I AM delighted that Stephen Cook and Barrie Duke (Letters, September 29), both men of the cloth I respect greatly, have made the point about the bible's teachings needing to be taken in context. 

My deliberate taking of a passage from Leviticus out of context was to make the point that, those Christians who are prejudiced, themselves selectively quote from the bible in order to try and justify their homophobia, misogyny etc.

The bible's teachings do indeed need to be taken in the context of the prevailing social attitudes in which they were written. This is why neither Old nor New Testament hold little value when considering this, the 21st Century.

The prevailing view that all people should be treated equally is the dominant social view in Britain today.

In the same way that the New Testament could be seen as an updating of the Old Testament in light of a new era, Christianity now needs a 'Third'or 'Newest' Testament that recognises that times have changed once again.

Until such time, Christianity will fail to speak much truly useful wisdom to the majority of humanity alive today, except for those increasingly few communities who still have socially conservative views. 

Both versions of the bible provide for some great stories, with some basis in historical record, but beyond that they really don't say much at all other than emphasising how times have changed and Christianity is struggling to keep up.

Dave Goodwin

Sticklepath