Here might be the third way, expunging the homosexual aspect from the Church of England whilst giving gay and lesbian people the opportunity to have their own church in which to worship (and, I dare say, in which they would feel more comfortable). Such a new denomination could broadly run along Anglican lines, but not be part of the Anglican Communion.Considerable upheaval and heartache would undoubtedly be involved, as homosexual priests move from their present parishes, and the question would have to be dealt with in a spirit of mutual respect and, above all, love. The Church of England would then be better placed to continue its dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church unhindered by this moral dilemma.MICHAEL HUMPHRIES Twyford, BerkshireSir: The trap which so many “conservative” Christians seem to fall into when confronted with “liberal” attitudes, is encapsulated neatly by the bald assertion that the ideal for Christian conduct “is revealed by Christ and transmitted through the scriptures” (Professor David Frost, letter, 17 October).The Bible is the primary source of revelation for Christians, but not the only one. On this basis, the Christian Church has, over the last 2000 years, freely developed and adapted its doctrine, as the will of God has appeared to make itself known by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have a route out of the sterile GM debate – if we have to good sense to follow it.RICHARD BALMER Solihull, West MidlandsSir: So Monsanto’s Roundup is a “plant protection” product, then (front page report, 16 October)? That is sadly not my limited experience in the garden.

Whatever next? Warfarin for rat protection, perhaps.DAVID BEAKHUST Redlynch, Wiltshire Church need not avoid gay schism Sir: If the Anglican Church is to remain true to scriptural values then we have surely reached the bottom line.There have often been schisms in the past, causing the formation of new denominations. These may include different mixes of conventional, GM and organic crops in different areas. More weeds mean more biodiversity but lower yields, more imports and higher prices. In short, how many bees, butterflies, birds and cornflowers are we prepared to pay for?We have a marvellous opportunity for English Nature, the RSPB, farmers, scientists and others to come together and search for optimal compromises with much more confidence.

Herbicide used on the GM crops was more effective for beet and rape and less effective on maize. This meant less or more weeds and less or more biodiversity, because weeds provide the foundation for the food chain We can’t have everything. GM crops and the cost of birds, bees and butterflies

GM crops and the cost of birds, bees and butterflies
Sir: The simple message from the results of the farm scale evaluation (report, 17 October) is that GM herbicide-tolerant maize can be grown commercially, provided the yields per hectare are similar to conventional varieties, but that GMHT rape and sugar beet should not, unless the yields are so much higher that land can be released as wildlife reserve to compensate for wildlife lost in the crop.Whether seed is created by GM technology or not is irrelevant It is the herbicide regime which counts. But Mr Paul Brownsey of Glasgow almost found a way to get his own back.As theatres claim that these fees are for administration costs, Mr Brownsey tells me decided to charge the theatre’s management for administration costs that they caused him.After cancellations and reschedulings by the King’s Theatre in Glasgow, he sent them an administration bill to cover the phone calls he then had to make to people he had invited to see the plays and also to cover his transport costs to take the tickets back to the box office.Despite the theatre’s philosophical belief in fees to cover administration costs, no one deigned to reply to his letter.d.lister independent.co.uk
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