Faith vacuum

ROBERT Canning (Letters 31 May) takes me to task over the issue of an increasingly secular, formerly Christian society dealing with a militant religion.

Politicians seek to deal with the Abrahamic faiths – Christianity, Judaism and Islam – by putting them into a box labelled “religion”.

Atheists suggest that “religious belief” is an imaginative projection of the human mind.

These strategies ignore the living dynamics of faiths which are powerful and elemental and have increasing numbers throughout the world.

Neither politicians nor atheists understand the scope and consequences of the Abrahamic faiths.

Muslims pray every day for our conversion to Islam and hold their beliefs morally superiority to western popular culture and indeed Christianity.

I am not so naive as to think that Britons will suddenly return to Church membership in large numbers nor do I wish to frighten people into doing so. I simply point out the consequence of pro-active political departure from Christianity.

It leaves a vacuum, filled temporarily and unsuccessfully in the Communist era by political despotism. This vacuum may in future be occupied in Britain by Islam’s missionary imperative. (Rev dR) RoBeRT

AndeRSon Blackburn & Seafield

Church GUS Logan (Letters, 28 May) cites two reasons for his belief that the Christian Church should retain its privileged endorsement by the state. The first is the number of adherents involved and the second is that it does good work in society.

I do not doubt the good work but it does no less than any large organisation and that work should not in itself afford it access to preach in schools and to have the ear of government.

neil BARBeR Edinburgh Secular Society Why should so-called traditionalists leave the Kirk? Surely the revisionists should be the ones who leave? The revisionists seem to be the ones who, having signed up to the authority of the Bible, now don’t like the rules and want to change them. Don’t people join the Church because of their belief in God first and accept they need to repent of their sins? Or has the Church of Scotland just become a social justice club?

- Donald Tosh There will only be a handful of congregations left in the Kirk when this “gay thing” comes into effect and their ministers will all be gay and married. You reap what you sow.

- Here we are again Scott Rennie only declared his orientation when moving to his new charge. While in Brechin he was a member of the all-male – no ladies allowed – Guildry of Brechin. Scott has put his gay rights before his faith in my view and for that he should not be forgiven. But please can we get this over with. Let the dissenting congregations put up or shut up and leave, but guys, when you go please take your share of the 121 George Street pension scheme deficit with you. Beware: it is possibly more than you can afford.

- Russell Mitchell Having a gay minister, having a gay son or daughter, or even grandson or grand daughter, is it really such a big issue, perhaps having a gay God even? We’re all on a journey with our own personal, chosen God and hope to get to where we’re all going irrespective of sexuality.

- sunfly As the Church of Scotland is willing to ignore its core beliefs and what is written in the Bible why doesn’t it do the following? Every year edit the Bible to take out anything controversial and, if a couple of people think certain passages are not to their liking, just delete them? We changed the meaning of the word gay, so let’s change the meaning of the word Gospel.

- James (I)