Letter: Dogma of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Sir: I am indebted to you ('Scroll fragment challenges basic tenet of Christianity', 1 September) for proposing a new fundamental Christian belief, namely that Jesus was the only person to have been called the Son of God in ancient Judeo-Christian literature.

I had not previously heard of this belief; nor had I realised that it was a basic tenet of Christianity. I can now see that the conspirators of the Dead Sea Scrolls have concealed this dogma from us for many years, and all Christian dogmatists must be grateful to the Independent for the disclosure of this hitherto unknown truth of faith.

Yours faithfully,

KEITH WARD

Christ Church

Oxford

1 September

The writer is Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Oxford.