SIR, —The 'Slant group' obviously makes Colm Brogan see red, but
I am not persuaded that he sees clearly. The fact that Marx was an atheist and an enemy of all religion should not blind us to the equally important fact that religion is itself morall,, and spiritually ambivalent. It may alienate a man from himself and from God as well as reconcile him. It is a commonplace of much contemporary Protes- tant theology that Christ is not only the end of the law but also of religion. Christianity itself must stand under his judgment.
Furthermore Marx recalled us to the Biblical insight that our very humanity depends upon the social structures and conditions in which we seek to fulfil it, and that there is no salvation of the atomic individual. Neither religious conversion nor moral exhortation exempts the Christian from the task of refashioning society.
On the other hand it must be remembered that anti-religion is as ambivalent as religion and that
individuals can and do transcend their social condi- tions. In the radical's passionate desire to refashion the social structure he runs the risk of forgetting the tragic ambiguities of power and of taking upon himself the rule of providence.
Lest I be accused of deception. clerical treason or offending the innocent, let me confess that. although I am neither a Catholic nor a Marxist I live and teach in Cambridge. Mr Eagleton is my
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