April 7: Easter reminds us how far we have strayed from the Bible

WHAT a splendid article by the Archbishop of York in your Good Friday edition (The Yorkshire Post, April 3). How wonderful to be reminded of the very positive changes which Christianity has brought into the world since that first Easter Day nearly 2,000 years ago. How true is the Archbishop in reminding readers that consumerism and self-centredness seem to be today’s accepted values at all levels of society. To his list I add the lowering of ethical standards. The Archbishop also reminded us that “the origin of the United Kingdom’s moral direction is grounded in the Bible”.

How far we have strayed – abortion on demand since 1967 has resulted in the deaths of over eight million babies, 47 per cent of births now are outside marriage, there will be two million single parent families by the end of 2014, £1,444 trillion of outstanding personal debt in March 2014, gambling in all its forms has become a way of life for millions of people, people of the same gender go through a ceremony incorrectly called “marriage” and, for many years, we have seen the loss of Sunday as a special day. Governments have supported all these changes over the years. As a Christian, one wonders for which party to vote on May 7. Perhaps “none of the above”? That is an unethical idea, but deciding which party comes nearest to our Christian roots is proving very difficult.

From: Bob Swallow, Settle.

STRANGE how the pension reforms have only recently been announced in the run up to the General Election along with the 65+ four per cent gross pensioner bond, both of which will undoubtedly be vote catchers.

The former is the one which causes me most concern. I can understand the logic in cashing in a small annuity of a few thousand pounds, but some of the figures quoted in the media are well into the six-figure mark.

It seems to me that there will be two beneficiaries other than the annuity holder.

First, the Chancellor rubbing his fat little hands together at the prospect of vast amounts of 40 per cent tax coming his way and secondly the sharks and charlatans waiting in the wings to “assist” those with their new-found wealth. Much as the bankers have done in the past.

I have myself had a deal of experience as a building society branch manager – many years ago now – in helping folk to get on the housing ladder and can say with conviction that there are significant numbers of people who do need protecting from themselves.