JOHN HINTON (You Say, Tuesday, April 29) makes a few good points, but perhaps a better response to George Cowley (You Say, Friday, April 18) would have been to deny that Jesus Christ was a pacifist.

Jesus commanded his disciples to carry swords, presumably for self-defence against robbers (Luke 22:36). He affirmed the authority of the Old Testament that recognises the necessity of both war and capital punishment.

After Christ's resurrection, he chose Paul as an apostle. Paul in turn affirmed the necessity of governments wielding the sword to punish wickedness (Romans 13). It is the Bible, not theologians, that is awake to the real world.

MATTHEW A CLARKE, Hallow, Worcester.