In Depth:  John Humphrey

Dear Sir,

I have recently heard about a Christian teacher who has had to resign because the A-level RS syllabus required her to teach that Joseph suffered from gender-confusion.

Dear Sir,

For a long while I have been bemused by the continuing left-wing stance of a number of vociferous Christians who frequently vent their feelings in various Christian publications.

Dear Sir,

It sounds as if one must give two cheers for the Bishops’ latest report on human sexuality. At least there has been no change in the doctrine of the CofE, but one feels concern about relaxation of discipline in this area. It is a pity about the vote in Synod.

Dear Sir,

Like many people of my generation, I frequently find myself somewhat bemused when church services include songs that include words like ‘Gonna’. I have been thinking perhaps a little obliquely, as the word ‘gonna’ sounds as if it ought to be the Second Person Singular Present Imperative Active of a First Conjugation verb in Latin! Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a verb in the dictionary that would fit this theory, but I shall assume for the purposes of this that such a verb does exist, and that it should be a semi-deponent verb. (For the benefit of those who may have forgotten their Latin, a deponent verb is passive in form but active in meaning; a semi-deponent verb is deponent in only the perfect tense and its derivatives.) Hence, the present tense would be ‘gonno’; the infinitive would be ‘gonnare’; and, because it is a semi-deponent verb, the perfect tense would be ‘gonnatus sum’. This perfect tense, then, could be loosely translated as: ‘I have become fed up with songs as opposed to hymns.’ Naturally, if one accepts this theory, the imperative ‘gonna’ would be a command to become fed up with songs!

Dear Sir,

Much ink has been spilt by people wishing to explain the spiritual declension seen in our nation. At the risk of sounding controversial, I suspect much of the blame may be attributed to the widespread abandonment of the use of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) among Anglican evangelicals.

Dear Editor

I am concerned that young people are having church (and school CU activities) crowded out of their lives by pressure of school work. I am convinced that this has become a major problem. This year’s exam season has been a much bigger issue than ever before. Part of the problem lies in very pushy parents, and I fear that some of these young people have been in danger of making themselves ill.