sectarian bigotry

Sir,

I was intrigued to read Alistair McBay's critique of myself and the Free Church.

Mr McBay belongs to the National Secular Society (not the Scottish Secular Society - the secularists are apparently worse than Presbyterians when it comes to forming different groups) which does conduct an aggressive, militant, fundamentalist campaign against all religions in general and Christianity in particular.

For the record I have never made a personal comment about Mr McBay, other than to question his loyalty to Dunfermline FC!

I do however reserve the right to challenge the increasingly strident and intolerant attempts of the atheistic secularists who are seeking to impose their philosophy on the whole of Scottish society.

The recent spate by the Scottish Secular Society, a tiny Glasgow based pro-independence, pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia and anti-reglious group, in which they accused Jim Murphy (Leader of the Scottish Labour Party) amongst other things of being a 'militant, Pope Benedict loving, Catholic fanatic' is sadly all too typical of the kind of bigotry and sectarianism which has blighted the Lowland West of Scotland in particular.

Mr McBay argues it is hypocritical for me to complain about this bigoted extremist language because of 'the Free Kirk's well-known attitudes to Catholicism.'

It would help his cause if, before he went in to print, he did so on the basis of fact and not gossip. It is not without significance that in the area where the Free Church is strongest, that covered by your newspaper, anti-Catholic sectarianism is virtually unknown.

The Free Church in fact, whilst we disagree with some very important aspects of Catholic theology, nonetheless welcome the strong stance taken by our Catholic brothers and sisters in support of traditional Christian values and morality.

I recall that in my first charge in Brora, the Catholic church was built in the Free Church manse glebe.

We abhor any kind of sectarian bigotry and are somewhat disappointed that it is the Secular Societies who somehow seem to think that calling a politician a 'religious Catholic fanatic' is somehow acceptable in today’s Scotland.

David Robertson
St Peters Free Church
4 St Peter St
Dundee

Free Church abhors sectarian bigotry

30 December 2014