In “Granola Mennonite, Dancing Furiously” (October), Kirsten Eve Beachy writes: “Does it even matter if God is a person or an idea, as long as They’re part of a good story?” If a loved one is facing a need, I prefer to pray on their behalf to the God of the Bible — merciful, compassionate, who sympathizes (co-suffers) with our weaknesses — rather than to an idea. If God is an idea, whose idea is best? When I make my own god, that god looks very much like me, and I suspect it is the same for others. How quickly we will have millions of gods! I am reminded of Isaiah 44:14-18, where a man carves an idol, which he prays to, but Isaiah says the idol knows nothing and understands nothing. It matters greatly whether God is a relational being or just an idea. 

Myron Shenk, Albany, Ore.