Mailbag

A clarion call for the ages

Regardless of what the literary world might think about him, J. Gresham Machen was a modern-day Nostradamus. His predictions, sadly, have exceeded what he imagined.
     Ranny Grady / Monticello, Ky.

The issues at the heart of what Machen faced are the same yet different today. Mainstream Protestantism is rapidly dying and less of a threat. Instead of the social gospel, we now have the man-centered prosperity gospel, a counterfeit that fills many churches. Alert defenders of the faith need to address that problem now.
     Paul Ratzlaff / Nampa, Idaho

Worry is not a parenting skill

I was surprised to see a Book of the Year selection—The Worry-Free Parent—that encourages a syncretistic heresy, the Enneagram, which con­tradicts WORLD’s Statement of Faith.
     J.K. Miller / Olive Branch, Miss.

Treating a theological disease

Emily Whitten’s review of Neil Shenvi and Pat Sawyer’s Critical Dilemma was an astute and artful one-page summary of a densely academic 500-page book. Her statement of the key terms of contemporary critical theory is worth memorizing for its clarity and cogency.
     David Conn / Gig Harbor, Wash.

Fever pitch

Regarding anti-Semitism, I am shocked to see in our great country the kind of behavior that was a part of Germany under Hitler. We must not allow the spirit of the Evil One to take over the United States as it did Germany in the 1930s and ’40s.
     Bill Russell / Brighton, Mich.

The fruit of Islam

Joel Belz’s classic column was especially timely. Until Muslim leaders denounce the barbaric atrocities of jihadi terrorism such as was inflicted by Hamas against Israel, they will lack any credibility for negotiating a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
     William S. Barker / Columbia, Mo.

Broken city

Lynn Vincent posed the question “But might God send us a Cyrus?” That would be great, but at least half of our nation has rejected God. I don’t see how we can place our hope in a secular leader unless God would use that leader to lead us to repentance.
     Tom Burley / Alto, Mich.

Lynn referred to the broken city being rebuilt, but Ezra 3 referred to the rebuilding of the Temple. We can still apply this call to pray for our broken world, but it can also be applied to many broken churches that don’t share the Biblical values that she and many WORLD readers share.
     Bill MacDonald / Simpsonville, S.C.

Heroes of the faith

I find it interesting that Joel Beeke and Douglas Bond did not include John Wesley among their 27 heroes. Couldn’t they have created some small space for someone most historians see as a giant of the 18th century?
     Alan D. Gruber / Cincinnati, Ohio

Journey to Bethlehem

I must respectfully disagree with Marty VanDriel’s non-recommendation. Yes, the movie takes liberties with the story, but that’s stated before it starts. And the liberties make the characters more relatable as people who face an unprecedented situation. My wife and I watched it twice.
     Robert Culbertson / Centennial, Colo.

Correction

Charles I, the king of England, was executed in 1649 (“Honorable Mentions,” Dec. 2, 2023, p. 53).