Madam, - I was slightly puzzled by James Moran's interpretation of 20th-century history (December 8th).
When stating that "the two greatest slaughtering matches in history were perpetuated by Christian countries", he neglects to point out that the two main protagonists, Germany and Russia, were in the grips of atheistic totalitarian regimes at that time.
Mr Moran then praises the "men of vision of compassion" who saved us from these "Christian" warmongers by establishing the nascent European Union. Unfortunately, he forgets that the key players, Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide De Gasperi, were all men of faith who derived much of their political philosophy from their religious ideals. - Yours, etc,
RONAN WALL, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England.
Madam, - James Moran's suggestion that the Bible doesn't take account of human nature is so far wide of the mark that it leads one to believe that he hasn't actually read it.
The Bible is fundamentally about human nature, as every reading will testify. It is the history of the Jewish (and the consequent early Christian) people and as such cannot be compared to a clinical philosophical treatise. All aspects of our human nature (both good and bad) are dealt with.
Yes, it does contain a code of ethics, summarised into 10 prescriptions, and later condensed into two simple commandments neither of which has ever been successfully challenged as a sound philosophical basis for conducting one's life. - Yours, etc,
DOMHNALL O'NEILL, Ardmore Park, Bray, Co Wicklow.