Ben Sprunger’s resilience in the face of tragedy and the rigid religiosity of his Berne, Ind., hometown is meritorious (book review of Sprunger’s memoir, Audacious Servant, July). But context matters. In 1972, when Sprunger became president of Bluffton College, many students and faculty were trying to follow the example and teachings of their Anabaptist forefathers. Sprunger should have respected those efforts rather than promoting Billy Graham evangelicalism. Graham used his evangelical celebrity to access the White House and support the war against the people of Vietnam. Two U.S. presidents drafted over 1.4 million American men between 1965 and 1970; 58,000 died. Fifty years later, Sprunger should be splicing mea culpas and humility into his audacity.

David W. Lehman, Aurora, Colo.