Bear Hug

To the Editors:

TIME'S cover of Jan. 15, 1979 (below), is just as timely for this year. The only change, distressingly enough, is that the contemplative Russian bear depicted there is now on the move: Afghanistan [Jan. 7] is caught between its jaws, and paw prints are discernible in Iran and elsewhere around the Persian Gulf. I dread to think what updating will be necessary for your cover a year from now.

Edward E. Plowman Washington, D.C.

It looks as though we've just witnessed the birth of the Afghanistan S.S.R. And as in Budapest in 1956 and Prague in 1968, there is damn little that anyone can do about it.

Joseph W. Mosser Rehoboth Beach, Del.

The Soviet Union is in Afghanistan because the U.S. is not in Iran.

Morris Kessler Plantation, Fla.

Soviets in Afghanistan. Soviets in Cuba. Hostages in Iran. I'm tired of Carter's patience and idle threats. It's time we quit talking and kicked somebody.

Mike Stroud St. Louis

The invasion of Afghanistan lays bare the basic untruths upon which the Soviet state is founded. It did not commit an act of war in the name of Communism. Nay, it did it for the lust of empire.

Michael Gold Eugene, Ore.

What a pity you did not wait just a little longer to make your Man of the Year award. You could easily have chosen that friendly, honest and trustworthy Soviet fellow who ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, Leonid Brezhnev.

William R. Gregory Rensselaer, N. Y.

Performance in the Pulpit

After a long decline, there does seem to be a renewal of interest in developing preaching skills [Dec. 31]. Many of us who came out of the seminaries in the 1950s thought there must be a better way to communicate the message, because preaching seemed to encourage passive congregations and ego-inflated ministers. Preparation and delivery of sermons got less effort than they deserved. Perhaps there is now a trend the other way.

I myself employed a speech instructor to work with me on my preaching after noticing that I was bored halfway through the sermon.

(The Rev.) C. Fred Jenkins, Stated Clerk

Presbytery of the Western Reserve

Cleveland

In spite of the admiration I have for the preachers you covered, I still feel the most important things happening in the Body of Christ today probably involve less well-known men and women of God, working in groups of fewer than 100.

Doug Norquist St. Paul

As a member of an "unprogrammed" meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), I wish your article on preaching had mentioned that many find God without the debatable aid of a hired vocal ministry.

William Cooper Martinez, Calif.

Some believe that preaching is dead, others think it is dormant, many of us still believe that preaching can be decisive. Thanks for the lift!

(The Rev.) James M. Logan

Catalina Baptist Church

Tucson

A Paucity of Beauty

After reading your articles on art and art investing [Dec. 31], I find myself overwhelmed with rage. Michael Demarest finished his article lamenting "the scarcity of beautiful things."

A paucity of beauty can be blamed on nobody but ourselves. We are members of an age in which every item in a household is machine-made. There are many gifted artists among us today who need to be supported physically and emotionally. If the American public cannot support its artists, all it can expect is increasingly inflated prices for all artwork. Ann Rodenkirk Tucson

I would call what is going on in the art mart today "cultural exploitation" rather than a trend of collecting. Did you know that the U.S. ranks as the No. 1 exploiter of primitive art? Primitive art is the hottest thing on the market right now, and your article barely mentions it. The

Americans rob the Third World of their very rich cultural identity under the titles of art collector and art protector. However, like any other natural resource, there is a finite supply.

Gail Kosloff Framingham, Mass.

Since the IRS makes it worthwhile for the rich to benefit from purchasing art, the IRS also has a moral obligation to make it easier for artists to survive. The fact is that without the contribution of artists' creations, our lives would be very dull.

Ken S. Huang Memphis

The whole world is so rotten with reverence for pelf, one is not surprised to see a work of art esteemed only for its cash value. In today's world economy, which resembles nothing so much as Goya's picture of Saturn eating his children, art is just one more object of sacrifice.

James Sullivan Barre, Mass.

Kueng's Ideas

Theologians like Hans Kueng [Dec. 31] should have the candor to represent their 20th century rationalism as the discrete religion it is and not gratuitously attribute it to Jesus and the New Testament writers as their "real intent." Kueng's human rights entitle him to freely expound his ideas as his own opinions. They do not allow him (or any of the rest of us) to falsely represent them as Roman Catholic doctrine.

Harry A. Hoffner Jr. Chicago

Kueng has been walking a tightrope for years--attempting to remain a Catholic theologian while denying basic Catholic doctrine (i.e., the divinity of Christ, papal infallibility, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the efficacy of the priesthood). kueng himself gave the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith no choice.

Robert L. Casteel II Springfield, Mo.

As a serious scholar, kueng has never "denied outright" any doctrines "central to the Catholic faith," but has rather sought to critically examine and clarify them for his contemporaries. The real struggle is that between those in the hierarchy who seek to maintain rigid, male, celibate control over the "People of God" and those who seek genuine dialogue, reconciliation and a Christian ministry truly shared.

Edward C. Sellner St. Paul

As Father Hans kueng and Father Edward Schillebeeckx have learned, the more the Catholic Church changes, the more it remains the same. Vatican II was supposed to give scope to intellectual freedom, ecumenism and concern for human rights. Nevertheless, the marching orders for Catholics remain: Pray, pay, obey.

Maurice V. Moriarty Inglewood, Calif.

Is Jane to Blame?

You condemn Mayor Byrne in your article on Chicago's woes [Dec. 31] and bemoan Mayor Daley's absence by stating that if he were there, the city wouldn't have all these problems. The truth is that these problems are exploding because Mayor Daley was there and he gave away the store with lucrative settlements to keep his machine running smoothly.

Lee E. Livermore Danville, Ind.

TIME'S fervent admiration for Daley's "knack of finessing problems that sooner or later went away" is either cynical or naive. His legacy of more than two decades includes the usual sweetheart deals, payoffs, public loafing and school financial mismanagement bordering on criminal, besides a panoply of extravagant, unbuildable public works and a sorry record of getting the federal share. Mayor Byrne was not elected to repeat the past and is not afraid to face the future.

Harry Weese Chicago

Poor Chicagoans. With former Mayor Bilandic they worried about snow, with Byrne they worry about hot air.

Todd Fedoruk Glover, Mo.

Textbook Censors

Apparently the Texas textbook critics, Norma and Mel Gabler, and their followers [Dec. 31] believe that by censoring certain words out of dictionaries, the things the words represent will cease to exist. It's a shame that they don't object to the words bigotry, starvation and war. Samuel S. Roseman Newton, N.J.

The Gablers are sticking up for what is great about America at a time when most people aren't, and I say more power to them.

Paul Phelp Douglaston, N. Y.

I am surprised that the Gablers allow the American Revolution to be taught. Do they want impressionable kids to get the idea that a bunch of hotheads who think they know better than their rightful ruler are good guys?

Thomas N. Longstreth Brooklandville, Md.

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