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Receiving the Spirit of Adoption

On Krish Kandiah’s “We’re All Adopted,” Autumn 2014: In the Holocaust, those who risked themselves to save others had nothing in common but one single verifiable trait: they were tenderhearted “mother hens” who took in strays and felt sorry for underdogs of all sorts. They were Christians, atheists, old, young, educated, peasants – the whole cast. Today, I believe that the orphans who need care are often our own grandchildren, or their yuppie orphan friends. It’s not always about poverty but also about attention and friendship – being approachable and not buried in a smartphone. Deanna Clark

Does God Want Family Breakdown?

On Charles Moore’s “Jesus’ Surprising Family Values,” Winter 2015: What if God is using the breakdown of the family and of the old tribal feelings to help us understand that all men are our brothers? Could it be that we are unable to rightly consider the others as family as long as our own kin take up our affections and our sight? We “naturally” prefer those who look and speak and behave like our kin. Maybe mixing it all up is necessary so that we act as God wants us to, lamentable as this seems to us. “He has made of one blood all those who dwell upon the earth.” Nancy Schmidt

A Christian Response to Police Shootings

On Eugene Rivers’s “Dispatch from ­Ferguson,” Winter 2015: This article summarizes the problem very well, but falls short in offering a solution. I believe the entire Christian body, not just the black churches, needs to step up: to come alongside communities, to mentor, to restore pride and hope. How many of these protesters voted in the last election? How many have attended a PTA meeting? How many have applied for the police academy? The Christian church has failed; we are quick to send aid and missionaries to other countries, yet our local missionaries (Youth for Christ, Young Life, YWAM) and small-community pastors are often the lowest paid, most overworked, and least respected. We need boots-on-the-ground Christian workers who can make a difference by offering hope, light, and love, and we need churches willing to put their money and resources where their faith is! Mike Wilson

Is Just War Biblical?

On Ron Sider’s “Nonviolence in the Age of ISIS,” Winter 2015: You’ve pointed out that true Christians must be ready to lay down their lives, in the same way soldiers are, if they want to engage in true, nonviolent direct action. That’s a difficult thing to ask for, yet it seems like it would be the natural conclusion anyone would come to after reading the Gospels. Why do we Christians find that so difficult? Timothy Beeman

The argument as to whether nonviolence or Just War is better is a false argument. The only valid discussion is: Which way is biblical? Can the Just War side produce one single New Testament verse to support their Just War heresy? Daryl Hartwell

Flying Babies

On Glenn T. Stanton’s “Why Dads Matter,” Winter 2015: We were told years ago by our pediatrician that tossing a child in the air helps develop their inner ear and create a strong balance. Those who get tossed in the air do not toss their cookies on windy roads. Our first son was a bit coddled and kept safe and could almost throw up from looking at a map. The second was tossed in the air and had a stomach of iron and a cleaner seat in the car. God’s design runs deep. Jon Stevens