14 AUGUST 1964, Page 12

THE EXCLUSIVE TAYLORITES SIR,—Surely Mr. Gresham Cooke need not be

apolo- getic about attacking the teachings of James Taylor Jr., even though he seems to feel that he is being untrue to his belief in religious freedom. Even the most sincere adherent of that odd belief is not likely to believe that Alice Lenshina should have freedom to preach her beastly creed, and it is difficult to believe that all the Exclusive Brethren are sincere because their leader must have mixed quite closely with unbelievers when he crossed the Atlantic. In any case, sincerity is no excuse: the sincere may often do more beastly things than the indifferent: few people doubt that Torquemada was sincere and felt that he was doing his best for the souls of the people who were dealt with by the Inquisition.

Hell having once been dismissed 'with costs,' surely we have legislation to prevent that joy of both sadists and masochists from being 'sold' to the British public by a foreigner—one to whose meetings Jesus Christ, who had neither neck-tie nor handkerchief in his breast pocket, would have been admitted.