‘Changing Faith’ rather than ‘Losing Faith’ might be a better choice of title for the Honest to God column in Touchstone, July.

Ian Hood’s letter Touchstone, August, finds the views of Ian Harris negative, and lacking hope for the future of church life and witness. I would prefer to praise the truthful plain-speaking of the writer. The two books by Harris, New WorldNew God (2018) and Hand in Hand (2021), offer a total of over 120 columns that challenge churches in the words of Bishop Richard Randerson, “to look beyond ecclesiastical walls” in exploring faith and spirituality for the modern world.

There is an ultimate and deeply seated hope in Harris’ theology, eloquently expressed in the final column in Hand in Hand, titled ‘Reformations Old and New’, and subtitled ‘The need today is for transformation’. The closing paragraph: “Nothing significant will come from painstakingly preserving an obsolescent past. In today’s world, even a New Reformation would be inadequate. What’s required is a Transformation. For Christianity, the choice is stark: transform or perish.”

John Thornley, Wesley Broadway

Palmerston North