Mailbag

Are Christians in Nigeria facing genocide?

I appreciate WORLD’s tackling the issue of Christian persecution in Nigeria. Unfortunately, left unaddressed by Antonio Graceffo was the big fat elephant in the room: If it’s so difficult for Christians to get weapons in order to defend themselves from Muslim terrorists, aka “Fulani herdsmen,” because of Nigerian government restrictions/laws, how in the world are the “Fulani herdsmen” able to be armed to the teeth with AK-47s? Doesn’t sound like a fair fight. Peace through strength, anyone?
     Bob Heckmann / Canton, S.D.

Years ago a wise man told me that things are almost always more complicated than I think. He was the one who introduced me to WORLD. Your in-depth reporting about the violence in Nigeria is a perfect example of what he meant, and I now realize that I was, once again, assuming a simple narrative. The best way for me to “come alongside” the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Nigeria is to pray into the reality of their situation, and thanks to you, my prayers are now more informed. Thank you for how you are serving the body of Christ.
     Amy Stanton / Grabill, Ind.

Philip Holsinger’s article was informative as far as it went, but he failed to ask at least two serious questions: Where did the Fulani tribe get the AK-47 rifles and, if they bought them, where did they get the money? As the photo of the Fulani chieftain and the description in the text reveal, the Fulani people have very little. So the money question seems to be important. Africa is awash in guns but, even so, used AK-47s reportedly cost $100 to $400 each, which is a huge amount of money to those people. The story was frustratingly incomplete because we weren’t told where the money came from.
     Patrick Torretta / Edmonds, Wash.

It is tragic that our brothers and sisters are facing death in Nigeria. However, the article implies that Roman Catholics are among these brothers and sisters in Christ. That is not true, because they do not believe the gospel by faith alone through grace alone (Galatians 2:15-21; Ephesians 2:8-9). Is it possible for a Catholic to be born again by God’s grace and continue to attend a Catholic church for some time? Yes. But they will eventually leave, because the Roman Catholic Church consciously teaches a false gospel. We do fellow Christians and the unsaved around us a grave disservice when we call Catholics Christians.
     Ethan Terry / Augusta, Wis.

I read in Mr. Holsinger’s article that the Christians were targeted because the other group simply wanted money or ransom. He also said churches were targeted because it’s where “crowds gathered.” Why aren’t Muslims kidnapped for ransom or why aren’t mosques targeted, because certainly crowds gather there as well? From the article, I can assume the attackers are Muslims, and the people they are attacking are Christians. If the Christians are doing the attacking, the article doesn’t state it.
     Laura Smoak / Dothan, Ala.

The Odyssey

I enjoyed Collin Garbarino’s review but felt it oversimplified Nolan’s critique of ancient values. Greek culture—putting honor at such a premium that a costly 10-year war over one kidnapped woman wrecked thousands of lives—is not Christian culture. When Damon’s protagonist predicts a new and less bloodthirsty civilization, I heard a foretaste of Christianity vanquishing that proud old power-based paganism.
     Joseph W. Smith III / Montoursville, Pa.

Just writing to let you know how much I enjoy the monthly WORLD. I thought that going from biweekly to monthly would affect the freshness of the magazine, yet somehow it hasn’t. I appreciate all the features of the magazine. There are some favorites like the columns by Lynn Vincent, Nick Eicher, and Andrée Seu Peterson. I love the book reviews and the movie reviews. I decided after reading the review that I won’t go to see the new Odyssey movie. On the other hand, I decided to buy several copies for gifts of the book Considering Sparrows.
     Dan LaRue / Lebanon, Pa.

Closing season

I appreciate Christina Grube’s thoughtful article regarding my alma mater (Multnomah). The situation she describes is unfortunate, and it raises legitimate questions about whether certain outcomes were intentional and perhaps deceitful. A related article could be written on the broader trend of larger churches acquiring the properties of smaller, declining congregations.
     Robert Allen / Pacific, Wash.

Dear Mr. Trump

Excellent letter to President Trump by Lynn Vincent. The problem with President Trump is that what he says one day can be totally different than what he will do or say the next day. He does not seem to think about or care about what negative effect it can have on others.
     Ghislain Sylvestre / Swannanoa, N.C.

As a Trump kinda supporter I completely agree with the premise that his namby-­pamby approach to Iran really diminished our credibility with Iran and probably the world. I further agree that his lack of support for the “citizen revolt” put lots of Iranian people in the murderous crosshairs of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after getting their pictures on the surveillance cameras as they tried to protest.
     Richard Hawkins / Pahoa, Hawaii

Hear Hear! Lynn Vincent is 100% right-on with her open letter to President Trump. Now we need to petition Heaven that this message will be heard.
     Paula Oas / Laurel, Md.

Perfection costs everything

Andrée Seu Peterson’s editorial entitled “Perfection costs everything,” might be better titled “Perfection cost Jesus everything.” We must remember that our salvation does not rest on our works, or our efforts, or our attempts at perfection, but on Christ’s perfect life and atoning death. The Sermon on the Mount that Mrs. Peterson quotes from was not given by Jesus so that we might strive to be better people but to show us how impotent we are to do better no matter how hard we try.
     Richard Hallahan / Littleton, Colo.

Sin by any other name

Thank you for the article by Bekah Bernhardt. So many times, I have been caught up in the hype of a new highly recommended book or new author only to find it morally bankrupt and something that I should not be wasting my time on. I would love to see more book reviews like this!
     Jill White / Newark, Del.

Human race

I read with sadness your report on Bill Gothard’s condition, in a coma after suffering a heart attack. Many of us who came of age in the 1960s and ’70s were greatly helped by his teachings and seminars. I was sad too to read that “his family is pursuing every possible way to save his life.” The Bible tells us that “Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.” The psalmist wrote, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” And Paul wrote, “… to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” I know no other details of Gothard’s condition or his family circumstances. But I hope that when I am 91 and in a coma, my family will have the grace to allow the hosts of heaven to welcome me home.
     Doug Trotter, M.D. / Snohomish, Wash.

Turning the page on reading

These days, it takes a lot to shock me. However, “Turning the page on reading” almost blew my mind. Three-cueing instead of phonics? Coming out of high school with a vocabulary of 200 words, mostly verbs and nouns? I noticed my own twin grandchildren, in fourth grade, did not know their math facts. No wonder the public schools in my town are hemorrhaging students while homeschooling is exploding. This is beyond dangerous for our country.
     Belinda Stanley / Helotes, Texas

U.S. briefs

For those Illinois counties pondering the Illinois Separation Referendum, another option for con­sideration is establishing an electoral college at the state level. This would recede the concentration of voting power without the need to secede.
     Danny D. Childs / Midland, Mich.

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