Mailbag

1776 ★ 2026

I was a longtime U.S. history teacher at a Christian high school and have considered my “specialty” to be in the founding era of America. I have concluded through much study that the most significant founders of our country (out of many) are George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison (not just because they were presidents), Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton. I see now that I must be correct, as those were the six you placed on your July issue cover. As usual, it was a great read.
     Robert Hibbard / Bellevue, Wash.

Enjoyed the cover lineup of our grinning Founding Fathers. George’s wooden teeth have never looked so good.
     Leslie Ritchie / Hastings, Minn.

The July edition was an amazing mix of the expected informative articles and joy in celebration of 250 years of the American experiment to form a “more perfect union.” The graphics were a delight to behold.
     Steve Conway / Edwardsville, Ill.

A free market empire

Historian John Steele Gordon speaks of Adam Smith, Jeff Bezos, and Alexander Hamilton as keys to understanding America’s free market empire. And I agree, but as a child I was taught to save my nickels, dimes, and quarters through my weekly grade school banking day with the local bank. I believe putting aside a little something on a regular basis is an important foundation for growing wealth through the magic of compound interest. Later I learned of stocks, bonds and IRAs, and so forth.
     Ismael C. Alvarez / Lancaster, Pa.

America’s royal obsession

Hannah Brusven states that one of the reasons Americans are fascinated with British royalty is that we have lost “our sense, to some extent, of duty” and “They are one of the last remaining examples, culturally, of what it looks like to have a life of duty and service beyond yourself.” Rubbish! as the British would say. If one wants to find a superior sense of duty, untainted by pomp, pageantry, and privilege, one need look no further than the volunteers serving in the U.S. military.
     Ed Krause / Saline, Mich.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of property

I read this article with great interest and even some foreboding. I thought of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their prospects for home ownership. But then I was reminded that similar predictions were made regarding my generation and my children’s generation. Yet, though I spent my career in ministry to small and rural churches, I’ve owned several pieces of land and four houses. My children also own their homes. This is a tribute to the faithfulness of God. I can testify that those who live faithfully and virtuously will find our Lord faithful to supply their needs and more.
     Vernal R. Wilkinson / Puyallup, Wash.

When Nazis are at the door

The Ninth Commandment says we are not to bear false witness against our neighbor. The Jews who were hid by Allies were their neighbors. It is our Christian duty to bear false witness for our neighbor and against the enemy, in this case the Nazis. Our ­military intelligence system, spies, and counterintelligence should operate that way in obedience to the Ninth Commandment. My parents lived in Holland during World War II, and every patriot—man, woman, or child—was expected to risk the bullet for protecting the persecuted Jews and countrymen, like my father and father-in-law, in hiding. My wife and I are alive today because of such heroism.
     Dr. Cornelius (Neal) Hegeman / Anniston, Ala.

When I was in medical school, my ethics professor told a true story of Nazis at the door. He said a Christian couple had two Jews hidden in an upstairs room of their home. Two Gestapo officers were going door to door in their neighborhood, ­asking residents if they had seen any Jews, and the Christian couple knew they were soon to be asked that question. By the time a Gestapo officer knocked on their door, the man of the house had made his decision. He opened the door. The Gestapo officer asked him if he had seen any Jews. He responded, “Yeah, I got two of ’em upstairs.” The Gestapo officer laughed. “Well, if you see any, let us know.” He then went to the next house up the street.
     R. Bryan, M.D. / Rawlins, Wyo.

It seems to me that if—in the case of protecting the persecuted—you are convicted not to lie, then you must also be convicted not to hide the Jew in the first place, for that is the first lie. Hiding someone is saying to the watching world that there is no Jew in your house when there is. Hiding anything is pretending it does not exist in your possession, which is untrue. When helping someone in extreme cases is not actually possible without deceiving the persecutors, the enemy, the wicked, do we then trust that God is not asking us for our help, but for our prayers?
     Jenny Roberts / Owens Cross Roads, Ala.

Pilgrims of a certain age

My son (56) and I (83) both yearn for an evangelical, Bible-preaching church that worships with hymns, choir, and pipe organ (or reasonable facsimile). “Rotsa ruck,” we are told. Sad!
     Larry Rippere / Mountain View, Calif.

I was disappointed to read Lynn Vincent’s column, particularly her characterization of evangelicalism as American, rootless, and modern, lacking theological continuity beyond the printing press, and separable from faith in Christ and the “doctrine of grace.” I would aver that to hold forth the timeless good news of His grace as revealed in Scripture is to be truly evangelical, regardless whether one is of a high or low church tradition. I would further note that the text of Scripture, which is the ultimate authority for the evangelical, is more ancient, rooted, and unchanging than any scholarly tradition, whether Roman, Eastern, or Anglican.
     Matt Stutzman / Lexington, Ill.

I appreciated this column. I am also an older woman who found a Presbyterian (PCA) church that uses hymns, psalms set to music, creeds, and readings from the Old Testament and New sequentially each week. We are adding new members frequently, which shows that young families and older adults are hungry for real “meat” and not just the “milk” of contemporary services.
     Henny Bulten / Lutz, Fla.

In response to Lynn Vincent’s column, I wonder: Are liturgical churches really more “rooted”? Is the ritual embedded in the gathering of the saints consistent with New Testament practice, where our ekklēsia was birthed? How does “biblically faithful” correlate with “liturgical traditions”? Perhaps such ceremonial practices constitute “ancient Christianity unbound by conventions of modern culture,” but perhaps these are not ancient enough. Shall Christians imitate the practices of our Middle Ages fathers, or can we return to the founding principles found in the Book of Acts and the letters to the churches? Make no ­mistake—they are not the same!
     Lori Bourne / Merritt Island, Fla.

Disney crooner dead at 75

Thanks for the note on Peabo Bryson. Readers rightly remember him for his Disney hits and duets. But WORLD readers may appreciate one detail left unsung. In 1994, Bryson joined gospel great Sandi Patty for “Make It ’Til Tomorrow,” a showstopper that somehow fused CCM instincts with Broadway grandeur. Find the song and hear another side of Peabo Bryson.
     Joe Martin / Asheville, N.C.

Land of promise

 These past 11 years, much to my dismay, many people I talk to seemingly don’t know the difference between legal and illegal immigration and consign both to the same scrap heap. Vastly increasing legal immigration would be highly beneficial. It would fill empty ­factory jobs and help Social Security and Medicare stay solvent.
     Dean B. Davis / Carbondale, Ill.

Corrections

Ongoing clashes between Indonesian military and rebels in Papua have killed 500,000 people over the last 50 years (“Turkey punishes anti-NATO protesters,” August, p. 25).

Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults are illiterate, and 130 million people can’t read a simple story to their children (“Turning the page on reading,” August, p. 84).

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