Dear Editor:For your paper to feature the prediction of a little-known minister, with no history of accurately predicting events, that the world will end May 21 is grossly irresponsible. ("Apocalypse Begins May 21, Downey Minister Warns," 3/24/11) Some who might believe your article could have a heart attack or the ill could give up hope and quit seeing doctors. Do you suggest we quit making payments on our cars and homes, and live the life of Riley until then? Some of us believe our God is a loving God, and He has not given up hope on those He created because of the actions of a few. If you believe the minister, please give us some guidelines on how to live the rest of our lives until then. -- James Hawkins, Downey

Dear Editor: I want to commend you for publishing the Judgment Day article in last week's Community page of the Patriot. There is no other news so urgent and pertinent to our community and the whole world than sounding the alarm that the end of the world is almost here. There is much talk of preparedness these days and I hope and pray that your article will cause people, all of us, to humbly examine our lives in light of God's law, and cry out to Him for mercy and salvation. I realize some readers were upset that you chose to cover this story, one so firmly religious in nature, claiming that a modern newspaper should keep God and faith out of the public square and discussion. Nothing could be further from the truth. America was founded by people of faith who left their homelands in search of a land where they would be free to practice their faith and to openly talk about it without censorship or fear of persecution. I say this because I personally identify with this, having been born and raised in a communist country where in its public schools, God was replaced by Government and its rulers, and people of faith were marginalized and told not to teach their children about God or the Bible. And believe me, you didn't find God mentioned in the newspaper either, except by way of derision. As I have been distributing thousands of leaflets proclaiming May 21, 2011 as Judgment Day with no hindrance of any kind over the last few months, both here in Downey and elsewhere in the greater Los Angeles area, I am again reminded of how precious the freedom of speech and expression really is. To see that giant billboards on the 710 freeway freely proclaim the same message of May 21, 2011, and now to also see your timely newspaper coverage of this awesome but also blessed coming day, I can only thank God that He raised up this country with its Constitution and Bill of Rights, so that the Gospel can go out by the airwaves, in print, on the Internet and person to person. All freely, as it should be in a truly free society. So once again congratulations on your editorial wisdom and for keeping freedom of expression free. -- Dan Cristea, Downey

Dear Editor: Although I very seldom find myself in agreement with Mr. Derryberry ("Apocalypse Begins May 21, Downey Minister Warns," 3/24/11), it seems possibly to be a prophetic coincidence or convergence that his apocalyptic prediction for the demise of civilization is in the same issue as the artist's rendering for the affordable housing building in downtown Downey. By the time that this cause-effect relationship is recognized, none of those who voted for it will still be on the Council. -- Hugh T. Hoskins, Downey

********** Published: March 31, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 50