Letters

The Bible and the Apocalypse

"The belief that our destiny is set and we have no power to settle our differences is ridiculous, an idea out of the Dark Ages." VINCE WHITMER Leesburg, Va.

You've taken great pains to present all points of view in your report on the Apocalypse and best-selling books about the end of the world [SOCIETY, July 1]. I think we are indeed heading for something that will ultimately be wonderful. And we true believers should not be looking for signs of the future as much as fighting for truth and justice in our own little corner of the world. MIKE CUNNINGHAM Rochester, N.Y.

The apocalyptic preaching of certain Christians is beginning to jeopardize a sensible foreign policy and foster unhealthy public panic. Religious views that tolerate violence and see destruction as hastening a meeting with God are extremely harmful. How far are such beliefs from those of suicide bombers, who kill innocent citizens in cafes and streets around the world? The distance, I think, is frighteningly small. APRIL R. THOMPSON Williamsburg, Va.

Our problems will never be solved by looking to the heavens, waiting for angels to save the world for us--the righteous--alone. Global warming, terrorism, hatred, political unrest and economic instability are man's problems, caused by man. With hard work and understanding, they can be solved by man. DECLAN MORAN Los Angeles

Other countries have suffered terrorist attacks and catastrophic natural disasters. But now that it is America that is suffering, it means the end of the world? How self-centered can we be? MICHAEL SHOUSE Omaha, Neb.

The premillennium rapture teachings remind me of '60s guru Timothy Leary's aphorism, "Tune in, turn on, drop out." Only now the opiate of bad theology has replaced drugs. Why work to redeem the culture for Christ if you believe it is only going to get worse and that will hasten the Rapture? Wake up! We do not know when Christ will return, so let's get back to the work at hand. ERIC LAHR Atlanta

--Some readers were saddened but not surprised by the best-selling popularity of the Left Behind series of books, which is based on the Book of Revelation. "It just proves the old saying that there's a sucker born every minute," declared a Tennessean. A fellow Volunteer Stater paraphrased H.L. Mencken: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people." But spying a ray of sunshine in the rumors of impending doom, a sports-minded Californian quipped, "The world is coming to an end? The Chicago Cubs must have won the World Series!"

Time for New Tactics

In his report on the continuing violence in the Middle East [WORLD, July 1], Matt Rees asserts that no matter what Israel tries, Palestinian suicide bombers keep blowing up themselves and others. But the one thing that Israel has not yet tried is an all-out effort to help the Palestinians create a safe and prosperous nation. The Israelis could remove their settlements from Palestinian land and withdraw to U.N.-sanctioned borders. They could stop using weapons to destroy buildings and instead invest in building a Palestinian state. This strategy would be bold and courageous. There would be no guarantee of success, but it would offer more hope than Israel's current policy, which creates misery and gains support for terrorists. GREGORY A. MORGAN Lutz, Fla.

The Palestinians have shown that no amount of brutality can curb their desire to have a future. It is time for Israel to change tactics and offer a carrot in exchange for peace. Israel should stop the settlements now and promise to build no more if the Palestinians agree to live in peace. Only by surrounding their state with peace-motivated Palestinians can Israelis live peacefully. Belligerence has brought them nothing. ELI C. PEREZ Columbia, Mo.

The No-Waiting Doctrine

Reading Michael Elliott's commentary on President Bush's new military doctrine of pre-emptive attack was like watching a cowboy try to rope a tornado [GLOBAL AGENDA, July 1]. Elliott's insistence that some definable rules should apply to this doctrine was an amusingly arrogant demand for intellectual control. But the U.S. is facing an acute life-or-death situation in which it needs no formal doctrine to permit a first strike against those who wish to kill us. For Elliott to warn that our prerogative to strike pre-emptively without a neat list of rules invites "international anarchy" is to advocate suicide. It's like saying "Give me order, or give me death!" PATRICK DOLLARD Beverly Hills, Calif.

The concept of pre-emptive strikes is very scary. If the U.S. says it will attack first, what would stop others from doing the same to us? This could result in a downward spiral to death and destruction. This Bush doctrine, like some of his others (withdrawing from the ABM Treaty, development of a space-based missile-defense shield), will make the world not a safer place but a more dangerous one. DAVID ATWOOD Houston

Of Frailty and Fire

Human frailty was the cause of the devastating Colorado forest fires, according to your report [NATION, July 1]. How utterly pathetic! U.S. Forest Service employee Terry Lynn Barton caused a horrific tragedy that displaced more than 8,000 people, destroyed thousands of acres and took the lives of fire fighters. But your story sympathetically portrayed Barton as the survivor of a terrible life. What in the heck does a sexual-harassment case not settled to her satisfaction and her husband's lack of ambition have to do with causing a catastrophic wildfire? MARK INNES Livermore, Calif.

Search and Destroy

I was deeply disturbed to learn that 78% of those you polled think that Osama bin Laden is alive [WORLD, July 1]. Why do they think so? Is it because they will feel let down if the almighty U.S. government doesn't capture, try and put him to death? We are a nation obsessed with vengeance. And this is the same emotion that drives terrorists like bin Laden. I hope he's dead, but if he is alive, I hope he is never caught. I do not want to see the U.S. as hell-bent on vengeance and barbarism as the terrorists are. DAVID E. SCHAEFER Waterloo, Wis.

Bin Laden was raised in Saudi Arabian affluence and has spent much of his life that way. I believe he is living somewhere in the kind of comfort allowed by his wealth. If you think he and his entourage are living an ascetic life in a dismal cave, you are mistaken. CORDELL PUCKETT Albuquerque, N.M.