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From Our Readers

Young People and Drinking

Thank you for the two articles published in your “Young People Ask . . ” feature, “Drinking​—Why Not?” (June 22, 1984) and “Can Drinking Really Help Me Cope?” (July 8, 1984) You are really right. I used to drink a lot when distressed with problems, but when I woke up, I felt wretched. I had to do something about it, and those two articles came just in time. Since reading them, I have quit drinking. I still feel the desire to drink, but with God’s help and your counsel, I’ve been able to overcome this great problem.

H. C., Brazil

Dogs​—Always Man’s Friend?

Recently I faced attack by a huge dog and started to panic. Then I remembered the article “Dogs​—Always Man’s Best Friend?” (February 8, 1985) and the advice: “Do not panic or run. . . . Stand still and talk casually to the dog as if it were your own.” I followed these instructions, and the dog stopped barking and went away calmly. Thank you for that article.

F. B., Nigeria

Accident Prevention

We wish to express our gratitude for the copies of your magazine “Accidents​—Can They Be Prevented?” (July 8, 1985), which were distributed among the members of the CIPA (Internal Committee for Accident Prevention). We take the opportunity to convey our congratulations to you for having treated a subject that is always up-to-date, knows no creed, and excludes no one. It is ample in its coverage of security: in the home, in a hotel, on the street​—always looking ahead. It teaches us to live longer, using our finest weapons: courtesy, self-control, overlooking offenses.

R. G. R., President CIPA, Brazil

“I Was a Catholic Nun”

I am a practicing Roman Catholic, and I am not bigoted. I read your magazines, and the one I feel very strongly about is the article “I was a Catholic Nun.” (July 8, 1985) I left school in 1948, and we were encouraged to read the Bible. How can she say she was told it was a mortal sin to read the Bible? I am not criticizing her for leaving the Catholic Church, but no one forced her to take her vows. By using your paper, she is going against the teaching of the commandments by putting the blame on others, and I quote: “This is my commandment that you shall love one another as I have loved you.” Far better if she had said, I forgive the Catholic Church for not helping me to find my true vocation.

R. H., England

The matter of whether Catholics are being encouraged to read the Bible or not has varied a great deal, depending on where one has resided. In a Catholic section of France, she could very easily have been told that reading the Bible was a mortal sin, whereas you were taught a different view there in Protestant England. Further, we do not see anywhere in the article that this former nun blames others for her taking her vows or that she accuses others of bad treatment, causing her to seek a release from them. We read that she had a strong spiritual need and that this need was not met by the Catholic Church or convent life. Rather, her spiritual need is now being met through her study of the Bible and the preaching of God’s Word together with Jehovah’s Witnesses. She expresses no vindictiveness toward the Catholic Church.​—ED.