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Postmodern Pastor

With Evangelical Christians routinely trashed by the media, it was refreshing to read your positive and evenhanded article on Rick Warren, a humble man working his hardest to make a difference for the poor [Aug. 18]. Now there's something that people on both sides of the political aisle can get behind. Andy Horvath, ELVERSON, PA.

I was glad to hear that Pastor Warren is starting to inject a little love into right-wing Christianity. Helping others is certainly an improvement over its usual focus on forcing women to keep unwanted pregnancies and preventing gays from marrying. However, I regret that TIME did not see fit to mention that there are two sides to Warren's plans. A principal cause of poverty in developing countries is the lack of access to birth control and abortion. Is Warren upholding George W. Bush's global gag rule? Has anyone told him that proselytizing is arrogant in its lack of respect for local cultures? The belief that one's own religion is right and everyone else's is wrong is the root of most of the conflict occurring today. True believers are always wrong, whether they are Christians, Muslims or Jews. Janet Maker, LOS ANGELES

Perhaps more off-putting than TIME's fawning account of megapastor Warren is the notion that both presidential candidates should report to this so-called national inquisitor for an Aug. 16 grilling and civics lesson. In testing the candidates' grasp of the Constitution, Warren--and everyone who plays along with him--should recall its separation of church and state. Michael Colello, SEATTLE

As an Evangelical Pastor, I find the high percentage of fellow Evangelicals who believe that Senator John McCain is the candidate "most guided by his religious beliefs" hard to fathom. The testimonies of the two candidates in your "In Their Words" section shows McCain, in fact, to be far less connected to Evangelical spirituality than Barack Obama, who can also lay claim to an authentic born-again experience. Unfortunately, what this shows is that many Evangelicals believe that Republican and Christian are synonymous terms. It's time that myth be put to rest. The Rev. John Hubers, CHICAGO

C'mon, Bill and Hillary--Smile!

I don't give a damn about any slight, perceived or otherwise, of Senator Hillary Clinton or her backers by Obama or his staff [Aug. 18]. America needs a Democrat in the White House. We need Obama's intelligence, his willingness to seek diplomatic solutions and his patience. Soothe your own bruised egos. Relax the clenched jaws. Pay your own bills. Above all other matters, work hard to get Obama elected in November. John Gambardella CUNDLETOWN, AUSTRALIA

The Best Birth

Your article on home birth credits me with natural-childbirth advocacy that started a new wave of home births in the 1970s [Aug. 18]. As one who is still advocating for women today, I'd like to correct a widely held myth repeated in your article: that the mass move to hospital births accounted for the huge drop in the maternal mortality rate between 1940 and 1960. Actually, public-health developments such as the availability of antibiotics, blood transfusions and intravenous fluids accounted for most of that reduction in the death rate. The real question is why that rate has doubled since 1982. Remember: the home-birth rate has been less than 1% since the 1970s--far too small to account for the rise in the death rate. Ina May Gaskin, Executive Director, The Farm Midwifery Center SUMMERTOWN, TENN.

I wanted to thank you for the article on home birth, since giving birth to my beautiful baby boys at home was the best gift I could have ever given them. They were born in comfort, with the familiar sounds, love and patience that they had known the whole time I was pregnant. They were helped into the world with the warmth of our midwives' hands. There was no rush--ever. It was my birth, my way. I was as in total control of my decisions as I was when I conceived these babies. I hope that one day women and doctors will wake up and smell the coffee. Birth is a natural process between mother and baby. Support local home-birth midwives because peace begins with birth. Amy Robillard, HONOLULU

I would like to point out one natural aspect of a home birth that your writer missed: death. As an emergency nurse working in a city, I see countless women who arrive at the hospital--and die--after a home birth gone wrong. I fully support having a midwife-assisted birth, but it should be done in a birthing center within a hospital setting equipped to deal with emergencies. Elspeth McTavish, TORONTO

Knock 'Em, Sock 'Em McCain

The campaign outlined in "A Whole New McCain" is an insult to the intelligence of the American voter [Aug. 18]. When our military personnel are dying in foreign wars, McCain dares to raise Paris Hilton and Britney Spears to the level of a national political debate. With the U.S. facing an energy emergency, McCain jokes about tire inflation. When your 85-year-old mother loses her General Motors health benefits because GM can't sell cars, you want health-care solutions, not McCain's juvenile critique of Obama's European trip. Voters must demand solutions from those running for office--not fifth-grade political campaigns with playground sound bites. As a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, I find it disturbing that McCain has lost touch with reality. Major Robert Tormey (ret.) escondido, CALIF.

Surely, this is "A Whole New McCain." Gone is the McCain of principle, the maverick, the straight talker. Gone is the McCain who stood with the troops and backed up his rhetoric with votes in the Senate. Gone is the McCain we might disagree with on issues but whom we could still respect as a person of substance. To those who still wonder if a McCain presidency would amount to no more than a third Bush Administration, wonder no more: McCain is already giving us more of what Bush has been handing us for eight years now. Brian P. Cohoon, ST. PAUL, MINN.

Dude, There's a Ball in My Iced Tea

I think it's funny how Billy Gaines, the founder of Bpong.com says competitive beer pong is not about the alcohol [Aug. 18]. As a college student myself, I know that most students aren't playing to fill their cups with Gatorade. They like the added bonus of getting drunk as part of the competition. Brett Johnson SANTA CRUZ, CALIF.

Can Obama Debate?