With Christmas drawing nearer, readers continue fanning the flames in the debate about the merits of religion and the origins of Christianity.
Elsewhere, the battle of the sexes emerges with some contributors saying their refusal to allow room for one another in public has led to huge clashes.
But one reader suggested this type of bullish behaviour may actually be mainly driven by personality rather than gender.
Read on to see what else people are locking horns over today.
■ The comment from Steve (MetroTalk, Wed) that unbelievers have nothing to celebrate at Christmas put me in mind of the old tale about the two Irishmen surveying the body of their deceased, atheist mate lying in a funeral parlour in his best suit. ‘Such a pity,’ says one. ‘All dressed up and nowhere to go.’
That aside, Christianity has had positive outcomes – churches, art and music – but has also given us the sick doctrines of sin and supposed need for punishment and atonement. Gordon, Addiscombe
■ Aidan from Dartford (MetroTalk, Thu) raises the point that the Bible states the meek will inherit the Earth but I’m beginning to suspect that this may have been a misprint.
Among the richest people in the world today are Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, so perhaps it’s the geeks who have done the inheriting. Julian Self, Milton Keynes
■ I don’t usually engage in religious debates because everyone should be free to believe what they like.
However I would like to point out to Veronyca Bates of Wiltshire (MetroTalk, Thu) that Easter being named after a pre-Christian god is an old urban myth. The evidence for this comes from one man – an eighth-century monk named Bede – and is largely not thought to be reliable.
However, the most obvious reason is that the early Christians didn’t call it Easter. Easter is a word from the English who were not converted to Christianity until hundreds of years after its inception.
The early Christians called it Pascha, as the majority still do, which comes from Aramaic and Hebrew. The urban myth comes from the very ignorant anglocentric view that Christianity is a European religion when, of course, it is a Middle Eastern-African one. Chris Miller, Chigwell
■ I’ve just read the discussion (MetroTalk, Thu) about women refusing to move out of the way for men, especially on public transport.
I call it ‘patriarchy chicken’. For me, as a cis, white woman, if a cis, white, straight man marches towards me and refuses to move, I refuse to move right back. I’ve been bashed several times and even had men ask, ‘What is your problem?’
I’m quite tall and strong, so it doesn’t really affect me, but I’m always delighted about the shock some men have of people not just parting like the seas for them. Sara, London
■ I’m a 6ft 4in male and find myself moving out of the way for men and women. As an experiment, I tried not doing it but there was a collision as a result. There seems to be a sense of entitlement spreading in society and certain people see certain areas as their ‘territory’.
In supermarkets, I can be looking at a shelf when someone wants to pass, so I kindly step back only for them to park themselves and their trolley right in front of me, blocking my view.
For the sake of balance, should I mention that this is often women? As a male shopper in busy fabric and haberdashery shops, this self-important behaviour is on a whole different level.
So try not to be sexist about this issue. There just seem to be two types of people on this planet – us who step back and the others who bulldoze forwards. Jesper Pedersen, London
■ Roger from South Yorkshire (MetroTalk, Thu) suggests that when the House of Lords was abolished under Cromwell’s Commonwealth, ‘Britain was stronger’.
Leaving aside its attitude to the Lords, the Commonwealth, with its religious intolerance and destruction of great works of art if they didn’t align with the worldview of religious bigots, is not something to aspire towards but rather should serve as a reminder that Britain had its own equivalent of Daesh and the Taliban. Chris, Hertfordshire
■ As a dog owner, I smiled at your letter from VA in London (MetroTalk, Thu) who hates ‘dogs sniffing around the food we are buying’. I agree that dogs, other than assistance dogs, should not be allowed in shops.
I also think children should be excluded. How many times have I seen them grab and squeeze pre-packaged and fresh goods from the shelves? My mother brought me up not to do this. She would take me out of a supermarket if I misbehaved – shouting or screaming. These days it’s apparently acceptable. Paul, West Midlands
■ I disagree with VA. I love seeing dogs in supermarkets and shops. More, please. And if they keep unpleasant people away, then hurrah. Daniel, Bristol
Chill out over short-wearing in winter or workplace
■ To David Ayres from Mitcham (MetroTalk, Wed), still wearing shorts in winter. I get where you’re at. The southern part of the UK doesn’t often get that cold but most of the people I see in shorts usually have a hat and padded coat. You’re either cold or you’re not. Anne, Kent
■ One of the reasons I gave up my well-paid job as an electrician was these big companies who would not allow us to wear shorts in the summer. I think if most people were technically ‘allowed’ to wear shorts in the workplace, they would. James Cowan, Bromley
■ When my son was seven, he had a competition with his classmates to see who could wear shorts for the longest. He wore them rain, shine or snow and didn’t own a pair of trousers until secondary school, aged 11. Scott, Bishop’s Stortford
What’s grinding bus passengers’ gears?
■ Unless Andrew Wilkinson (MetroTalk, Wed) has his tongue firmly in his cheek regarding his rant about travelling on London buses being a ‘very unpleasant experience’, the solution is for him to travel by high horse. Provided, of course, he can dismount in order to clear up the manure produced. Ian C, via email
■ I would like to ask Andrew Wilkinson how on earth his idea to abolish cycle lanes would fix the problems with buses he describes. Surely that would increase the overcrowding on buses? Ash, Derby
■ On the subject of pushchairs and suitcases on buses, what is it with bicycles on trains? There were four on the rush-hour commuter train this morning. Lyn, Sheffield
■ Bus passengers must realise that the bell need be pressed only once to alert the driver that someone wishes to get off. I’m sure drivers don’t appreciate it when ten people ding the bell as if the bus won’t stop if they don’t press it too. Mandy, London
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