Letter: Blake's druids

Sir: The Church of Scotland is dropping "Jerusalem" from its new hymnal because Blake said "England" when he should have said "Britain", not because it is saying "no" in answer to the first verse. Although it cannot be proved, there is absolutely no reason why Jesus should not have come to Britain during his "silent" years.

James Samuel Cole (letter, 8 May) is wrong to claim that Blake's hymn is based on the British Israelite myth. His ideas were the opposite and came from the 18th-century Celtic revival. He believed the patriarchs of the Old Testament were descended from the druids of Britain. Before we pronounce Blake "loony" we should keep an open mind. The great strength of his question "And did those feet ...?" is that nobody knows the answer.

The Rev Gordon Strachan

Edinburgh