Dear ePistle,
Re: “ Choosing Freedom Over Fear at Park51”–The question of whether to build a mosque at ground zero in NYC is not fear versus freedom. It is allowing insult to be made manifest against the people who have suffered, greatly and beyond measure. In the name of decency, go build your mosque in another part of the city.
- Ron Schott
Patriot Guard Riders
Christian Skydivers Association

Dear ePistle,
We must do all that we can to support the "good face" of Islam–Judaism AND Christianity. We should not let the terrorists win by denying Islam's legitimate presence in American society. We cannot give credence to Muslims in the world who are convinced that America is bent on destroying Islam.
- Roy Hoch
Aptos, CA

Dear ePistle,
Re: Ron Sider’s “ President Bush, European Christian Democrats, and a Way Forward on Poverty”–The idea that Democrats, Republicans, liberals, and conservatives must work together to end poverty is a great idea, BUT there is the problem. They don't trust each other, they think the other party's view is absolutely worthless, and therefore nothing will get done unless we [pressure our leaders] and tell them to get it done now! Enough said!
- Doug Lass

Dear ePistle,
The problem with your article Sexual Obesity isthat we keep proving over and over again that pornography is harmful, but what are we going to do about it? Hardcore material is illegal but it is available everywhere. Proving this is pointless unless we are going to do something.
- Mike McClure

Editors response:
You are right. It is illegal, and there are growing opportunities to do something about it. The Coalition for the War on Illegal Pornography is sponsoring a major event at the US Capitol at 11 a.m., June 15. Every Member of the House and Senate, their staffs, the Capitol press corps, and the public are invited. There has never been an event like this in the nations Capitol. The event is called Pornography Harms: What Congress Can Do to Enforce Existing Laws and it will consist of a briefing for members of Congress and their staffs featuring lead researchers as well as a former pornography star's personal experience.

Showing up would be a great sign of support. The more our legislators hear from us, the more they will realize were serious about enforcing the laws.
- Kristyn Komarnicki

Dear ePistle,
I was challenged by Kristyn Komarnickis The First Lie and "What's a Woman Worth?" Thank you for all that you are doing. We are working here to establish Restored, a new Christian alliance aimed at transforming relationships and ending violence against women.
- Peter Grant, International Director
Tearfund, Middlesex, UK

Dear ePistle,
Thank you so much for the Book List of Womens Stories. Its an incredible resource. I plan on reading some of these books.
- Kathy Dudley

Dear ePistle,
Memoirs of a Geisha is an amazing story as is The Concubines Children. - Kimberly Ferland, ACTion Coalition on Human Trafficking

Dear ePistle, 
The article about the sin of Sodom has touched me. In Madagascar, a Christian has been put in jail for having distributed nondenominational Christian pamphlets. Can we imagine that Jesus, for His Second coming, will only appear and after will return to His Father and will let a second Sodom & Gomorrah happen?
- Ernest Kreutzer (Antananarivo, Madagascar)

Dear ePistle,
In regard to your endorsement of the petition drive against the proposed Ugandan law making homosexuality punishable by imprisonment or death, I would like you and your readers to read the very interesting open letter written by the Uganda National Pastors Task Force against Homosexuality to Pastor Rick Warren. While we dont agree with imprisoning or certainly killing practicing homosexuals, there is more to the story than we have heard. I urge you to read this and perhaps concentrate your petition efforts to aiding the NGOs and government agencies trying to fight HIV/AIDS and harmful folklore about AIDS in Africa.
-Jane Tucker

Dear ePistle,
Re: last weeks reader response from Chris Sicks, in which he writes, Unless we constantly ground our ministry in Scripture we are always in danger of drifting into social work rather than Gospel-infused ministry. I think that social work with a Christian emphasis is vital to the local, national, and international health and is necessary to help those in need and to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. The individual Christian may not be able to physically go and help, they can help financially to their favorite cause.
- Doug Lass

Dear ePistle,
I love what you guys do. Sure wish you wouldn’t use The Message, though. Unless we constantly ground our ministry in Scripture (and not a paraphrased version of it) we are always in danger of drifting into social work rather than Gospel-infused ministry.

Chris Sicks
Director of Mercy Ministry
Alexandria Presbyterian Church

Dear ePistle,
I am really very impressed with the thoughtful 11/18 edition of the ePistle. Please keep up the multifaceted articles. I like how you see the gray in issues that are usually presented...

Dear ePistle,
I enjoyed Kristyn Komarnicki’s excellently written editorial column, “Dichotomizing Ourselves to Death.” I would like to comment on the quote from Randall Balmer ...

Dear ePistle,
My first response when I saw "another issue on abortion" was "not again." I find myself wishing that a just war theorist would apply their theory to abortion....

Editor’s note:

In last week’s welcome, we invited readers to share their experiences of volunteering. Here’s how one reader responded:

I am a stay-at-home mom that does some volunteer work while my kids are away at school. It allows me to help others out and keeps me busy, yet flexible.

I volunteer 2 mornings a week at my kids' elementary school. I help in the classroom with students who need extra one-on-one help, grade papers, make copies, or whatever the teachers need help with. I don't just help in my kids' classes, but a couple of other classes as well. I like helping in the school. The teachers do so much for our kids that I like being able to help them, and I like being able to give some extra attention to kids who may not get it any place else.

I also volunteer 2 afternoons a week at a nursing home that is just down the street from where we live. I just sit with the residents and talk or play games. I've helped one resident who loves to cook make food and we're working on writing down all of the recipes that he has stored in his head. This experience has meant a lot to me because there are quite a few people who are residents of the nursing home because of physical limitations (rather than just age). I hadn't realized that until I started volunteering there. Many of them are very bored and lonely.

I am glad that I can volunteer. I've considered getting a job because a lot of people think I should—I'm a capable, educated person and some people think I'm wasting my life doing what I'm doing. But I am glad that my family is in a situation where it is not necessary for me to be earning money, and I know that I am making a difference in several people's lives.

Thanks for both PRISM and the ePistle. I enjoy reading the magazine and the weekly ePistles—there is always a lot to think about!
- Beth DeGoede

Dear ePistle,
I appreciated Al Tizon’s commentary on being Asian in our society. My wife is Asian, and she is an American citizen but doesn’t feel she is treated as an American. When she has a question or grievance, she often wants me to carry it forward on her behalf because she doesn’t think she will get a fair hearing as an Asian woman but I will as a white man. She and millions of other Americans of color live a life that is different and more difficult than those of us who are white simply because they are people of color.

I have had a number of opportunities over my life to feel something of what minorities feel 24/7 in America. Most white Americans haven’t had such experiences, and they are just unaware of the significant differences in life experience simply because you don’t look white in our society. We have made progress on racism in America, but we are very far from a color-blind society.
- Bill Samuel

Dear ePistle,
I was immediately drawn to your 8.12 welcome about the song Hurt because I, too, was so taken by that songeven the original version sung by Trent Reznor. I could see that he was truly crying out for help, in a beautiful, gut-wrenching way, and could see how that song was truly a prayer from the depths. I interpreted it to be coming from someone with borderline personality disorder, which causes people to lose touch with reality, to the point where they hurt themselves to see if they will bleed or if they will feel any pain, and if they do, then they know that they are still real. Thank you for pointing out that the secular can point us to spiritual truths, and that secular works such as songs or movies can be venues of worship. (My husband and I especially like U2 songs, and have had spiritual experiences while singing along with them.)

However, I did not appreciate the condescending tone of your message, referring to being afraid of dirtying ourselves by the world. If your message showed more compassion, I feel like you would have given a nod to those of us who struggle with alcoholism, sexual addiction, or other areas of weak conscience. Those of us who are alcoholics SHOULD stay away from bars; those with sexual addictions SHOULD stay away from movies with graphic sex scenes; in other words, there are many of us who certainly should be afraid of dirtying ourselves from the world. Jesus was our example, yes; however it must be stated that he clearly had the ability to mingle with the prostitutes without giving in to their advances. Some of our men simply cannot do thatand some of us do need so-called sanitized versions of movies in order to satisfy our consciences.
- Allyson Gehman

Editors response: Well said, Allyson! You are absolutely right. Thank you for speaking the truth so clearlyand in love!
-Kristyn Komarnicki

Dear ePistle,
Im surprised youve provided a link to Fox news, with a headline that capitalizes on the extreme to fuel more polarizing anger (Stimulus Bill Funds Go to Art Houses Showing Pervert Revues, Underground Pornography). The story is about much more than this one piece of yellow journalism and the good work of the NEA is damaged because most folks will automatically demonize them now. You can do better.
-Jo Kadlecek

Dear ePistle,
Re: For More Teens, Jesus Is Way Cool Sadly, this article is more public relations than news. It is completely anecdotal and the presupposition of the articlerevival of Christianity in youthruns completely counter to the data being reported by just about every scientific survey on the growing none of the above nature of youth spirituality. In particular the reference to the post 9-11 religious bubble suggests a lack of familiarity with that phenomenon since that bubble was at best ephemeral.

Harry Coverston, Ph.D., Philosophy Department
University of Central Florida, Orlando

Dear ePistle,
Re: For More Teens, Jesus Is Way Cool I think there are two parts to this. 1) I embraced my faith, initially, through a church that offered me a community where I could be involved in a lot of activities. Youth tend to have a lot of time on their hands and are very social and need a place to be active. Because my church community reached out to me in a way that I could relate to, I wanted to spend more and more time there. I grew through fellowship and ministry activities and was encouraged through Christian music. At the time, I really needed a safe haven. I needed a place to belong and something to do other than spend time with people that influenced me negatively. The experience changed my life. Had that community and those activities not been available to me, I dont know if the fragile soil with Christ planted inside would have been watered. Prior churches I had visited had me believing that serving Jesus meant being quiet and proper. This church let me see that I dont have to give up my personality to serve Christ, but that expressing love through my personality is authentic and desirable. What freedom to discover as a teenager! Amidst it, I also learned the disciplines of doing devotions, praying with and for others, and serving my community.

I think its important to be genuine and authentic in reaching out to youth and to speak their language. However, the goal should be to love them and to teach them about Christ. It shouldnt be about Christianity being cool, but since becoming a Christian doesnt require you to check your personality and interests at the door, cool people following Christ may result in a cool place to be.

2) I am disturbed by Christ and Christian youth becoming a commodity. It makes me sick that we actually have Christian candy and mints sold in Christian bookstores. I am not surprised though. Capitalism will jump at any opportunity to grow. I dont like it, but I dont think we can stop it. I guess all we can do is educate our youth and not ignore this elephant in the room. The best place to start is to ask youth what they think about it. Asking kids what they think about things like this often makes them actually begin thinking about it!

And as for those communities that are putting cool before Christ, a line I think anyone serving youth could easily cross,...well, then, yes, thats a problem. Sometimes we have to have tough love and thats often not cool. But I doubt that this is only a problem with youth workers/pastors who are creating a cool community in their churches.
- Melissa King
New York, NY

Dear ePistle,
Re: For More Teens, Jesus Is Way CoolWith television options being at an all-time low, I have gotten into Netflix. The great thing about Netflix is that I can try video concerts of groups I have heard of, but havent been interested in. As a classical/jazz/bluegrass music fan, I thought I might try a rock concert for size. I went with Pink Floyd. I was first struck by the intense use of visuals. Secondly, the songs, although different, sounded remarkably the same; they seemed more like background music for the visuals. I was informed that a third element of these concerts was a pharmaceutical enhancement of some sort. I concluded that what concert goers were after here was to have an emotional experience.

Next, I tried a contemporary Christian arena concert. Hillsong of Australia had 4 stars. As I watched and listened, I noticed that their songs, like Pink Floyd, didnt offer much variety, but there was an intensity in the performance that commanded attention. What I found most interesting was that the audience was behaving the same way as the Pink Floyd audience. They were clearly having an emotional experience. Im sure that those young people (they were almost entirely young people) went home believing and sharing that they had been moved by the Holy Spirit. (I remember similar events when I was a teenager.) Perhaps they were, but the cynic in me says that, like the Pink Floyd crowd, they came to the concert with the expectation of an emotional experience, which for them, is a God experience, and thats what they got. I thought, How fake.

I see nothing wrong with these concerts or including them in a youth program. I also like edgy. Church was never meant to be wholesome. However, concerts and other cool activities are like the game or skit that starts off a typical youth group meeting. Their purpose should be to break the ice with the unchurched, and be just plain fun for the regulars. The quest for numbers, which is the pressure on all youth leaders, seems to be causing these leaders to lie about the faith.

Christianity is a very difficult religion to practice. We have to submit our lives to Jesus after admitting, sometimes publicly, that we have sin in our lives. We have to love our neighbors; take care of the poor; volunteer our time, talent and resources to benefit the marginalized; the list goes on and on. In the end, we have lives of substance and meaning that include fun and play, but sacrifices are expected. If we promote a faith that is all fun and fellowship, we do kids a great disservice, and very likely have not saved many souls, much less witnessed transformed lives.
Jodie S. King
Media, PA

Dear ePistle,
Regarding the letter supporting comprehensive immigration reform, I would like to comment. While the Bible may call the Old Testament people of God to welcome the foreigner among them, how does that apply to the believer of the 21st century? We are citizens of a nation comprised of laws, and we hold the expectation that all who reside here will obey those laws. Those laws and that expectation extend to the manner in which people enter this country and begin their sojourn here.

It seems to me that the portion of “the church” that is so open to welcoming “undocumented immigrants” has forgotten that the church is called to obey the authorities that are over them—the authorities that established the process for legal immigration into our nation.

If people in the church believe that the immigration laws need to be changed, then they have the liberty to pursue that end. I am sure that that is the purpose of the letter that your readers have the opportunity to sign.

However, if and until the current immigration laws are changed to incorporate those whose very first action in this country was illegal, New Testament believers have a clear mandate in the Word to obey the authority over them and, therefore, the laws that govern their lives. Any action taken by the church that contradicts and transgresses current immigration law is disobedience to the direct teaching of Scripture.

Compassion that disobeys the Word of God is not godly; rather, it is worldly sympathy that anyone—believer and nonbeliever alike—can express.
- Michael McGowan

Dear ePistle,
It is true, as you say in Crisis Opportunity, that “The mortgage crisis has a ripple effect in society, and the outliers—the poor, the disenfranchised—bear the brunt of it. The wealthy may face substantial monetary losses, but they will still have plenty. The middle class may find they must accept a lower—and, perhaps, wiser—standard of living. But what about the poor among us?”

The idea of a Guaranteed Annual Adequate Income was one which had strong support as a beginning in dealing with these issues. It seems to have something of a resurgence under LIFE—a “Living Income for Everyone.” It provides immediate assistance to those living at the lowest level of the economy, and they do not hoard the money they receive—it is immediately returned to the economy, and usually to the small local businesses which in turn usually spend pretty well everything they receive.

It is the quickest, most effective stimulus package!
- Bob Wright

Dear ePistle,
I am disturbed by ESA’s trend of ignoring the Bible’s wisdom about the roles of men and women within the church. You would do well to return to evangelicalism’s roots and defend the authority of the Scripture to speak into our lives instead of explaining it away to fit an increasingly liberal theology. Including links to videos such as the 6.18.08 issue’s “She Must Be Silent”, which plainly mocks scripture, and articles such as the 8.20.08 issue’s “Using the ‘F’ Word (Feminism)” without giving time to the alternate and historically orthodox scriptural interpretation is a disservice to the truth.
- Jarah Jacquay
Gainesville, FL

Dear ePistle,
Thank you to Courtny Davis Olds for writing about the water crisis. These statistics are scary and even though I've heard them many times, as a medical student, it is devastating every time to hear of the number of people, mostly children, who die of preventable water-borne diseases. When I tell people that they should use less water because at some point it will be so scarce that we will fight wars over it (noted in the PRISM article of last week's ePistle), most people do not believe me.

Dear ePistle,
Regarding AIDS at Home: Do you know that many African women do not have the right to say "no"? Do you know that many African women have no running water or electricity in their houses, which may be an 8'x8' hovel with no way to lock the door? Do you know that many African women lose their home and possessions when the husband dies first because his family has the right to take everything? Do you know that teen girls will have sex for money in order to put food on the table for their younger siblings or to buy feminine products? Do you know that many African women who may have access to antiviral medications at a government clinic can not afford transportation for monthly check-ups and medication? Do you know that 98-99% of American women receive medication to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the HIV and less than 10% of African women have access to those medications?
- Erma Mae Perkins

Dear ePistle,
Anne Hendershott's "A Dangerous Time to Be a Black Baby" creates far more heat than light on the issue of abortion in the black community. While trying to connect abortion to racism, she neglects two issues that are inconvenient to the "pro-life" position (which I personally subscribe to) but which are historically connected to right-wing racist politics.

One, it is my understanding that the majority of aborted black babies are boys—because "they'll just grow up to become criminals." That speaks to the specific cultural fear of young black males that has gripped American society since slavery and the denigration of black men in general; as a result, because many of them have trouble functioning in society as it is they don't have what it takes to raise children properly, a subject too long for this letter. Many women who are raising children without a husband actually see the man as a burden; one black woman I worked with years ago who had two children out of wedlock wouldn't marry their father because "I don't want to raise three children."

Two, and related to the first, when it comes to adoption there is literally no demand for, and thus a glut of, babies with at least one black parent—a few years ago a major newspaper, I believe the Washington Post, ran a story about black infants being abandoned in Chicago hospitals and no one stepping forward to adopt them. And check the number of "wards of the state"; you'll find a disproportionate number of black children in the system. The "pro-life" myth of all children being wanted just doesn't ring true in this case.

Hendershott's propaganda piece reminds me of Jesus' words about the Pharisees, "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them" (Matthew 23:4). While I would agree with her that abortion anywhere, let alone in the black community, is a tragedy, simply denouncing Planned Parenthood as a racist organization actually represents the type of scapegoating that the political right has always engaged in—because it doesn't want to address its own culpability for the way things are.
- Derrick A. Nowlin (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Dear ePistle,
The problem with your response to pornography is that this has been the same response for the last 30 years and the porn industry has gone from nothing to a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s not working! An entire generation has grown up in an environment where you can walk into most video stores and rent illegal hard-core videos.

The point that has to be made is that ALL hard-core pornography is illegal expressive conduct because performers are paid for sex that is filmed. Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in California v. Freeman, 1989, that "at some point, it must certainly be true that otherwise illegal conduct (pandering) is not made legal by being filmed." This central point has been lost.
- Mike McClure

Dear ePistle,
Thanks for the “Toxic Culture” articles. I know you will get reaction to the material on many sides. I wanted to weigh in on the side of supporting and affirming your courage in raising this important issue. I know a bit about readers' reaction to controversial topics, and I didn't want to be silent on this one. Keep up the important Kingdom work you are doing!
-Jerry Stromberg

Dear ePistle,
Thank you very much for the “Toxic Culture” articles. I'll be honest; I felt pretty ill reading them, but I think they were very important to read, and I passed them on to some other people I know. I haven't felt so riled up about this issue since I wrote a paper on a similar subject in college (in the late '80s), and I'm afraid things are worse now than they were 20 years ago.
- Kate Norlander

Dear ePistle,
Did you know that ebay sells over 50,000 pornographic XXX videos, photos, DVD, CD’s each week on eBay? We are writing you in the hope of bringing to your attention eBay’s pornography business. We are asking you and all your church members to cease from selling or buying anything from eBay until they stop this practice.

When we contacted eBay, they said, “No Comment” and refused to talk to us about it. We feel Christians should be aware of this practice before funding eBay by buying or selling anything on eBay and making them any richer then they are. 50,000 items a week, My Word, can you image the profit they are making, no wonder their stock is high.

Any publicity you can provide will help stop this trash. If you tell ten members and they tell 10 etc, you know it will spread like wild fire. To verify my claim please go to the following links on eBay.

Go to ebay.com, then go to “advanced search” on their home page, which is right net to the search bar, click it. Then on the far right hand side you will see “In this category” then drop down to “everything else” at the very bottom of the drop down menu.

When you click on “Mature Audiences” you are now in the largest Purveyors of Pornography website in the world.

You may contact them at:
eBay Inc.
2211 North First St.
San Jose, CA 95131

Tell everyone you know, we will not stop until they do. I am a man on a mission like no other you have ever seen, I am emailing every church, newspaper, TV station, etc. Help me stop this trash now! Let’s hurt them where it hurts the most—in their pocket book.
- Peter Nowell

Dear ePistle,
I wanted to thank you for including in the ePistle excerpts from an interview with Brian McLaren and a review of Brian's Everything Must Change. When I was at the ESA conference earlier this year, speakers gave lists of important books on the themes which had come out in the last year and of people making important contributions. This book and Brian were notable for their absence from such lists. I was somewhat disturbed because it sounded to me like ESA was deliberately drawing a sharp line between evangelicals and those associated with the emerging church conversation/movement, while being somewhat open to Catholics, Anglicans and others who don't really fit into the evangelical mold. There is a lot of activity in the emerging church world around issues important to ESA, so it seemed to me that the failure to include them (and not just Brian and this book) in mentions at the conference must have been very deliberate. I wondered if there was a feeling that evangelicalism shouldn't be contaminated by emerging church folks like Brian.

As someone who identifies with what ESA does, although I have an emerging church type of understanding and strong doubts about some aspects of evangelicalism, I wondered if there was some effort in ESA to draw a circle that would leave people like me and Brian outside. So I found it encouraging that you are now, albeit somewhat belatedly, recognizing Everything Must Change. We Christians need to work together to further our prayer with Jesus that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Bill Samuel
Silver Springs, MD

Editor’s response: ESA has no intention of excluding McLaren or other emerging church folks. PRISM Magazine ran the review of Everything Must Change in its March/April 2008 issue, which was handed out at the March conference. You might also be interested in the article we ran by McLaren in the July/August 2007 issue of PRISM, “Church Emerging”.

 

Dear ePistle,
Regarding the article on Reggie Mitchell's efforts in registering ex-felons to vote: This is a noble pursuit for ex-felons, but not for those still serving time and/or probation because they have not yet paid their "debt to society" nor proven their willingness on "the outside" to be good citizens. Also, I was very disturbed to see that these efforts are being funded by and promoted by two of America's most notorious anti-Christian ANYTHING in our time! I realize that the ACLU has occasionally defended a Christian right, but only occasionally, and I can't think of a more anti-religion (especially Christian) group than People for the American Way. I am not just basing this on news reports from Christian sources or even secular, but from mailings that I get DIRECTLY from both the ACLU and PftAW! They describe my Christian brothers in such negative and downright dishonest ways! Perhaps this could alert some more pro-Christian groups to do this registration for ex-felons.
- Jane Tucker
Bakersfield, CA