Letter: The gospel truth

Sir: Richard Harrris suggests in his Christmas Eve article ("Does it really matter if our miraculous story of Jesus is not the gospel truth?", 24 December) that the truth of the new testament is insignificant because it is the lessons which are to be found in the Bible which are important. I beg to differ.

The acceptance of all parts of the Bible story as fact is the basic tenet of the Christian religion. The Bible relates the proof of an omnipotent God; if the Bible is wrong then religious belief can be sustained but belief in the father, son and holy ghost becomes untenable.

Christian attempts to defend their faith in the face of rational scientific analysis by claiming that the Bible as fact is unimportant are signs of a Church attempting to sustain itself in a world where fact is gaining the upper hand and primitive belief systems are confined to recreation.

GERAINT HARRIES

Bilton, Warwickshire