Last Friday a distinguished Anglican clergyman, the Rev Paul Oestreicher, told us that in his opinion Jesus Christ was probably gay because of his affection for his beloved apostle St John. Next day, however, the former Tory MP and Times columnist Matthew Parris challenged the very idea of an exclusive gay identity, saying "the categorisation of a whole section of males as homosexuals, in inverted commas, or indeed heterosexuals, ditto, was simply a mistake.So sexual orientation is a lot more fluid than we have supposed. Mr Parris who often writes bravely and honestly about his own sexuality could never be accused of homophobia. But if he's right, then the whole notion of clearly identifiable gayness is questionable. If the concept does not really exist, Paul Oestreicher cannot usefully apply it to Jesus.