WHAT a sad letter from Rory Mulvihill. His assertion that Christians are "brainwashed from birth" into blindly believing the Christian message shows such ignorance of Christian thinking.

If our beliefs are, as he calls them in his dismissive way, "absurdities", then why, for example, was the Minster packed on Good Friday evening with people of all sorts of ages, backgrounds and intelligence?

As one of Rory's former teachers, and bracketed by him with his mum, dad, priests and nuns, who influenced his early years, I feel that if it took him 40 years to realise he had been brainwashed, we did not do a bad job on him.

Now that he is no longer a believer, he seems to have lost sight of the concepts of tolerance and respect for others which his Christian education taught him.

Even sadder that one who was privileged to play the part of Christ in the Mystery Plays should be so bitter about Christianity.

Mike Walmsley,

Danebury Drive, Acomb.

Updated: 10:13 Wednesday, April 19, 2006