Mailbag

Things unseen

I have read every word in WORLD since 1995. Well, maybe not the advertising, but certainly the articles and blurbs related to news. However, the last two issues, September and October 2025, have me wondering where the magazine is headed.

First, eschatology is such a divisive issue within the church that I wonder if airing it on the front cover was wise. It certainly brings no noble thoughts about WORLD. We cannot know if this is the end times. And, trying to puzzle the pieces together from the bits and bytes of Scripture does not really help. Who knows? God could lead the world into revival and worship of Him, and we could have two more centuries before Christ returns.

We know there is this age and the age to come (Matthew 12:32). We know that Christ will return. We know that we are to spend our time living for Him and not wasting it in idol speculation (Luke 18:29-30). Individually, we will be called to account for how we lived, not on our wonderment of end times.

At least Les Sillars pointed out, “Critics of connecting current events to Biblical prophecy charge that continually hunting for signs undermines the Church’s witness in the world and damages people’s faith.” I would agree, but WORLD’s handling of the issues did not help.

Now I opened the October issue and find a tabloid-worthy hunt for Yeti, Sasquatch, Nephilim, and other furries. If the subject is worthy of mention, it could have been handled in a one-page article—maybe in the Culture section. I doubt it to be worth even that.

Thankfully, buried in the article is a quote from Bruce Wood, “Heiser excels at fabricating lucid interpretations of Scriptural topics that are not given any substantial data to accurately define.” The fact that some of Heiser’s work hangs on the Book of Enoch, which is not even in the Protestant or Catholic Bibles, makes WORLD sound like ­marginal reporting. In the final two paragraphs someone is given the voice to refocus back on Christ, Christ’s gift to mankind—true salvation.

I hope we see a refocus at WORLD back to useful “Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.”
     Russ Frisinger / Woodland Park, Colo.

I am praying that Timothy Alberino is wrong and that this is a passing fad. Thank you for trying to give perspective. A friend tried to get me interested in Michael Heiser, but I was quickly turned off when he said he liked the weird passages in the Bible most and then went on to spend much of his time and books and seminars on them. I agree with Charlie Trimm’s concerns, plus Heiser seemed to quickly dismiss other godly Bible teachers who give different views on these passages. One of my favorite Bible teachers says, “The plain things are the main things and the main things are the plain things.” Is it wrong to ask questions? No, but it saddens me that so many Christians would go down these speculative rabbit trails. There are still people on this earth who have never heard that Christ died for them, and we are worried about Bigfoot?
     Shelley Spanogle / Clearfield, Pa.

Power struggle

There is a rather glaring error in your cover art. While the inside articles address the general history of the ­judiciary/executive conflict, the cover does not reflect the current reality of the Supreme Court. With his strong embrace of the unitary executive theory, Chief Justice John Roberts is not tugging against the efforts of the president. He is tugging with him.
     Sam Reid / Issaquah, Wash.

Quotables

I read WORLD cover to cover and almost always feel you are reporting the actual news. However, I was disappointed in the cartoon on p. 30. It seems at least to imply that the Palestinian people are the ones killing and starving the Israelis and/or their own people. That is not true—it is Hamas, and the Palestinian people group is not one and the same with Hamas.
     Cheryl Hemphill / Laramie, Wyo.

Awake?

Thank you for your article on Jen Hatmaker’s book, Awake. I read it, as I was curious about Jen’s stance after her divorce. I would not recommend this book for any Christians as it is a conglomeration of a memoir and new age listen-to-your-body philosophy, sprinkled with bad language. Yes, her pastor husband was unfaithful, and it was devastating for her family. I’m glad she has friends who were supportive. It is sad that she could not find real support from the church community. I too hope that Jen comes back to the truth of Jesus instead of her own “truths.”
     Henny Bulten / Lutz, Fla.

Lynn Vincent reminds us that the Word is truth and to disregard it is folly. Often our reaction is not one of sadness but one of judgment and criticism. One thousand percent we have to call out the wrong and point to the truth. There is a place for anger over the damage done to those who hear her false teaching—but our reaction should be sadness, and a deep desire for those who have strayed to come home. I needed to hear this and to be reminded of the proper heart posture toward prodigals in all areas of my life.
     Amy Masters / Marietta, Ga.

Lynn Vincent’s sensitive and poignant column about her friend Jen Hatmaker revealed a Christian heart. Ms. Vincent differs with her friend on important issues, not based on opinions but on the authority of God’s Word. She lists the names of others who “first dabbled in doctrinal detours, then fell over the cliff.” The same could be said for deviations from the authority of the Bible. After “editing” or “updating” one or two verses, it becomes easier to do the same with all parts of the Bible that are “inconvenient.” Gradually one creates a new Bible. Lynn Vincent is not angry with her friend; instead, she is grieving for her to come home.
     William R. Bouknight / Columbia, S.C.

Screwtape starts a podcast

The introspective column by Peter Biles echoes the thoughts of a lot of Gen Z, myself included. It brought to mind Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”
     Kylie Weaver / Salem, Ohio

Depicting the inner person

William Collen suggests that Frida Kahlo’s surrealist self-portraits, including The Two Fridas, proclaim the Biblical truth that we only see the outward appearance while God sees the inner person. God’s truth does shine in every nook and cranny of His creation, but Frida Kahlo, a lifelong atheist and communist, would never have intended such a message. Erasing God from her inner landscape profoundly affected her imagination while communism saturated her life, especially her art. Her last painting, unfinished, was Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick. Why Collen completely ignored Kahlo’s deep faith as he tried to understand her art is almost as puzzling as her work.
     Nancy J. Rice / Culpeper, Va.

Funny, right?

I searched out the J.C. Penney commercial. Yeah, the concept was amusing enough. And I get why a woman would be so enthusiastic about the ad. But my empathy was tempered by … what if my wife gave me a top-of-the-line lawn mower? (Wicked cool!) Or even better, that highest rated by Popular Mechanics Ego Power 56 volt 24-inch 2-stage self-propelled battery snow blower 7.5 Ah?! That would be like getting married all over again. Sigh. Really good column.
     Bruce P. McKechnie / Honey Brook, Pa.

Oil exodus

The picture in the rearview grows clearer. California was once king of the mountain in drilling and production. In the past 40 years, one decision after another has been a slippery slope as refineries fall like dominoes. Todd Vician’s piece helps us to connect the dots. Gov. Newsom’s 2020 executive order regarding gas-powered vehicles was one more blow to energy independence. Now the California Energy Commission is left to try and put Humpty Dumpty back together.
     Darla Dykstra / Kansas City, Mo.

Corrections

Helmuth Hübener was Mormon, not an orthodox Christian (“Truth & Treason,” November, p. 57).

Paul Dans was born in Boston and lived in South Carolina while working in Washington, D.C. (“Paul Dans makes a Senate bid,” November, p. 19).

Ray and Maria Sorensen started their business in 2008 (“Rock of honor,” November, p. 100).

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