IN general, Scottish schools serve as indoctrination camps, tirelessly promoting every fashionable left-wing "progressive" liberal viewpoint. The kids are subjected to a barrage of "education" on feminism, critical race theory, climate change, LGB and especially T issues, internationalism and more.
In this context of wall-to-wall politicisation in one direction, the presence of a pro-life group in schools seems an outrage (" Row over pro-life choices for pupils in secondary schools", The Herald, May 2). How dare anyone expose young people to the "wrong" opinions?
Almost all schools present the Government's message: human life in the womb is worthless and disposable. Catholic schools, to some extent, share the church's perspective on the value of every human life.
Campaigners won't rest until every pupil in every school only hears the pro-abortion case. Only a totally inverted moral system will satisfy them, and they are very close to their goal.
Richard Lucas, Scottish Family Party, Glasgow.
Relax and enjoy the Coronation
HERE we are again
Happy as can be...
All anti-monarchy and
Coronation-flummery!
Your Letters Pages today (May 2) certainly live up to this little ditty. We have David J Crawford’s “Obscenity of the Coronation”, Barry Turner’s “Ideal choice for head of state” and Doug Clark’s “Medieval mumbo-jumbo”; not to mention “The Cowdenbeath Rebellion of 1953”, instigated by Dennis Canavan.
Can’t everyone just relax a bit – and enjoy? Think about all these economy-boosting tourists, for starters? Would the alternative fit that bill?
I hope my fellow correspondents enjoy their Saturday, whatever.
Brian D Henderson, Glasgow.
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• ATTEMPTS have been made to make the Coronation more modern than previous ones but the suggestion that the King’s subjects should join a “chorus of millions” in swearing personal allegiance to him ("Scots backlash over plan to ask Britons to swear allegiance to King", heraldscotland, April 30) seems positively medieval.
Have the supporters of monarchy scored an own goal? The payment of homage to the King, who is also Head of the Commonwealth and head of state of 14 nations in addition to the United Kingdom, made me think of straight away of that apogee of Britain’s imperial power, the great Delhi Durbar of 1911. At this extravagantly magnificent event homage was paid to the King-Emperor George V by hundreds of maharajahs and other potentates, such as the Begum of Bhopal in full niqab of cloth of gold.
Peter Martin, Perth.
Read more: Evangelicals seeking to take over and destroy the Church of Scotland
Kirk being let down by amateurs
I READ with interest the correspondence in relation to the Church of Scotland’s ever-decreasing membership coupled with the sale of its church buildings (Letters, April 27, 28 & May 1).
Over my own lifetime I can perceive some pertinent reasons for this.
Historically, of course, the rot set in during the 1960s with that decade's enthralment with moral decline which, in numerous respects, continues to this day. I myself trained for the ministry during the 1970s when the Scottish theological colleges were staffed by academic giants whose successors appear to have bred a very different kind of parish minister sympathetic more to social concerns such as community projects and food banks than to quality worship which, traditionally, was the church’s prime purpose; the proper honouring of God, that is.
As a former parish minister I always took the view that worship was central and everything else in the ministry was peripheral; and that if the worship was right, then everything else, in the providence of God, tended to fall into place, a principle which served me very well in each of my charges.
The central administration of the Church of Scotland has likewise not always functioned ideally in recent decades, exposing the fact that not all ministers are good administrators. The present-day promotion of lay ministries, for example, has opened the door to ministerial amateurs in preference to properly trained professionals.
Is it little wonder therefore that the National Church continues to struggle so?
Rev Alistair Jessamine, Minister Emeritus Dunfermline Abbey, Strathaven.
• IN response to the letter (May 1) from Neil White concerning current concerns within the Church of Scotland, I agree totally with what he writes. Thank you to him and a vehement "hear, hear".
Olive Bell, Dunbar.
Baby, I'm bored
I SAW the heading "TV star reveals new baby name" (The Herald, May 2). I read on: "Former Made in Chelsea star…". I stopped reading. Do we really need, or want, to know about some wannabe’s "issue"? There are surely more important issues to hand?
Steve Barnet, Gargunnock.
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Look, just ignore this
I HAVE just read a quote from Douglas Ross which began with “Look".
This is the normal way of starting a sentence which is normally followed by a defensive statement or possibly a less than truthful reply. It is interesting that Mr Ross replies using “look” to start his remarks. To the best of my knowledge this method of replying to an awkward question was invented by Tony Blair and has been used by politicians of all partitions since then.
Check it out and compare it to any answers to questions that you may have put to friends or colleagues. If the answer starts with “look” don’t pay any attention to what may follow.
Look, perhaps my comment is too trivial to allow my letter to be published.
Malcolm Rankin, Seamill.
Run this up the flagpole
I UNDERSTAND David Miller’s confusion over jargon-laden adverts, appointments, and required skills (Letters, May 2), and allowing myself some blue-sky thinking outside the box, a thought shower, taking a helicopter view from my strategic staircase, I guess it’s time to peel that particular onion, look under the bonnet, run it up the flagpole of joined-up thinking, and agree that Mr Miller and his colleagues’ ideas had legs and brought clarity to their particular table.
It never required rocket science. The proof was in the pudding.
R Russell Smith, Largs.
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