.

Two options

While Mr. Lamer's general exhortations for school choice are justifiably shared by many evangelicals, his recommendation of tax credits for contributions to fund scholarships for poor and minority students misses a fundamental point. That is, at the risk of appearing selfish, such tax credits provide little benefit for middle-class Christian families seeking the financial freedom to educate their own children in a godly environment. I suggest that the two best options for Christian families today on school choice are to support "no-strings attached" vouchers paid directly to parents (however politically difficult that may be), or to allow families to deduct tuition or homeschooling costs from their personal withholding tax. - -Bernie Diaz, Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Heart-warming

Thank you for the March 2 Special Issue on Jewish/Christian relations, "O brother, where art thou?" The time line, with its report of the number of influential Jewish people who became Christians, was especially heart-warming. - -Ronald Chapman, Carol Stream, Ill.

Right on

Marvin Olasky's March 2 piece, "Two halves" was right on. It was a positive, no-nonsense summary, especially the last paragraph. And yes-thanks be to God. - -Jean Esson, Las Vegas, Nev.

A keeper

Thanks for the Special Issue; it's definitely a keeper. I learned more about the relationship of Christians and Jews in the past 2,000 years than I've ever known. - -Michael C. Phillips, Copperas Cove, Texas

Evolving culture

I was saddened and angered to read the article about the TNIV ("Trust me," Feb. 23). It is not just gullible women whose "consciousness has been raised" by militant feminists who struggle with this issue. Evangelical women, like myself, who value Scripture as God's inspired revelation, often stumble over passages using male pronouns. That struggle is less a result of consciousness raising than it is evidence of our fluid (dare I say evolving?) language and culture. - -N.C. Northrop, Providence, R.I.

Appreciated

I appreciated your TNIV coverage, especially Mr. Veith's sidebar analysis of translation issues ("Does it mean what it says?" Feb. 23). To say nothing of the TNIV, I haven't trusted the NIV for years. - -Frederick Neill, Houston, Texas

Dangerous business

Once we remove Scriptural references to the male gender and continue our cultural concessions, it is only a matter of time before elders will be required to be "the lifelong partner of only one significant other." As a woman who reads her Bible, I do not feel slighted in the least by the gender usages in the holy Scriptures. To concede the field to gender neutrality is a first step down a slippery slope. Changing the impression of God's unchangeable character in the reader's mind is dangerous business. - -Brenda Faria, Fayetteville, N.C

Deeper lessons

I am deeply moved by Ms. Seu's column, "Depth perception" (Feb. 16). I'm no widow, but her words are like water to anyone whose soul is dry, like mine. It really is the pain in life that pushes one to learn the deeper lessons. - -Ruth Thompson, San Clemente, Calif.

Schizophrenic

After reading Gene Edward Veith's article, "Group thinkers," in the Feb. 23 issue, I was struck by the irony of the liberal agenda-setters. While the importance of individuals and their accomplishments is actively being minimized in the rewriting of history, we have an entire month each year dedicated to honoring and teaching about individuals. Every February, Black History Month celebrates the dedication and courage of individual black Americans who shaped our society and culture as a whole. These individuals deserve to be and should be honored, but it certainly reveals the schizophrenia of the "social history" crowd. - -Eric Rauch, Burlington, Ky.

Don't forget

Some weeks ago while at the Wycliff Translators guesthouse in Bouake, reading an old issue of WORLD, I noticed a small article about Congressman Tom DeLay, who kept only three books on his desk: the Bible, Chuck Colson's How Now Shall We Live, and Bill Bright's Red Sky in the Morning. It prompted me to ask my wife, who was in the U.S. at the time, to purchase Red Sky and bring it back. Mr. Bright points out the moral decline of the U.S., quotes Deuteronomy 8:10ff (in which God warns Israel not to forget him), and observes that the U.S. had never experienced a foreign attack on its mainland soil. The date of this issue of WORLD? Sept. 8, 2001. Polls indicate that in spite of the initial rekindling of interest in spirituality after Sept. 11, we Americans have not changed our Christian habits, beliefs, or practices all that much. May God show us some more of his patient mercy, so that we may truly and collectively repent. - -Douglas A. Barnett, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire