I strongly believe in others having the choice to believe in God or anything else if that is what they want. Indeed I have enabled religious services for a group of Christians unable to get to church and I have gone with a person to church who would have been unable to get there otherwise and sat quietly and respectfully at the back until the service finished. I would do these things again because it is what they wanted.
Christians do not have the monopoly on values. It is a free society in which we all choose the ethics, morals and values we wish to follow.
I have stuck up for Christians, Muslims, LGBTI people, Jewish people, black people, minority people and all who have a right to freedom and to live the life they choose.
Please continue to debate, have real respect for those who don’t agree with you. Warmth and love have far greater charm, are far greater coaxers than quoting innumerable lines of fiction.
I have many friends and colleagues who hold Christian beliefs. Some of them very lovely who wish to persuade me of their faith. We debate good heartedly and will hopefully continue to do so. They want to change my mind; I don’t want to change theirs.
Believe for yourself and your kind; hold the values you believe but don’t think that you have the right to make our secular society bend to what you think is right. Vive la difference!
Janine Maclean
Branol,
Brue
Isle Of Lewis
Letter: Groundhog Day
6 August 2017
Sir,
When I read the words written by Donald Morrison and saw that he wanted to be respectful I was delighted with his response. Then I read on. Groundhog Day!
Perhaps it is necessary to spell out in much clearer terms what I am attempting to say. Those of us who claim to be atheists are not concerned about the Bible because we do not believe in God! It therefore follows that there is little point in writing realms of quotes which we refute having any pertinence to us. I got as far as what God has to say and stopped reading.