Mailbag

Modern Mere Christianity

The March issue contains a book review of Ross Douthat’s book Believe, and the review is written by Francis Beckwith. In case you’re not aware, Beckwith was the 58th president of the Evangelical Theological Society—that is, until he converted to Roman Catholicism. Sadly, this is part of a trend for WORLD. The October 2024 issue includes a book review written by a Roman Catholic named James Matthew Wilson, who himself authored a book titled The River of the Immaculate Conception. As mentioned in a Mailbag letter, Wilson’s review was a recommendation of a book written by David Bentley Hart, a man who also wrote a book that aggressively promotes universalism.

Then the January 2025 issue featured an article titled “Pilgrimage to Rome,” which gave Catholics who left evangelicalism the opportunity to explain the superiority of Catholicism, including “reverent worship” and “doctrinal clarity.” And then in the February 2025 issue, “A Chat with Paul Kengor” gives professor Kengor the opportunity to tell us that his pilgrimage from evangelicalism to Catholicism was motivated by the “strong intellectual tradition and impressive theological consistency” of the Catholic Church. All of this was included in WORLD with little to no indication that readers should be concerned about people converting from an evangelical belief system to Catholicism. This seems ironic given the leaning toward Reformed theology among some of your writers. But perhaps of greater concern is why you believe readers should be interested in the theological opinions of men who cannot discern the serious doctrinal errors of Roman Catholicism and universalism.

May I humbly suggest that your editors read the recent article from the Gospel Coalition titled “Roman Catholic Apologetics Is Surging Online. Intended Audience? Protestants.” I would also suggest that you step back and ask what your criteria is for choosing writers for WORLD. I have no doubt that Beckwith is an extremely intelligent man, but his choice to embrace a religious system that is a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6-9) makes him unsuitable to write on theological topics for WORLD.
     Carl Foresti / South Plainfield, N.J.

The article on Ross Douthat was interesting, but there are a few issues with it. First, he does indeed encourage “sloppy interreligious ecumenism.” Someone who is a practicing Muslim or Buddhist is no closer to the kingdom of God than is a nihilist, even though they believe in some type of false deity, because they are still lost in their sins. Additionally, although apologetical conversations can be helpful and Christians should engage people at different levels, coming to faith in Christ is a spiritual exercise, not an intellectual one. Whether one is an intellectual or uneducated, one must hear the gospel and be convicted of one’s sins, which is ultimately a sovereign work of God. For WORLD not to be more clear on these points is disconcerting. Equally disconcerting is what seems to be the promotion of Roman Catholicism. I hope this is not a trend toward ecumenism and a neglect of where WORLD began.
     Tom Chapman / Acworth, Ga.

Francis J. Beckwith professed to be an evangelical but is now a Catholic teaching at a Baptist college. A Catholic is commenting on a Catholic in a magazine that claims to have Biblically objective journalism.
     J.D. & Dianne Moyers / Centennial, Colo.

Crushing dissent

Emma Freire’s observations in the well-written article were good, and she offered a succinct prospective. However, we as people must do our part (John 8:32). Most people will not take the time to investigate and get the facts of an issue/situation but will simply take a news clip as gospel. My old business law professor said this: “Read from the right, the left, and center, then draw your own conclusion with the God-given mind you have. Second, don’t be afraid to take a stand and speak as Daniel did.” Freedom is a precious gift; if we don’t use or exercise it, we lose it.
     Randy Crews / Spokane, Wash.

This article confirmed to me what I’ve felt happening in this country for many years. From annihilating the tea party to throwing prayerful pro-life grannies in jail to orchestrating the Russian collusion hoax to vilifying any contrary opinion during the COVID-19 epidemic, I believed something was off. Thank you for the confirmation.
     David Grzybowski / Depew, N.Y.

The articles on censorship were extremely informative, providing trusted accounts of the many untrustworthy accounts. Discernment is a challenge in this day, and accusations without evidence are in print daily. Thank you for investing in the research to provide truthful journalism.
     John Shelford / Naples, Fla.

I’m from the government ... and I’m here to help

Thank you for your excellent article on Connie Grundmann. I read it first because I empathized with her entire experience. I admire her for her courage to recount all the embarrassing, if not tragic, details. God bless her in her recovery.
     Neil Slattery / Fort Worth, Texas

I was particularly impacted by this article. I shared it with my 90-year-old father-in-law, who proceeded to tell us about his own scam experience. Because of Connie’s vulnerability and willingness to share her story, my father-in-law opened up, and we learned more details about what happened to him a few years ago. We were all shocked to learn of the similarities between both situations.
     Kim Winfield / Acworth, Ga.

This article was well written and sounds a much-needed warning to us all. The question it brought to mind is, “Did Connie Grundmann have no one to whom she could turn for advice before handing over nearly $100,000 to scammers?” I think a strong suggestion to do that should have been included in the article.
     Susan Dickens / Greenbrier, Ark.

As sad as Connie’s story is, I’m wondering where her husband was as she was being scammed for their life savings. She mentions him in the Backstory. A lot of scams could be avoided with input from a spouse or a child or a friend.
     Bruce D. Johnson / Tucson, Ariz.

Rachel Coyle and Connie Grundmann did a great service for the Church and people in general. Praise God that people like Connie are willing to step up and tell others that these scams are ­convincing and that they are prevalent!
     Ron Fichter / Clarksville, Tenn.

We have only one Savior

I have been a subscriber to WORLD for a long time. For the last 10 years, I have noticed that your contributors rarely if ever mention Donald Trump without qualifying first that he has character flaws. Is it not “Christian” enough to simply like him? Are we not all a work in progress until the day we die? Just a few of the “Christian” aspects of his time in office include (1) being the most pro-life president in history; (2) bringing law and order to our border so women and children aren’t trafficked and raped by the thousands each day; (3) protecting young girls by taking boys out of girls sports; (4) keeping peace in the world during his first term; and (5) consistently implementing policies that help the least affluent in our nation. I wish WORLD would acknowledge the good he has and will continue to do.
     Kathy Connors / Medina, Wash.

The phrase “Donald Trump is our savior” has gotten a lot of mileage from the cultural elites who keep repeating it. We Walmart shoppers believe that Donald Trump saved our nation from the brink of a socialist quagmire. While the “never Trump” crowd assists the socialists in rebuilding a new and improved Demo­cratic Party, the Trumpster red, white, and blue Americans remain cheerful and optimistic.
     Scott J. Orr / Pensacola, Fla.

How do tariffs work?

I appreciate this article, but it makes the United States sound like the bad guy. For over 100 years, America has had some of the lowest tariffs in the world. Other nations have charged significantly higher tariffs on our goods than we did on theirs. Also, whereas the United States won’t allow a state to place a tariff on other states or nations, other countries don’t have this restriction. Canada, for example, allows provincial governments to impose tariffs on top of the national tariff. It is about time we began equalizing the playing field.
     Steven Wiseman / North Pole, Alaska

Correction

Mendocino, Calif., couple Rick and Megan’s last name is spelled Sacks (“Jesus People,” April).

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