Dear Grace, I have the increasingly uncomfortable feeling of being forced into places by you that do not fit. Perhaps this is because you are not a careful reader and perhaps it is because of your obvious anger at any statement about morality by a male. I reject your inference that males have no right to discuss female as well as male behaviour as though we are different species. The is the dangerous side of feminism that causes nothing but schism between the sexes. I am happy to see women doing all kinds of things in society as their hearts desire and their skills enable. Would you please read me closer and stop projecting all kinds of gruesome tendencies on me.

I recently visited Ely cathedral in Cambridgshire and the lovely Lady chapel. The home of Oliver Cromwell is in the villiage. I mourned the empty niches that left the walls bare of statuary. Of course there is idolotry in the church and not only in the Catholic. Protestants have their own form of it when they believe that every event that is related in the bible actually happened and every law in Leviticus must be obeyed (although they seem to omit that bit). It is my understanding that images in the Catholic tradition are aids to reflection, particularly in Medieval times when most were illiterate. This is a long way from idolotry. When it comes to idolotry the secular world is most expert, the market, progress, individual happiness, limitless material extention etc.

Sells, Happy New Year! To get down to business,I don't understand how you can say that "only God knows the difference between Good and Evil" and "..it is not up to us to name them evil". If this were true, why did God give us the Ten Commandments, setting out right from wrong, good from evil? St. Paul in Romans 1 and 2 has no hesitation in declaring some things to be evil. If we are not supposed to name things as evil or good, why did He establish His Church to "go teach all nations". How do we teach all nations unless we say some things are good and some are evil?

When you say "there is idolitory in the church and not just in the Catholic" I presume are talking about the modern day "worship" of money power and prestige. As you go on further, the images in Catholic tradition are merely an aid to reflection and prayer. They are definitely not used as idols as the pagans use them. Thank you formaking that distinction. Grace please note!

Grace, Happy New Year to you and all contributers. First of all, you seem to be the only one of us having difficulty with the terms "worship" "adoration" "revere" "venerate" etc. All those "poor Roman Catholics" have no such difficulty so don't go to bed worrying.

The only reason I quoted the Cathechism Of The Catholic Church was for your benefit, so you could see I wasn't just making this up.

So far as the Commandments are concerned, the one you are quoting is the First.[Exodus 20] God wanted to stop the Israelites from falling into the pagan Egyptian practice of worshipping idols [graven images, such as the Golden Calf]. He did not ban images altogether, as can be seen in Exodus 25.

The statues of Mary and the Saints are NOT idols to be worshiped as the pagans do with idols. As Vatican II declared, "Whoever venerates an image, venerates the person portrayed in it". Not the image itself. I hope this clears up this question.

Big Al. You are right to demand that I calify about the calling of evil. The creation narratives declare that the creation is good. God does not create an evil being. But in the second narrative the serpent tempts Eve by promising that she will know good and evil. If we take this to be ontological knowledge, that is what beings are good and evil then my distinction becomes clear. Man may call not being good or evil, all beings are God's creatures and have been created good. Men may certainly do evil deeds as you rightly point out Paul does in Rom 1 and 2 but nowhere does he pronounce that men and women were evil. I hope this helps.

Peter dear, I am not angry at you, but you are making fanciful assumptions about me that are quite unjustified. If my "dangerously feminist" comments upset you, by "forcing" you into "uncomfortable places", then take consolation in the fact that I am only one of two people who have so far bothered to comment on your essay. But then perhaps others tried a "careful reading" of your essay, and found your writing to be a bit too confused and confusing.

It is also very naughty of you to say that I "inferred" that you have no right to speak about women, just because you are a man. Tell me exactly how and where I "inferred" this Peter.