AS a gay man I have followed the Partnership and Marriage debates, both gay and straight, with a certain amount of self-interest over the years.

The letters in the Echo encapsulate a few thoughts that come to my mind.

Given so much weight is given to the concept that Christian marriage is for the procreation of children, I've yet to hear a satisfactory answer to the question of what a Christian marriage would mean to a couple who are past child-bearing age? Much the same as a marriage between two gay persons, I venture.

The tiresome habit of Christians who use quotes from the Bible (including chapter and verse... where did that saying come from?) I find nauseating... not only because they can be chosen and cobbled together to fit almost any point of view, but also because they are a human interpretation of a random selection of historical text, and have to stand alongside the Talmud and Koran, amongst other tomes.

Given the news over the last few days, concerning the resignation of the Pope, and concerns over horsemeat, in a TV programme last Sunday the reporter thought Cistertian monks were vegetarians... he was told a Pope in the 13th Century said they couldn eat meat – what clap-trap!

As a church organist of more years than I care to mention, anyone with a basic knowledge of maths can guess how many sermons I’ve sat through, and how many quotes, (together with chapter and verse!).

I've been invited by a wide selection of ministers, vicars, bishops and the like to consider in my mind, and I've come to the conclusion that a gay marriage could be considered much the same as any other – what Jesus would have thought, God alone knows!

GEOFF BEARD, Withermoor Road, Winton, Bournemouth