They need churches. They long for Bibles in their own language. A Bible that costs us $2 represents about four days' wages.

Then I read the reports of Adventist Frontier Missionaries, GO volunteers, and the list goes on. We sit in our padded pews, within stained glass windows, listening to glorious organ music while being either warmed or cooled, as the weather demands, by our central heating and air conditioning. We pray "even so, come, Lord Jesus," while putting maybe a dollar or two in the offering plate.

May God wake us up before it's too late! I don't want to be a middle class schnook any longer (Clifford Goldstein, Feb. 24, 2005)!

Lois Moore
Caldwell, Idaho


IN DEFENSE OF MOYERS
Bill Moyers is an experienced, independent, articulate, thoughtful, and wise journalist. He has received practically every major broadcast journalism award. A survey of television critics by Television Quarterly placed Moyers among the 10 journalists who have had the most significant influence on television news. He was elected to the television Hall of Fame in 1995.

Moyers' denigration in the Adventist Review ("Bill Moyers' Sad Farewell," Feb. 2005, News Commentary) says more about the biases of critic Mark Kellner than it does about Moyers. I expect to hear this kind of criticism directed at Moyers by right-wing talk show hosts. I don't expect to read it in the Review.

Lawrence Hanson
Collegedale, Tennessee


WORTH THE RETELLING
The article, "A Story Re-Visited" (Feb. 2005) was a real surprise. I was about 20 years old when this story was first told. I'm now 92 years old and I never forgot it. I believe it to be true. God saw what was coming and ordered the man to take the money out of the bank. How many times do we read in the Bible where God helped His people when trouble came, and spoke to them by way of a dream, vision, or prophet?

I hope to meet this man when we get to heaven.

Marie Eichenberg

My parents, Elder and Mrs. James T. Thompson, were missionaries in Lima, Peru. My father was president of the Peruvian Mission when this incident happened. Elder and Mrs. W. H. Williams were friends from earlier years when my parents were in Argentina.

In May, 1933 we visited the General Conference in Takoma Park, we saw Elder and Mrs. Williams, among others friends who were then living there. At that time Williams shared the account of God's providential leading, the details given as told in the story in the Review.

My father recounted to us his story of how God had prepared the General Conference for the crisis through Elder Williams. Our missionaries in South America were able to stay on, doing the work they had been sent to do.

I thus add my affirmation as to the veracity of this account.

Verna M. Dixon


FROM THE MOUTHS OF UKRAINIANS
I was reading in the Review about the work in Romania ("Romania: Uniquely Adventist," Feb. 10, 2005), and I came across a statement about the busload of students who came from the Ukraine.

This is not earthshaking, but I thought you might be interested in our experience with students from Ukraine. My wife and I hosted several exchange students from Ukraine, and upon their arrival I introduced them as students from the Ukraine.

They were quick to tell me that they were from Ukraine, not the Ukraine. Their argument was: "You don't say, the Spain, or the France; why say the Ukraine?"

Tom Campbell
Bradford, Tennessee


CONFUSED ABOUT CONSISTENCY
Having read John Fowler's opinion in "Consistency, Thou Art a Jewel" (Jan. 2005), I am as confused as he is; but for different reasons.

How could anyone refuse to view a religious movie but write critically about it? Fowler's position and opinion about The Passion of the Christ reveals a fundamental weakness in our thinking that has often tormented many young people in our church. By his own admission, Fowler has not seen the movie, but merely read the opinions of others, and without difficulty has taken a principled stand.

That being the case, on what grounds does he condemn, criticize, or critique the film? Surely our counsel to church members should be based on sound reasoning and not hearsay, emotionalism, or personal biases.

The church's position on going to movies, as stated in the Church Manual, is a responsible way of addressing a society that has become ultra-secular and depraved in tasted and style. But our position should not preclude the need for responsible members to vet religious videos and literature in order to make an informed stand.

The caution against going to the movies as expressed in the Church Manual is based primarily on two considerations: unwholesome environment and film content. With the advent of CDs, DVDs, and other electronic gadgets the film industry has been completely revolutionized, and this has made our movie-going policy quaint. It even makes it more necessary for us to make thoughtful and educated decisions and not revert to ignorance as a virtue.

We do not discourage our members from reading materials that carry a Catholic slant; neither do we dissuade church members from shunning Catholics. That would border on the fringes of bigotry and negate our evangelistic mission. They why should we insinuate that it is wrong to view a religious movie that may, in the opinion of others, contain too much violence or project someone else's religious views? Quite frankly, I am appalled that Fowler's personal views, to which he is entitled, have been given such opinion-forming prominence in the Adventist Review.

George C. Worrell
Lake City, Florida

Here is yet another article regarding former church members who left the church because of emotional wounds, church members' arrogance, or personal issues. Is there anything more personal than salvation?

Seventh-day Adventists have the truth, no doubt about it; we have biblical texts and Ellen White's counsels that substantiate our beliefs. What happened to that first love? Remember when we were anxious to attend Sabbath school to learn new truths and we welcomed new faces into our churches and homes to honor the Sabbath? Losing our first love would impede the desire to celebrate with new believers their experience of conversion and unexplainable joy; thus we become the self-assured, legal elitists (the perception of many).

Although it is common to criticize others for failed efforts, we pause, wondering if their separation was from the church, or from Jesus? Did these former members join the church for social reasons? Is the church so eager to build membership that it fails to offer comprehensive Bible and follow-up studies to nourish the souls and ensure new believers are grounded in the basic beliefs of Adventism?

Whoever you are, wherever you are, we pray you will trust in God with all your heart. He is the only One who is able to keep you from falling. Please forgive us.

B. Gail Williams and D. Melvina Anderson
Los Angeles, California