LETTERS FROM NEW ATTITUDE READERS
PUNK ROCKERS:
THE SAGA CONTINUES
LAST
ISSUE WE RAN A LETTER FROM A LADY WHO HAD A PROBLEM WITH OUR SUMMER COVER ON
COURTSHIP. LITTLE DID WE KNOW THE STIR IT WOULD CAUSE. THE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLING
OF MAIL WE RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO IT…
I
just wanted to offer some long-distance moral support. I’m a New Jersey home-schooling
mom-of-four- daughters. After reading the rather “scathing” letter from Mary Tangeman,
I guess you could say that my maternal instincts got “riled”. There was nothing
constructive in her response, and I doubt (by her own words) that she even got
past the cover. That was her loss. Maybe you lost her subscription, but it can
be replaced with ours... and many others, I suspect. I just wanted to encourage
you.
I
think the cover looked fine - they were normal, looking people. Okay, so they weren’t
really smiling. But they didn’t look “dreary”. When I first saw the cover, I
thought, “Good! Some normal-looking people!” I’m sorry she canceled her
subscription, her children will be missing out on something really great.
Evidently
Mrs. T., who cancelled her subscrip tion because of the “punk rockers” on the
cover, hasn’t seen too many punk rockers. The few I’ve seen made these two kids
look pretty benign. In fact, Matt and Lisa aren’t punkers at all but rather are
very typical teenaged kids.
I would like to challenge us long-time homeschoolers to consider that there is a larger vision than just our own perspective. What is God’s purpose and vision for this magazine? Perhaps some of us have not considered that many of the kids who are subscribers to this publication are being taken out of regular school at the junior and senior high level to change course entirely and home school! Can you imagine the “culture shock” these kids experience?! Many of these teens, who have been in regular school all their lives and were looking forward to the high school years, are suddenly thinking they will never get to meet any “regular” kids again. Your cover hinted that kids of all walks and styles can home school. Anyone who cancels his or her subscription to this excel, lent magazine because of one photo is cutting off his nose to spite his face. Did Mrs. T. even read any of the articles? Particularly the cover story on courtship? If she didn’t, she missed out on one of the best treatments of this tender subject that I have ever seen.
I urge Mrs. T. and anyone who shared her feelings to go back and ask
the Lord for His heart on the matter, and then go back and read the magazine
with an open heart. Be open to letting Him give you anew attitude toward this
publication and the excellent and needed work He is doing in the lives of many
through it.
I
hope the cover models for the second issue didn’t feel too bad about that lady’s
letter.
I
agree with Mary Tangeman’s judgement about the kids on the front cover looking
pretty rebellious. My Dad and Mom were pretty shocked when they saw the cover.
But before I was able to read it, they reviewed it and approved it. It turned
out that it had a right-on view of dating and courtship.
We are also born-again, Bible-believing Christians, and more
conservative than most. And although the people on the cover may look a little
dreary, for all Mrs. Tangeman knows they could be upright youths serving the
Lord. People should be careful not to always judge how one looks on the outside
because sometimes it doesn’t accurately reflect what the inside is all about.
Editor’s
Note: I want to thank all those
who wrote and supported us through this whole ordeal. These letters are not printed to justify the
summer cover. I’ve said it a million times; but if I had it to do over again, I
would do it differently. And that’s not a sign of weakness or being swayed by
people’s whims. I’m not afraid of having someone angry with me. If standing up
for the truth of God’s word meant losing every subscriber we have, they’d be
worth losing- But I only want people angry over things that are really
important; the dating cover doesn’t qualify.
I’m
a home schooler, and your magazine is the first one we’ve seen that both my mom
and I like! Keep up the great work! ! !
I
am a high school senior at a public school in California. I heard about New
Attitude, from my aunt and uncle who happened to get some copies while on a
trip to Oregon. They home schooled my cousins almost all the way through
school. I personally have only been home schooled two and a half years of my
life. Now I go to a public school, and it is very refreshing to read other
teenager’s views that were basically the same as my own. Every day in public school I face some kind
of opposition to my Christian faith, sometimes great and sometimes small. But
with God’s help, I can stand up for my views and beliefs. I have come to
realize that God is big enough and mighty enough to watch over me no matter
what the situation may be. I want to thank New Attitude for being an oasis to
fall back on while I am at school. Thanks!
Wonderful magazine! ! I have even shared articles with non-home-schooling friends! The article about dishes was a great stepping-off point for a discussion among our whole family…not just with our 12-year-old!
Thanks and God Bless.
Your
article in the third issue about the “dirty” little jobs in life was really
truly encouraging. I have to admit that I sometimes grumble within myself when
I am asked to do such things. Keep up the great work. By the way, don’t feel
alone; I do dishes, too.
I realize
the Forum will be discontinued, but was it meant to be one-sided? Was it that
NO ONE wrote in (or at least wrote well) with the view that rescuing was wrong?
It is my opinion that when one debates issues in such a way it is much better
to give the other side (as poorly stated as it may be) than to not give it.
After all, if it IS poorly stated, then so much the better for the other side!
Editor’s Note: I heartily agree with you, Robert. In the Forum’ s final installment we
received not one letter voicing the anti-rescue viewpoint. Check out the Forum’s
replacement, Interaction, on page 19. Hopefully more readers will participate
this time around.
Is There Room?
If it is not
too late, I would like to join the contributing team of New Attitude. I like to
write, and this is a great opportunity for me to improve my writing skills. If
you still have room, please put me on your list. Thanks so much.
Angela Hurst, Olmsted Twp, OH
Editor’s Note: Angela, there
is always room! When you ask to join the Contributing Team, we send you a form
that lets you choose the task force you’d like to be on, as well as putting you
on the list to receive the Idea Sheet for upcoming articles you might like to write.
I t’ s that easy.
Thank
you for this magazine; the youth of this country need it. I felt I should
comment about what Jeff Myers said about them teaching young people “How to
defend your faith in the Real World”. The Christian youth should already live
in the “Real World”, the world of Christ and fellow believers. The world Jeff
Myers was talking about is not the “Real World”; it is
the
world of the enemy. Real in the sense that it is there, and needs to be
reckoned with, but everything in it is fake and will pass away. I don’t think
we can call it the “Real World.”
On Fire for God
I’ve tried
all kinds of magazines for young adults, but I could never relate to any of them.
All of your articles are so relevant, and I love Josh Harris’s cartoons. I also
like the flame at
the
end of every article. It reminds me that I need to be on fire for God.
Editor’s Note: I hate to tell you this, Natalie, but the little “flame” at the end of
articles is actually a little bush! We picked it because we thought it looked
neat. (How unspiritual!) But because we like your idea of a flame so much
better, we are officially changing it to be the Burning Bush that sits at the
end of articles and reminds us all to be on fire for God! Thanks for writing.