I read with delight your article about the new biblical action figures, the Holyland Heroes. It’s about time someone exposed the dark side of the force behind all the moralistic mewling of the “born agains.” Here at last are the true heroes of the Religious Right, the guys with weapons who solve life’s problems with a sword.

It is theorized that violence in America is fueled by media depiction of violent behavior and the desensitizing of our young. I feel that such behavior may be exacerbated by the media, but the root cause of it is the Judeo-Christian underpinning of our society. As the Holyland Heroes so neatly point out, mayhem, rape and brutality are perfectly fine so long as it is “divinely” sanctioned.

Next Christmas morning should dawn on some interesting fantasy scenarios of blood-spattered Joshua striding from a burning dollhouse dragging Barbie off to concubinage for the sin of cohabiting with the now totally dismembered Ken.

I hope Holyland Heroes sell well and widely. They have a message for our children that needs more public scrutiny. Whether the message is one of moral teaching or hypocritical gobbledygook, that is for each to decide. But lest you think the models for Holyland Heroes are all in the past never to return, think again. We have some modern characters who would make excellent action figures. Paul Hill with his little plastic shotgun and John Salvi III with an oh-so-cute automatic rifle might be in the next production run.

Boy, I hope I get my Genghiz Khan action set next Christmas. I promise not to hurt anyone with it. Mike Krepner Waldoboro