The other border crisis

[Aug. 18] I just returned from Bogotá, Colombia, and saw stoplight merchants, all of them Venezuelans, washing windshields and selling candy. My host said they are often treated rudely because many Colombians have forgotten that some of their own countrymen had to do the same thing years ago. I am thankful to read of this ministry. —Larry Panella on wng.org

Thank you for an enlightening article. I cannot imagine living through such turmoil, especially inflation so outrageous that people barter with eggs for a taxi ride. —Earl Smith / Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Improbable events

[Aug. 18] This is one of Marvin Olasky’s best columns. Why did the Cold War end without nuclear disaster? Because of Ronald Reagan via, possibly, Roe v. Wade. Astonishing. —Aaron L. Johnson on Facebook

I recall how so many journalists and politicians mocked Reagan’s speeches and his belief that the Soviet empire could be brought to its knees. Even today many historians have heartburn giving Reagan any credit. There really was a war then, and it was a spiritual war between the forces of God and the forces of Satan. —Tom Hagen / Plymouth, Minn.

Olasky did not mention two key participants in the fall of the Soviet Union, namely Jesus and Pope John Paul II. Ultimately Jesus defeated the Communists, but the pope’s many visits to his homeland, including his personal visits to Lech Wałęsa, strengthened the Polish people in their fight. —Frank W. Russell / Nalcrest, Fla.

Nuclear war with the Soviet Union seemed inevitable when I was growing up in the 1950s and ’60s. It was scary. I believe Reagan had everything to do with its implosion, and that the Lord Himself stopped us from blowing ourselves up. —Dick Dickerson / Mechanicsville, Va.

Pot in the bottle

[Aug. 18] The article on marijuana was well-written and alarming, with its ominous information on the direction our country is headed. I look forward to more articles by Jim Long and the Caleb Team. —Carol Blair / Gladewater, Texas

It’s not enough now to have just one intoxicant at a time? It reminds me of Brave New World, where everyone is intoxicated while trying to live a “happy” life full of promiscuity but devoid of meaning. —Pauline Marie Ferrill on Facebook

I wonder if the folks planning to ingest marijuana-laced edibles and drinkables realize that using those products will make them fail their next drug test in any pre-employment background checks. —Craig A. White / Pflugerville, Texas

Branched out

[Aug. 18] Janie B. Cheaney laments the inevitability of federal court imperialism in her column on Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, but Congress can prune back the U.S. Supreme Court’s excessive growth by invoking the Exceptions Clause to limit jurisdiction. As James Madison noted, “In republican governments the legislative authority necessarily predominates.” —Darrell White / Baton Rouge, La.

Cheaney is correct that “no one person should have that kind of influence over policy” such that his taking office is cause for such a slugfest. The problem is that top officials of the executive and legislative branches swear the same oath as the justices, to uphold the Constitution, but they have ceded their judgment to the courts. —Vic Tripp / Tucker, Ga.

A space for freedom

[Aug. 18] The interview with Matthew Kaemingk was thought-provoking. The command of Jesus to love your neighbor as yourself demands that we be hospitable to Muslims. However, we must have an effective vetting process for immigrants seeking to enter our great country. —Robert Francis / Wakefield, Mass.

I agree that we must treat all our neighbors as souls for whom Christ died, whether they be American citizens, legal immigrants, or illegal aliens. But we should distinguish between Muslims who are citizens with constitutional rights and those who are not. —Andre Traversa / Chicago, Ill.

Human Race

[Aug. 18] I was heartened to see, after all of the negative publicity over the accusations against Bill Gothard four years ago, that you noted the dismissal of the lawsuit against him. —Alfred Corduan / Joliet, Ill.

Minding the victims

[Aug. 18] Mindy Belz’s call to grant safe haven to persecuted Christians and others from around the world is right on. A standing ovation at a Washington “ministerial” means nothing if we just push them back afterward. You can’t shelter the defenseless while holding them at arm’s length. —John Kloosterman on wng.org

I cannot imagine any of my three daughters enduring what women like Nadia Murad have experienced. Not giving them refugee status is disgraceful. —Mark B. Blocher on Facebook

Anne with an agenda

[Aug. 18] Christian movies, TV shows, and books are typically mocked (often rightly) for being ungainly, heavy-handed morality plays; Anne with an E became as bad as the worst of those. After Season 2 the series should be Anne Without an Audience. —Mark Peerbolte on wng.org

Dictatorial ideologies

[Aug. 18] Why would the two lesbian women who are now suing Friendship Village even want to join when their values are so contrary to its Biblical positions? It’s hard to believe this question did not occur to them before they submitted their deposit. It sounds like another contrived encounter. —Jim Maust on wng.org

Go and do likewise

[Aug. 4] This issue highlighting the Hope Awards was a blessing to me and an incentive to all in Christ’s church to participate in and support such ministries. They are the arms and legs of Jesus Himself. —Henry Harvey / Memphis, Tenn.

Correction

It’s not clear how numerous journalists learned that the Liberty University administration had asked Champion news editor Erin Covey not to cover the Red Letter Revival (“Papered over,” Sept. 1, p. 43).

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

Pot in the bottle

[Aug. 18] Thanks for focusing on the impending marijuana epidemic. We Christians need to support keeping it a federal crime. —Norman De Jong / Caledonia, Mich.

Bad connections?

[Aug. 18] Insightful article. The Russian government has many crafty ways to infiltrate groups, but good reporting and vigilance will keep our country and institutions safer. And it is refreshing to see an article that does not hype a cause beyond the facts. —Ed Schick on wng.org

Digital sages

[Aug. 18] I was very troubled by this article, especially the teachings of Jordan Peterson. He appears to be pushing a deceptive message, offering young people meaning and happiness by their own efforts rather than by the new life found only in the Good News. —Mary Alice Pearson / Brewer, Maine

A green farming movement

[Aug. 4] I’d like to challenge the idea that environmentally responsible agriculture is only possible on a hobby farm scale, or that it leads to reduced yields and is a less efficient use of land. A growing number of farmers in the regenerative agriculture movement are proving that we can maintain or increase our crop yields while improving the health of our soil and reducing nutrient loss. Many of us feel that stewarding creation well is a part of our calling as Christians and as farmers. —Brian Zimmerman / Elizabethtown, Pa.