I enjoyed Ms. Steinke providing us a window into her soul. I suspect her struggle is as much about the depression she mentioned as about objective doubt. Having not experienced clinical depression, I feel that her description of how she feels gave me a little insight into what other depressed people I know are going through.

I also appreciated most of the letters. We still get the same tired arguments for and against atheism that seem to follow every religion article, but these were both more thoughtful and civil than usual. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

I count myself among the "insane" believers. The doubts I have are mostly of the intellectual honesty sort: I could well be wrong about everything I believe, but I am certainly not worried about it. Like Mr. Collins, coming from an atheist/agnostic background, I had no prior belief to try to fit my experience to. Nor did I end up here because my life is a mess.

As for suffering, if we are to become like Christ, suffering must be an essential part of the Christian experience. And apart from a minority of Christians living in the wealthier parts of the world, it is. I see it firsthand daily, living in an impoverished country where Christians are persecuted.

Dear Mr. Smith,

I like jetways. I also like to look at airplanes, at airshows or museums, where I can enjoy them for hours. But climbing stairs in pouring rain, -10, or +120 degrees with 90% humidity, well, sucks. So does climbing stairs with a kid on one arm and an overweight carryon on the other. We do not have jetways at Sana'a airport, and if you fly certain low-budget national carriers like I do, you can even experience stairs at Frankfurt am Main or Dubai, where you can encounter the weather extremes I mentioned.

I am surprised only one person jumped on your stereotype of Japanese. Why not talk about those unbelievably polite people that produce such magnificiently dependable cars?

I even used to like Oakland airport (haven't been there in a while). No idea where the BART station is, but 5 minutes from gate to rental car (or car to gate) impressed me, along with the zillion daily flights to my once and future "home" airport, LAX. Reservations didn't matter; when work was done I just showed up whenever and got on a plane home. My vote for stupidest airport: Sky Harbor - pretty structure, no seats at the gate for anything bigger than an F-28, and aerobic walking distances to everything, even the closest toilet. Plus enough excess capacity to last until 2140.

Serious question: what is maximum recommended (emergency) G-loading at full takeoff load for an airliner you have flown, and what is the comfort limit you are supposed to observe when flying passengers? I imagine the difference between those two leaves a huge amount of room for surviving turbulence, windshear, and hard landings.

Sudoku sounds harmless. Who cares?

As Mr. Shapiro notes, his proposal has an ice-cube's chance in hell of success. It could not even pass the House -- forget ratification. Which is interesting because I expect the US Constitution and way of life would both survive just fine without the second amendment.

But, even if you managed to actually get rid of guns and ammo (much harder than simply outlawing or regulating them), crazy people would use knives or swords, just like September 11 or Dunblane.

A more practical approach might be to advocate licensing of gun owners, something like a driver's license, requiring a background check, psychological evaluation or psychiatric history, an approved gun safety course (maybe you could co-opt the NRA, since they would immediately become the leading approved vendor?), and a test that might incorporate both knowledge and psychosocial components. Even gun-lovers do not want their wacko neighbor packing one.

As for freedom from powerful lobbies, campaign finance reform is what is required. NRA is scary, but so are ATLA, NEA, and even smaller special interest groups like NAMBLA.

I wonder who will label me an a--hole for my extremist views...

...but you may want to go easy on the endangered Calvinists. Most Americans, religious or otherwise, do not agree with their theology anyway. Many are cold, but few are frozen.

Calvinist core values and behaviors, e.g., hard work, personal responsibility, honesty, integrity, accountability, consent of the governed, etc. have become so central to the American cultural legacy that they are prized by liberals and conservatives, religious and irreligious alike, to the extent that most people do not even realize where these values came from. This is hardly the greasy grace of "don't worry, God'll forgive you anyway."

"Western civilization", to the extent that it exists at all, owes a huge debt to forces that originated in the Renaissance (intellectual curiosity, freedom of expression) and the Reformation. Even the anti-Christian strains of Rationalism and the Enlightenment owe a lot to Calvin and his followers.

The slackers of the world feel much safer surrounded by Calvinist neighbors and coworkers.

Dear Riverbend,

Thank you for sharing your tragic experiences with us.

As someone else said, take the things with you (personal memorabilia) that you can never replace, of course along with everything small and valuable (jewelry?) that can be converted to cash. Also, if you own property, take the title deeds; you may be able to come back and reclaim your home in five or ten years.

If you can manage to get across, try Jordan before Syria. There are many more economic and work opportunities, and Jordan has a much better track record integrating refugees over the longer term. The Kingdom may down the road view you as its subjects for historic reasons.

Good luck and be careful on the way.