‘A living martyr’

[ Nov. 24, p. 36 ] Andrew Brunson is a great choice for Daniel of the Year. He has an inspiring story of faith and faithfulness. He is an example and hero to honor. —Jeff Dickerson / Bloomington, Ill.

Thanks for putting out this very inspiring story. Good journalism is a treasure. —Wayne DeWitt on wng.org

Brunson deserves to be Daniel of the Year, but it helps that President Trump understands what it takes to motivate world leaders to do the right thing. —Igor Shpudejko / Goodyear, Ariz.

What a powerful and amazing story of God’s grace. Mindy Belz, as always, delivered an excellent article. —Bill MacDonald on Facebook

Thank God for men

[ Nov. 24, p. 63 ] Thank you to Andrée Seu Peterson for this column. Our culture has become so saturated with man-hate that it was refreshing to be reminded of all the great qualities of men that we take for granted. —Anne Brown / Hillsboro, Ore.

This column was frustrating and disappointing. Celebrating men should not happen at the expense of women, by drawing false equivalencies or by ignoring the challenges women face. —Andrea Bennett / Franklin Lakes, N.J.

I am so tired of men being trashed. Yes, there are “bad” men out there, but let’s hear it for godly men who treat their wives as Christ cares for His bride. I love having a man open the door for me, carry heavy things for me, and treat me with respect. —Elizabeth Gilman / Northfield, Minn.

Generalized statements about men’s superiority are not helpful. Not all of the best composers, writers, or chefs are men. I wish the article would have spent more time celebrating the unique design of men instead of falling into comparisons. —Hannah Gerrity / North Hollywood, Calif.

I appreciate so much the hard-working men who come to my house to fix things that are Greek to me: the leaking windows, the broken dishwasher, and the plugged sink. Feminism (of which I am not a fan) has done men such a disservice. —Susan Fain on wng.org

Whether men are the best writers and so on is debatable, but I’ll add a few more of my own. Men are also the best dictators, sex traffickers, pimps, hitmen, torturers, mass murderers, thieves, rapists, exploiters of the poor, and child molesters. Everything that lifts the dreariness of life is anchored not in men but in the hope of the gospel. —Andrea Kimber-Locke / Wall Township, N.J.

This column made my day. As a man, husband, and father I am concerned that the prevailing belief in our society is that men and women are interchangeable parts. Perhaps Peterson could write a follow-up with her husband: “Thank God for women.” —Paul Jaedicke on wng.org

Give women a little credit. I recently led a team that saved a 14-year-old girl from certain death when she nearly hemorrhaged her entire blood volume after delivering a baby. Women can do some pretty tough things too, and probably could even build a house in a pinch. —Kerri Brackney on Facebook

Heaven to pay

[ Nov. 24, p. 14 ] Janie B. Cheaney’s column is a good reminder that all believers will certainly suffer by living righteously. As Jesus clearly told us, it comes with the territory. —Stephen Leonard / Vidalia, Ga.

When the Adversary is trying to destroy all that you and your faith hold dear, there is no room for niceties or pretending both sides are at fault. They are truly the enemy of the gospel. The incivility comes from those who become vicious in the face of even gentle opposition. —Tom Burley / Alto, Mich.

It’s better to plant the seeds of ideas than to argue a point to the end; asking questions and planting seeds helps me avoid saying things I later regret. I love this country, but when it is my time to depart I want to have been the fragrance of Christ. —Don Sederdahl on wng.org

Whom to believe?

[ Nov. 24, p. 3 ] Most people do not make the effort to investigate news stories properly. As one of my former professors said, read sources from the right, the center, and the left, “and then draw your own conclusion with the mind God gave you.” —Randy Crews on wng.org

Silenced speech

[ Nov. 24, p. 28 ] This piece on the European Court of Human Rights has great factual reporting showing the contradictions and relevance of these “court” decisions. —Ed Schick on wng.org

This column inspires me to keep sounding a sober warning among my countrymen who would sacrifice sacred freedoms on the altar of multiculturalism. —Jeff Danco / Bridgewater, N.J.

Wit and wisdom

[ Nov. 24 p. 64 ] Marvin Olasky’s column elicited a chortle from this 75-year-old Vietnam vet. That’s a rare event for a self-acknowledged curmudgeon. —Jim Hartman on wng.org

Happy fostering

[ Nov. 24, p. 17 ] I recommended Instant Family for family movie night after reading your review, and the trailer looked engaging and clean. But we weren’t prepared for the language or inappropriate sexual references. Please warn your audience even more strongly about these things when it comes to worthwhile films with a good theme. —Dan Lubbers / Bozeman, Mont.

The upshot of pot

[ Oct. 27, p. 42 ] Thank you for your excellent articles about marijuana. Corporate America has rammed the gay agenda down our throats, and now, apparently, it is getting ready to ram marijuana down our throats too. I am in favor of America’s version of capitalism, but corporate boards of directors need to take a hard look in the mirror because one day they will be standing before Jesus to give an accounting. For many, I’m guessing, it will not be a happy occasion. —Jim Richardson / Oro Valley, Ariz.

Mere sponge cake

[ Oct. 27, p. 64 ] We see in the Ten Commandments the very essence of our relationship with God and with others. Pandering to seekers’ feelings only reinforces the notion that their feelings are the ultimate measure of all things. I don’t know how you then get to the personal brokenness of a sinner standing before a God and Redeemer worthy of all our focus and love. —Rich Asper on wng.org

More letters, emails, and comments we didn’t have space for in the print edition:

Thank God for men

[ Nov. 24, p. 63 ] Andrée Seu Peterson’s writing is usually quite nuanced, but this column was a caricature, full of stereotypes and assumptions, and an embarrassment to non-male-bashing apologetics. While the artists of the Italian Renaissance were busy creating masterpieces, how many equally talented females were making pasta and tending kitchen gardens for the Medici family instead of receiving their patronage? —Julie R. Neidlinger / Bismarck, N.D.

God has given men and women specific traits for specific purposes; it saddens me that some women make life more difficult for themselves by ignoring that. —Donna Anderson / Gloucester, Va.

For most of history women have been denied education and told their only role is wife and mother. Women would have invented and created just as well as men had they had the chance. —Gayle Robinson Snyder / Raleigh, N.C.

I don’t need a “thanks” for being a man, but thank you for Peterson’s appreciation of God’s design in humanity, both for women and for men. —Jeb Rice / Fishers, Ind.

Editor’s note: The letters above have been corrected to credit Julie R. Neidlinger with a sentence we previously attributed to Gayle Robinson Snyder.