Chapter and verse

I AM somewhat surprised that Rev T Graeme Longmuir (Letters, 7 June) claims that the liberal wing of the Church has biblical roots. Given that the essence of “liberal” Christianity is to deny much of what the Bible says, or to deny that it actually is the word of God, then it does seem somewhat disingenuous to claim “biblical roots”.

I recall one elder telling me that his minister did not teach the Bible because it “did not attract the young people”. When it was pointed out that no young people attended this “ministry”, the elder struggled to see the connection.

Given that the debate on homosexuality has been raging for at least the past decade, it was even more surprising to read  the Rev Longmuir’s claim that the current debate has “not yet taken place in presbytery and Kirk sessions”. He is correct, however, in stating that the issue of homosexuality is not the reason for the continued decline of the Kirk. There are many factors, but surely the move away from teaching the Bible as the word of God, of which the current debacle over homosexuality is only one symptom, is the most serious. Why should anyone bother attending a church that does not believe or take seriously its own book? 

David Robertson

Dundee