I read with interest your article on Sir Paul Marshall (How faith drives bidder for Telegraph who wields growing influence on Tories, 14 May). Of course, we all fall short before God as we work to build his kingdom here on Earth, so I hope Sir Paul will take my comments as kindly meant.
I struggle to understand how Sir Paul squares his faith with his enormous personal wealth. Christ said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven (Matt 19:24). I also find it difficult to understand his support for free-market capitalism, since that system is based on greed and the love of money. I would remind him of 1 Timothy 6:10 – “for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”.
Sir Paul may well be a great philanthropist, and I admire him for that. But he might also like to remember that Christ was more impressed by the widow who gave her last two mites than all the rich for their giving (Luke 21). May I suggest that Sir Paul should consider using his influence to change the system in which he operates, that encourages such enormous disparities in wealth to exist.
It is the system that Sir Paul supports which allows the Tesco CEO to earn £10m last year, 430 times the average pay at Tesco, at the expense of consumers trying to feed their families. Perhaps I could remind him of Amos 5:24: “But let justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry.”
His church, Holy Trinity Brompton, undoubtedly benefits from its wealthy donors. Its website alone is way beyond what we in rural parishes could aspire to. That wealth has given it considerable influence in the Church of England, although its views on same-sex marriage and other aspects of our faith sit ill with many.
I welcome the conversion of Russell Brand and hope he will abide in Christ. I hope that he and Sir Paul will remember that passage from Matthew 7 which ends “by their fruits you will know them”.
Rev Richard Stainer
Assistant priest, Cockfield Benefice, Suffolk
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