A G WARING, of Mill Lane, Frogmore, writes:

As a catholic I do not presume that I, or for that matter anyone else, has a monopoly on morality and I can only assume that Damien Corbett's recent letter is rather than thin-skinned to infer from the Christian Comment article that atheists are being accused of lack of moral rectitude.

I do, however, believe that an upbringing and education founded on christian principles is a definite help when it comes to living out our lives.

Such teachings are based on the word of Jesus Christ who lived 2,000 years ago and they are still valid today. As far as 'ancient unverifiable parchments' are concerned perhaps he can say whether the even older writings of Plato, Tacitus, Aristotle et al come into the same category. He can make of that what he wants.

I hope he will be heartened when I say that I too was scandalised by the revelations of child abuse by catholic priests but he should also be aware that in recent years the catholic church has done more than most in bearing down on the problem and putting into place a system of protection which will hopefully ensure that a re-occurrence will never take place.

Hitler and Stalin, both mass murderers, would hardly qualify as an ideal neighbour but that hardly applies to every German or Russian. It is a mistake to tar all people with the same brush. Christianity has been the subject of persecution throughout its history – forces for good usually are – and that will probably always be the case. The Middle East at the present time is just one example and, while nowhere on the same scale, it is true of Britain also but in a far more subtle way. The consolation is that Christ is always there for anyone who places their trust in Him.

The diatribes delivered by Dawkins hold no fears for any christian. There are so many holes in his theories and I would strongly advise Mr Corbett to get hold of a copy of 'The Dawkins Delusion' by Alister McGrath – himself formerly an atheist – published by SPCK and available from any decent bookshop. I am sure he will find it most illuminating.