Mailbag

Anticipating a rough horizon

June 5—Trish Kimminau/Tuscon, Ariz.

I was surprised that Mindy Belz did not quote anyone who thinks the United States is making the right decision to leave Afghanistan. That aside, it was an excellent article. Mindy’s ability to give us an insider’s view is wonderful.

Anchors for those who drift

June 5—Deanne Alsup/Des Moines, Iowa

My heart broke when I read Ryan Connell’s story. I would tell him: “God loves you, He sees you, and He cares for you. God’s grace is sufficient for you. Don’t give up on God but continue the good fight of faith. I’m praying for you.”

Jim Craig/Richland Center, Wis.

I pray for lost sheep throughout the world often, some by name. I also pray for Christian parents whose children are not following the Lord, that those children would come to Jesus Christ.

Cynthia Wittich/Mount Hope, Kan.

Those suffering a crisis of faith need to face it head-on with the knowledge that God is who He says He is and that He will lead the struggler through this time of doubt. In this time of spiritual warfare, the enemy wants to take shaky believers out of the faith family.

Inflation anticipation

June 5—Joel Christman/Justin, Texas

I recall economist Milton Friedman saying the Fed has overreacted since the Great Depression and has followed a monetary policy of trying to grow the economy with low inflation. I would add that such a policy puts all of us on a treadmill, where we feel like we need a pay raise each year to keep up with rising costs.

No wound too deep

June 5—Pat Jacobs/Redmond, Wash.

A very interesting column by Marvin Olasky, but lots of sadness therein. I have often thought about people whose childhood experiences greatly impacted their lives, for good or bad. It is always sad to hear how abused children become abusers, how alcoholic parents lead to alcoholic children, etc. On the other hand, we all have heard of children who rose above the bad parts of childhood to become successful and useful citizens.

Trillions of dollars from nowhere

June 5—Donna Cooley/Vancouver, Wash.

What the government should have done, instead of sending everyone stimulus checks, was raise Social Security payments so that people on limited incomes could pay rent, mortgages, and their other bills.

Times and places

June 5—Janet E. McPherson/Whiteville, N.C.

As the director of a pregnancy resource center, I am pro-life. However, I disagree with Marvin Olasky’s statement that doctors can hear beating hearts at six weeks of gestation. An ultrasound can detect beating hearts at six weeks, but a fetal Doppler cannot hear them until around 12 weeks.

Traveling pains

June 5—Emily Tibbetts/Westbrook, Maine

In his review of The Underground Railroad, Collin Garbarino said, we “would do well to skip this particular story because of its frequent racial slurs and graphic violence.” I disagree. Christians who are mature in the faith need to look at the hard stuff that makes us uncomfortable. How else are we to know what to rebuke or correct in love?

Rock ’n’ roll that’ll preach

June 5—Cheryl Irish/Bastrop, Texas

As a new Christian in 1972, I bought my first Christian rock ’n’ roll album, Love Song. I played it over and over and over. Thanks for the great memory.

Correction

Sonrise Church pastor James Gleason started the Light My Way service in 2004 (“Unglamorous grace,” May 8, p. 49).

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

The news illustrated

Joel Gordon/Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Why do your cartoons often attack our president? Your political bias is unbecoming a Christian publication. You didn’t mock Donald Trump like you mock Joe Biden. It’s time to represent Jesus Christ, not the Republican Party, or are your politics more important than your faith?

Ron Bremer/Meridian, Idaho

I love your political cartoons. They say so much with so few words.

Surviving the zombie apocalypse

Christy Day/Lancaster, Calif.

I have been a WORLD member for five-plus years and have faithfully listened to your podcasts and love reading your magazine. You are a light in this time we live in and are such a blessing. Thank you for all you do to bring us Biblically based journalism. It cannot be easy. Your desire to keep Christ at the center and to remind us that He has already conquered this fallen world is exactly what is needed, and I look forward to WORLD’s appearance in my mailbox.

I have never written to you before, but I cannot describe how excited I was to see an old worn-out copy of WORLD Magazine’s April 6, 2013, issue make a cameo appearance on an episode of my guilty pleasure show, The Walking Dead. WORLD showed up at around the 17:30 mark of Episode 11 of Season 5, “The Distance.” It appeared again toward the end.

There it was, a little hope in a dark time, and I could not help but smile and thank that show’s producer for his or her apparent message. It was so fitting: These characters are going through a fictional world’s end, struggling to survive and cling to a little hope, and I was tickled to see your magazine right there in the magazine rack of an old beat-up RV. I love how even Hollywood has recognized your skilled and honest work and thought it fitting to slip that bit of truth and hope into a hopeless time. The irony wasn’t lost on me.