Will the Bible fall foul of hate crime legislation?

The books of the Bibile express the moral standards of their time, not of ours

I wonder what kind of difficulties lie in store for the Bible. Some of the books of the Bible are thought to have been written about 4,000 years ago and they express the moral standards of their time, not of ours.

The Bible refers to slaves as property which the slave-owner can treat as he/she choose (see Leviticus xxv and Exodus xxi). Jesus evades the issue when he says "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's" – he knew Rome was a slave society but he did not condemn it. Likewise, Paul exhorts a runaway slave to return to his master, Philemon. The Bible provided the textual basis on which Christian countries enslaved millions of people – Spain, Portugal, Britain, Ireland, etc – and it provided the defence when slavery was opposed.

The homophobia expressed in the Bible has also influenced many people. Levicitus 18 verse 22 describes homosexuality as an abomination in the same category as bestiality and incest and says In Leviticus 20 verse 13 the punishment prescribed for homosexuality is death. The homophobic attitudes expressed in the Bible must surely constitute hate crime if anything does. Will the book be banned?

Humza Yousaf, the Justice Secretary, has opened a huge can of worms with his attempt to legislate on hate crime. Critics of the Bill say that it is ill-defined and badly worded. We may all discover just how devastating badly devised legislation can be, if this Bill ever becomes law.

Les Reid

Morton Street, Edinburgh

Heavens above!

It beggars belief that a national newspaper promotes the continued notion that we live under some omniscient over arching power in the heavens as you have with your story on Rev Neil Glover (February 20.

If, as many have, I was to espouse i was the son of a god, which established religions admit to there being thousands of over the ages, I'd be locked up in a straitjacket before my feet could touch the ground.

Your story states he has reached “hundreds of people”. This is surely not enough to warrant a half-page article.

If we have to continue to be subjected to this kind of reporting I look forward to seeing a balanced view from your paper with articles covering a cross-section of those believing in warlocks, werewolves, Yoda, and the myriad of other idiotic, illogical idols.

NR Throne

Craigentinny, Edinburgh

Irony alert

Much as I've little time for Nicola Sturgeon's government, am I the only one seeing the irony of Scottish Labour's prospective chief Monica Lennon saying Holyrood's SNP government "reeks of entitlement" after years in power?

Considering the number of Scottish councils whose workforces remain dominated by "Labour families”, ensuring fat pensioned jobs for life for those carrying the card – willing accomplices of half a century's nepotism and corruption regarded as a legitimate perk of being part of “the Labour movement” – she has an almighty brass neck.

Mark Boyle

Linn Park Gardens, Johnstone, Renfrewshire

Mission to Mars

The announcement of a successful landing by a device on the planet Mars (Scotsman, 19 Februry) marks an outstanding technical achievement by a highly skilled team of scientists and engineers.

The objective of the project is to investigate and report on details of traces of past life on the red planet. These details are of extreme interest to a dedicated group of scientists but it is hard to see what benefit they will be to the majority of the non-technical population.

In view of the current pandemic would it not have been better to have diverted the huge cost of this project into medical research which would have benefitted the entire human race at this time?

Sandy Macpherson

Swanston Avenue, Edinburgh

Personal choice

Joyce McMillan (Scotsman, 19 February) calls for an end to “sneering language” in discussion on social issues then goes on to use tendentious language herself by referring to some Scotland rugby players' “failure” to “take the knee” in the recent match against England. There was no failure. The Six Nations Rugby position was that there should be a one-minute silence for victims of injustice before matches. However individual players were free to “take the knee” if they so wished. Some members of the England team exercised that right and a few Scottish players did the same. No player of any of the other four teams playing that weekend “took the knee”, nor did any player in the second round of matches, other than some members of the England team.

I am fairly certain Joyce McMillan would strenuously object to the self-righteous finger-pointing that greets sportspeople and others when they do not wear poppies in the period before Remembrance Day. She would regard it as a matter of personal choice.

It's a pity that she does not extend the same consideration with regard to “taking the knee”.

Robert Cairns

Harrietfield, Perth

Empty getures

It is interesting to compare Joyce McMillan’s comments expressing disappointment that not all of Scotland ‘s rugby players “took the knee” prior to their recent match against England, with the views of the Crystal Palace footballer, Wilfred Zaha, which were reported on in the same edition. Zaha had apparently expressed the view that he found taking the knee “degrading” and thought that it had now become an empty gesture.

While encouraging sportsmen and women to “take the knee” was no doubt initially well intentioned as a way of showing opposition to racism, there is a real danger that as time has passed that its meaning and significance has reduced and it has just become the “thing to do”. Symbolic gestures are worthless unless backed up by positive action.

This certainly would appear to be Zaha’s opinion. As a black sportsman, his wish is to stand tall – as some Scotland players did- and not talk about racism “unless action is going to happen". Actions don’t just speak louder than words but also empty gestures.

David Anderson

Whinny Brae, Broughty Ferry

Zero zealots

Preserve us from the zero Covid zealots! It's all very well for Nicola Sturgeon and her various medical advisers to aim to eradicate Covid totally: they're not living the true lockdown experience. They're out and about, travelling, holding meetings, albeit safely, and generally having busy lives. For some of us, though, life has shrunk to nothing. I used to be a very active granny but now the highlight of my social week is to go to the supermarket with not a grandchild in sight.

This zero target will leave a lot of misery, a lot of families split apart, a lot of old people spending the last year of their life in isolation, a lot of babies not learning how to socialise, a lot of children becoming lonely, a lot of purposeless teenagers, a lot of undiagnosed illnesses – add your own items to the list – and all without mentioning the economy and the folk who've lost their jobs and businesses.

There comes a point when it is necessary to take a proper look at the bigger picture and do an audit of harm, not just focus on and celebrate total eradication.

Judith Gillespie

Findhorn Place, Edinburgh

Lack of vision

I couldn’t agree more with Kenneth Pritchard’s points (Letters, 19 February) on the reneging on plans for a new Eye Hospital being a failure too far by the Scottish Government.

Four years ago during a summer of travel a month’s long swollen eye was diagnosed elsewhere, from pharmacist via optician to ophthalmic surgeon level, as an infection.

But fortunately on return to Edinburgh danger signals were picked up by my own optician who made an immediate appointment at the Eye Pavilion. A young doctor still working late in the evening detected a disorder behind the eye requiring urgent neurological intervention and I was swiftly referred to the Western.

Since then regular follow-up checks at the Eye Pavilion have demonstrated an outstandingly wonderful hub of efficiency, humanity and clinical skill used by an enormous crowd of mainly elderly and many very frail people. Ease of access for them, and optimum team-working by excellent medics with the best available equipment are so obviously top priorities in this most critical branch of medicine.

Abandoning what has been built up at the Princess Alexandria Eye Pavilion for a foolishly conceived cost-saving exercise would bring ridicule in the eyes of the informed world – and severe disadvantage to patients.

Jane Griffiths

Middleby Street, Ediburgh

Flags disgrace

The decision taken by the First Minister to instruct the flying of the Saltire and the EU flags on government buildings whilst the Union flag should only be flown on Remembrance Day is breathtakingly petulant but more importantly malicious.

It is a narrow-minded, self-interested and intentionally divisive act and demonstrates perfectly everything that is fundamentally wrong with “nationalism”. In particular, the First Minister’s “nationalism” and that of her separatist supporters is aggressive, belligerent and offensive and demonstrates little or no respect for the views of others.

At a time when we are continually informed that her sole focus is the pandemic, her actions at this time are demeaning for someone holding such high office.

Richard Allison

Braehead Loan, Edinburgh

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Will the Bible fall foul of hate crime legislation? - Readers' Letters