Irreligious tones? (2 of 2)

December 15, 2011

Jorge Cham, in his cartoon Piled Higher and Deeper (24 November), displays to his credit an inkling of the Lord's Prayer, but his adaptation of it is offensive to anyone who takes Christianity seriously. Needless to say, he would not dare to treat an Islamic text similarly. He should reflect on the true meaning of the Lord's Prayer and, if he has any decency, apologise for his crude irreverence.

It is depressing, and unworthy of a higher education publication, to see profanity on the pages of Times Higher Education such as this and Malcolm Gillies' article "Thou shalt not sit on fences" (1 December) or Felipe Fernández-Armesto's "Bless us with a silent night". Does THE have a preponderance of non-Christian staff, rather like the BBC, which according to a recent survey employs more non-believers than Christians, the latter comprising just 22.5 per cent of its workforce (despite Christians making up two-thirds of the population)?

The West's historical debt to Christianity is immense. Christianity gave birth to some of our major institutions, such as schools, hospitals and, yes, universities - which give THE its raison d'être. I for one would not subscribe to this publication in its present state.

R. Iestyn Daniel, University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth

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