I was disappointed with the article in your newspaper surveying advice from "faith leaders" to those suffering from economic hardship nowadays. Those leaders, mostly Christian, counseled the faithful to have hope that God will provide for their needs, urging them to live on less, not worry and rely on charity.

I find an alternative religious view much more compelling: the prophetic tradition. The prophets are those who speak in judgment against the powers -- economic and political -- that resist systematic efforts to overcome poverty in this land and abroad.

I think of the ancient prophets, Amos and Isaiah, who railed against the rich on behalf of the poor. I think of the primitive Christian community distributing their resources to the needy. I remember the encyclical of Pope Leo XII favoring collective bargaining in industry and promoting a "just wage" for all workers.

I have in mind the 1908 Social Creed of the then Methodist Episcopal Church insisting on a "living wage" in all enterprises. I recall that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis giving support to sanitation workers seeking a decent income. Previously, he had proposed an "Economic Bill of Right" be adopted in America, including a minimal annual income for each family and a national policy of full employment.

Prophets are, in short, those whose faith compels them to speak out against economic injustice, to mobilize the community to transform those practices that sustain poverty, to demonstrate their love of God and neighbor through direct action. It may be wise to accept with dignity conditions that are beyond change. However, to tolerate conditions that cause suffering and pain but are susceptible to change manifests a lack of the kind of faith desperately needed in our times.

Douglas Sturm,

Lewisburg