of innocent babes in the womb. “Afternall,” I heard her say as she held up hernfingers to an inch width, “they’re onlynthis big.” Humanity is now determinednby size. And what is our size in thenhands of God?nRepresenting the Religious Coalitionnfor Abortion Rights, and invokingnthe god called “Will,” this unhappynwoman, hater of life, lover of self,nworshiper of death, gave forth hernHymn to a Holocaust. “It is our rightn… it is our body … it is ournchoice.” It was the creed of Hell.nAnd we sat through it. And manynclapped. And no young David stoodnup to sling the stones of refutation:n”Thus says the Lord — you shall notnmurder. Thus says the Lord — younshall do unto others as you would havenothers do unto you. Thus says thenLord — you shall love your neighbor asnyourself. Thus says the Lord —nwhatever you do to the least of thesenyou have done unto me. Thus says thenLord …” We are too polite for tellingnpeople to their faces that they arenfalse prophets and in danger of Hellnfire.n”Did you hear what happened tonthe swan?” he said again. This time Inturned to listen.nAs the geese fly in across the beautifulnlakes which adorn our campus andnglide to a peaceful aquatic landing,none is touched by the feeling that all isnright with the world. It is all verynBrowningesque. The white and blacknswans float gently on the placid ponds.nIn the littie Kingdom of Eastern College,nthis outpost of Christendom, thenshalom of God reigns. All seems otherworldly.nBut it is not the case.n”Someone kicked to death one ofnthe swans.”nIt was like an arrow in the soul. Itntakes some real will to kill something sonbeautiful. And swans are not smallnanimals; they’ll fight.n”But that’s not all. They alsonstomped to death the eggs. Crushed allnthe eggs in the nest.”nCrushed the signets. Herod. OnRamah. Weep for the children, fornthey are no more. And they inventnnew forms of evil. Total depravity.nCalvin was right. Tares among thenwheat. And Pharaoh slew the children.nWickedness.nAs Evangelicalism continues tongrant the pulpit to the pro-death forc­nes, one can think of no more fittingnparable. Someone crushed the eggs innthe nest.nJames L. Sauer is Director of Librarynat Eastern College.nLetter From thenHeartlandnby fane GreernThe Dakota Menn”What ever happened to real men . . .nthe kind of men with good oldfashionednvalues like honesty, integrity,nsincerity, and ambition?” asksnFOOD — Farmers of Ongoing Determination—nin a promotional flier.nIt turns out that they think theynhave a corner on the real-mannmarket — and I’m willing to let themnsuspend my disbeliefnNorth Dakotans Larry Jaeger andnKaren Tyndall cofounded FOOD inn1986. The nonprofit organization hadnthree express purposes: to let peoplenknow just how bad the farm economynis; to raise money for what they refer tonas the “American Farmer, the backbonenof our country”; and to let citynfolks know that today’s farmers are farnfrom being hicks.nFOOD literature says, “As we allnknow, the farmers of our country arenexperiencing very difiEcult times. Thenseriousness ranges from severe economicnhardship to losing three- andnfour-generation family farms. Othernlosses include income, pride, and heritage,nnot to mention numerous casesnof farmers taking their own lives. Unfortunately,nthis is more widespreadnthan the general public is aware of”nNow, there are some who mightnargue that farmers’ hardships arencaused by governmentally, artificiallynset prices and the easy loans that follownhard on their heels, and that nonamount of self-help will help the farmersnunless the government backs off,ntaking its money with it. There arensome who would question that familynfarms (as opposed to, say, farmingncorporations) are in themselves such annimportant part of the American culturalngene pool that we should subsidizeniVfiy S00K5 FROM EERDMANSnJ/y^izigiierumenMTMnIntroduction by Michael D. AeschlimannFirst published in 1934, thisnsatirical novel is a fictionalizednaccount of Western reportersnliving in Stalin’s Moscow. It isnmeaningful in today’s politicalnclimate as a reminder of thendangers inherent innunquestioning goodwill towardna totalitarian system.nPaper, $8.95nGERALD BUSSnCHRISTIAN BELIEF AND THE SOVIET STATE, 1917^19nForeword by Tim RentonnIn this book Gerald Buss, a keennobserver of the Soviet scene,nsets out to reveal the realnsituation of believers in thenSoviet Union today.n”A well-researched and carefullynexplained account of the chillingnfate of religious believers in thenSoviet State.”n—TIMES UTBRARYSUPPLEMBNTnPaper, $8.95nAt your bookstore, or write;nWM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING CO.n255 JEFFERSON AVE. S.E. / GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN 49503nnnFEBRUARY 1988 I 4in