Letters

RE Your report "Behind The First Noel," which explored the story of Christ's birth as told in the Gospels [Dec. 13]: Jesus remains an enigmatic person who is truly irreducible, and for this reason the quest for the historical Jesus continues. To Gospel writers Matthew and Luke, the miraculous conception of Jesus was a divine act, unparalleled in history. Of course, what determines whether people accept such a miracle depends on their philosophical world view. Luke 1: 37 says the angel Gabriel assured Mary, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." That one passage explains it all.

(THE REV.) TONY COSTA

Toronto

Nearly everything about the stories of Jesus' birth is mythical. Over the years, tradition has added layers to the tales: farm animals, three kings, the celebration of Christmas during the winter solstice. Inquisitive people--those who are not satisfied with the attitude of others who think they learned all they need to know about Christmas in kindergarten--can celebrate the truth behind the myths. If we can imagine humility instead of arrogance and pride; simplicity in a complex, greedy world; peace reigning over hate and war; and inclusivity rather than bigotry and oppression, then we can imagine the divine potential in a tiny baby.

PHIL MAGNAN

Grand Haven, Mich.

Your article was a reverent but not cloying look at the birth of a man who changed the world. Too often we overemphasize the divinity of Jesus and miss his message. Christ's magnificent legacy is not so much the stories of miracles as his genius in understanding our human predicament and conveying remarkably simple answers to our problems. We should not forget that the core of his ministry is love, not just for ourselves and those close to us but for everyone.

LARRY GIBSON

Palm Springs, Calif.

Aa a Southern Baptist Sunday-school teacher, I tell my students what most of us here in the Bible Belt believe: the Scripture is the inerrant word of God, given by inspiration to the writers of the Bible. That Matthew and Luke record different details makes neither of them inaccurate. Nor does the fact that some of this cannot be corroborated by other sources. That's why we call it faith.

KAREN ROGERS

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Annan Under Fire

Your story on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the oil-for-food scandal [Dec. 13] conceded that neither Annan nor his son has been found guilty of anything improper or illegal. You noted that Annan is defending himself against a "small but determined band of congressional foes" that has grown from a "fringe obsession among conservative ideologues to the subject of five separate congressional investigations." But why focus on problems at the U.N. instead of the real scandal of the day: lying by the U.S. President to take us to war?

TREY CASIMIR

Lewisburg, Pa.

Annan's problems are not the result of a vendetta by conservatives in the U.S. government. Either Annan wasn't minding the store during the oil-for-food thievery or he was part of the scandal. Since the U.S. pays a large share of the U.N.'s expenses, it is not heavy-handed of us to demand to know how some people received preferential deals to buy Iraqi oil below market price and then reap huge profits. The U.N. has been an anti-American club for years. One of the many reasons its credibility is questioned is the failure to enforce its resolutions against Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

SCOTT ANDERSON

Green Valley, Ariz.

SO Republican senator Norm Coleman thinks Annan should resign his post simply because the alleged oil-for-food scandal happened on his watch? What, then, does Coleman think George W. Bush should do? What about the "catastrophic success" of the war in Iraq and the biggest federal deficit in history? Perhaps Coleman can suggest the appropriate punishment for those things.

JEFFREY J. MARIOTTE

Douglas, Ariz.

Annan believes in world justice and international cooperation--goals the U.S. has seemingly abandoned under the Bush Administration. Annan will meet this challenge and survive, but the U.N. will suffer damage.

PAT BLACK

Portola Valley, Calif.

Tale of a Traitor

The??story??of??Charles??Robert??Jenkins, the U.S. Army sergeant who left his post in South Korea and fled to the communist North in 1965, will generate a lot of sympathy for him [Dec. 13]. We shouldn't forget, however, that he deserted because he was scared of going to Vietnam. Legally, Jenkins will be a free man after being discharged, but knowing about the service members who served honorably in Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq, I will have difficulty feeling any sympathy for that coward.

KAZUHO BABA

Anaheim, Calif.

Jenkins didn't deserve the leniency he received. His maltreatment by the North Koreans should not be used as an excuse. It was Jenkins' own actions that led him to the "hell" of North Korea. Deserting the country he was fighting for and then serving as a propaganda tool show his true, cowardly nature. The U.S. has just let a man who is far from a patriot get off lightly. At least Jenkins has decided to live in Japan. The U.S. has no room for traitors.

BRADFORD PAIK

Beaverton, Ore.

This Is Your Game on Drugs

"How Pumped Up Is Baseball?" noted that steroid use in major league baseball is prompting calls for federal legislative reform [Dec. 13]. While anabolic steroids may temporarily enhance athletic performance, their use can cause athletes detrimental--and often irreversible--damage. Steroids can cause a variety of adverse side effects, including risk of disease in the cardiovascular, metabolic and musculoskeletal systems as well as increased tendencies toward antisocial or psychotic behavior. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons believes it is unethical to prescribe controlled substances without a medical need. Prescribing substances for the sole purpose of enhancing athletic performance directly interferes with the physician's oath to put the patient's care above all else.

ROBERT W. BUCHOLZ, M.D., PRESIDENT

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEONS

Rosemont, Ill.

The??National??League's??best??hitter, left fielder Barry Bonds, is an exceptional athlete with a legendary training regimen, strict diet and unequaled discipline at bat. Steroids may pump you up, but they won't help you bat .362 or hit homers more often than you strike out. Commentators who try to credit steroids for Bonds' success are doing a disservice to America's youth by implying that drugs--not talent, hard work and discipline--are what make athletes great.

STEVEN BIGNELL

Santa Cruz, Calif.