The Uproar Among Television Preachers

Colman McCarthy (Editorial Pages, March 29) was right on the mark in comparing Sinclair Lewis’ Elmer Gantry to the modern-day crop of celebrity preachers. I would suggest that the novel, “Elmer Gantry,” be required reading for all high school students, and I most emphatically recommend it also to adults who idolize these so-called “Men of God.”

Many young people, in their quest for truth and the meaning of life, go through a period of excessive religious zeal. Intelligent, reasoning people, however, generally outgrow this stage before the advent of adulthood. I submit that those who are taken in by the “saintly” demeanor of TV preachers asking for money, have never been able to shed the skin of their credulous youth--in short, they never grew up!

ANNEKE MENDIOLA

Santa Ana