Dear Sir/Madam,

You have recently published a number of articles relating in one way or another to the decline of Christianity in Britain (Christianity 'is nearly vanquished' in Britain, 6 September 2000; Christianity has nothing to worry about, says Carey, 7 September 2000; Church adverts avoid mention of Christianity, 9 September 2000).

There is a great deal of confusion involving Christian values and beliefs, on the one hand, and Christian deeds past (which were often evil) and present (which are often good) on the other.

Many Christian values are very positive, but contrary to what church leaders would have us believe, they do not have a monopoly over them. Far from it. The most humane and morally upright people I know of are not Christians at all, or members of any other religion for that matter.

Christian theology (without which the function of church and clergy would be reduced to that of a social charity) demands that in accepting Jesus’ teachings we must also accept him as the son of God and our saviour.

They got away with it as long as people were gullible enough, but nowadays fewer and fewer people are prepared to accept such mythical nonsense – son of God and saviour, indeed!

It is time to put politeness and tact (and perhaps a little fear) to one side, and say loud and clear that I do not believe such ridiculous nonsense!!

The Church probably does a great deal of harm by combining its healthy values with such absurd theology, which no doubt results in many people rejecting both. It also causes some to reject God altogether, because they are encouraged to believe that the Christian concept of God is the only one that's valid.

The different churches, in fact, are standing in the way, blocking God’s light! I am sure that like me, many people will only discover God once they have got Christian theology out to their heads.

I can understand why many people are converting to Islam - not that I’m a fan of that religion either -, but at least it makes no ridiculous claims about its founder, Mohammad, being some supernatural being. He was a man, who felt that God was speaking to him. That, at least is credible, which is more than can be said for Christian claims about Jesus.

It is interesting to consider why Jesus’ early followers made such fantastic claims about him: the son of God, born of a virgin, performer of miracles, raised from the dead, etc.

I am sure that many were gullible enough to actually believe them, but it also very conveniently gave them an authority beyond dispute. Unlike many Greek philosophers, they were not interested in seeking the truth through discussion and argument: they already had the Truth (with a capital “T”).

At first they could only threaten those who refused to accept it with stories of hellfire. Once they had the power to do so, they forced their Truth on everyone under threat of persecution or even death.

Thank God the worst years (centuries!) of Christian tyranny are over!

What we need now is a new religion (a system of beliefs and values that binds (L. re + ligare), i.e. unites, us and helps us relate to ourselves, to God, to one another, and to our wonderful but vulnerable and threatened planet) that might save us from the materialistic values, attitudes and aspirations of modern society, with its unsustainable economy and lifestyles, which are driving us towards climatic, ecological and social disruption and global catastrophe.