Letters
Dear Sir,
Being a Northerner who lives well-North of the Watford Gap, I was intrigued by your analysis of what it is to be Northern in Oxford.
Whilst it is true that there are Northern faux-rahs and Northerners-Proper, I fear that you have missed out a further category: The Northener-Eccentric.
Consider: I am a genuine Northerner, but I am also a genuine rah. Born and raised in Lincolnshire, I lost my country burr at the age of 7, when I went to a (Northern) public school that means I am now friends with lots of rahs. Yet I have never been to St.Moritz or read Tatler. I retain deep attatchment for Northern life, including that staple of Northern farming, the Turnip. It was introduced by one of my more accomplished ancestors (Lord 'Turnip' Townsend of popular myth), who also happened to invent the three-crop rotation system.
Yours faithfully,
John Townsend, Univ
Dear all,
In reference to Paul Afshar's article on the Christian Union mission: the thing is that Christianity does not make sense with the wrong 'frame work'. Without faith in God and the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the things Christians do, like worship and kneeling in prayer and spreading the gospel, would be ridiculous.
But a lot of the things we do in our world would also be ridiculous if we did't have God as our 'frame work'. Christian ideas don't make sense without God in them. Nor does much of life.
Naomi Pendle, Merton
Dear OxStu
Describing Christians as "Bible bashers"! How daring! How avant-garde! Your article "Jesus in a Camper Van" was lazy and disappointing. This piece could have been so good; a serious attempt to consider the content of the CU talks in 2nd week, compiled by an original-minded and inquisitive reporter, interested in a rigorous but fair examination of Christianity. Instead we were confronted with tired cliches about Christian attitudes to sex and lame stereotypes of sandal-wearing, beard-sporting Christians. The jokes were puerile and, worse still, not funny. Any fool can mock Christians. It takes someone with an incisive intelligence to properly engage with the subject. Try harder, please.
Niall Gooch, Oriel
6th Feb 2003