Act of faith

I AGREE with Dr Rowan Williams that we all have a duty of care for our world and those with whom we share it (Perspective, 10 May). However, the question he should be asking himself is “what is different about a Christian approach?”

By The Newsroom

Published 13th May 2013, 01:00 BST

The early Christians were known as do-gooders (the name is a pun on “chrestian”, from chrestos, good, kind), but was Jesus a do-gooder? Was his main purpose to care for the world and its inhabitants? Not at all! He expected the world around him to disappear, to be reconstructed as God’s utopian kingdom, where the social order would be reversed. He cared only for his fellow Jews and then only for those who agreed with him. He didn’t care for Sadducees or Romans or gentiles. In fact, he expected civil war to break out in Judaea. So, is Dr Williams a follower of Jesus or just a philanthropist using “Christian” as a flag of convenience? “Christian Aid” is just doing good with a religious label of doubtful meaning.

Steuart Campbell

Edinburgh