Since the year 2010 it has often been reported in the media that The Government is considering proposals to allow homosexual couples to make use of religious readings, religious music and religious symbols in their civil partnership wedding ceremonies, according to an equalities commission minister.
The review appears to have created a controversial amendment to the Equality Act which will allow, but not compel, churches to host civil partnerships.
Lord Tebbit, a former Conservative Party chairman, is reported to have criticised the idea, saying: “I wouldn’t want anything done to add to the pretence that a civil partnership is a marriage…”.
A spokesman for the Church of England was reported to have said: “The Church of England is not proposing to open its churches for civil partnership registrations”.
However, it is now on record that prior to the General Election Theresa May is quoted as having said that “the Conservatives would consider the case for renaming same-sex civil partnerships as ‘marriages’”.
Furthermore, David Cameron is later reported to have informed Sky News that he was “’not planning’ to change the law…”.
Nevertheless, the numerous debates that have followed these wranglings and procedures provoked initially by the Equalities Commissions Ministers as a direct result of the Equalities Bill being passed, has served to fuel a state of hysteria and confusion on both sides of the debate on the subject of Civil Partnerships being allowed to ‘Marry’ in church.
This folly has created a recipe for intolerance that has led some political and religious leaders and other individuals, within the church and elsewhere, to make numerous and untimely expressions that have revived old prejudices that can only lead to hatred and injustice on both sides.
Take the case of The Swedish Pastor sentenced to jail for criticising homosexuality in his sermon
Summary:
A Swedish Pastor was sentenced to one month in jail after giving a sermon in which he said homosexuality was a "deep cancerous tumour in society”. However the Supreme Court of Sweden acquitted him on appeal.
The Pastor’s words highlighted in bold above, are clearly an act of ‘incitement’ against an already prejudiced group in society, and therefore, shows a lack of compassion and righteous judgment in the delivery of his message.
Furthermore, this type of statement appears to suggest that it is a widely held Christian view that appears to validate acts of hatred by Christian groups. This is misguided and misleading as not all Christians or denominations necessarily uphold this view.
Moreover, these statements, and others like them, are guaranteed to embroil innocent Christian bystanders and their families and friends in a hate war, which is ultimately detrimental to The Christian Faith and The promotion and acceptance of The Gospel of Salvation.
Hatred is not part of the Christian Faith and both the church and Christians today must be made aware of this.
The Pastor’s Indictment
In July 2003 Pastor Ake Green from Sweden was arrested after giving a sermon in which he stated that homosexuality was a "deep cancerous tumour in the entire society."
He further asserted that homosexuality is a choice, and that one cannot be a Christian and a practicing homosexual. He also said that: “...adoption by homosexuals is wrong”.
He was subsequently charged under Sweden's 'hate crime' laws and convicted with inciting hatred against homosexuals.
[Cited In: The Christian Institute Archives - Swedish Pastor sentenced to jail for criticising homosexuality in sermon ]
Take the case of The Equality Commission’s ‘sorry’ for Christian ‘infection’ jibe
The Government’s equality agency has said sorry for a sneering remark that suggested that: “Christian moral values are like an ‘infection’ that could harm children”.
The taxpayer-funded Equality and Human Rights Commission had warned that ‘children’ could be “infected” by the moral views of ‘Christian’ foster parents, who oppose homosexual behavior, but erroneously makes no mention of the impact that ‘Homosexual’ foster parents views could also have on children in their care.
Moreover, this view of morals as an ‘infection’, is equally ignored in other fields involving children, such as Education environments and even Social Service involved environments in which personnel with extraordinary views and affiliations etc., may also impact on children’s states of mind and their moral consciousnesses.
The extraordinary remark quoted in the first paragraph above, was published in legal paperwork prepared by a respected QC for a court case involving a Christian couple struggling to be approved as foster parents. This couple, are people who believe that if they fostered children who had either developed homosexual tendencies or came from a background of homosexual influence, that they could not in any way be compelled compassionately to support these children, if they were granted the right to ‘Foster’, irrespective of their views.
An example of the inherent dangers of this type of social conditioning is born out by the film Better Dead Than Gay (1996).
The Commission’s Apology
It has been reported that the Commission issued an apology. It also attempted to distance itself from the suggestion that sexual orientation rights take precedence over religious rights.
The offensive remarks related to a court case involving Eunice and Owen Johns, who say they have been effectively blocked by Derby City Council from fostering, because of their Christian beliefs about homosexual behaviour.
A statement was published on the Equality Commission’s website that stated: “Earlier this week the case of Johns v Derby City Council, in which the Commission had intervened, attracted some attention”.
The Commission claimed the jibe was a ‘Mistake’
A commission spokesperson said: “Unfortunately a mistake within our legal submission led to an inference that we did not intend and which, was misconstrued, as suggesting that the Commission equates Christian moral views with an infection… Furthermore, the Commission entirely rejects any view (as reported in the media) that rights in relation to sexual orientation ‘take precedence’ over religious rights”.
The Commission’s views on Child welfare
“The Commission fully upholds the rights of ‘looked-after children’ to be supported in their chosen religion or that of their family, in the context of the paramount importance of the welfare of the child…The Equality Act provides protection against discrimination on the grounds of religion, or belief, as well as on the grounds of sexual orientation, and the Commission has produced extensive guidance to explain this legislation, which was introduced by Parliament”.
“The Commission has written to Mr and Mrs Johns to apologise.”
The Commission’s views are seen as ‘Extraordinary’ by The John’s Legal Defense support
It should be noted that The Johns’ legal defence was supported by the Christian Legal Centre and in a statement issued before the Commission’s apology, the Centre said: “Suggesting that Christian moral beliefs on sexual ethics could ‘infect’ children is an extraordinary position for a statutory body to take... It is also deeply insulting both to the Johns, who have a proven track record of successfully raising children, and to Christians in general.”
Gay historian David Starkey appears to defend Christians
“Penalising Christians for their beliefs about homosexual behaviour is intolerant, oppressive and tyrannical, said gay historian David Starkey on a BBC Question Time programme.
He was commenting on the cases of Christian foster carers and also the Bed and Breakfast owners who suffered under the apparent unjust equality policies. But Labour’s Margaret Beckett, a former Foreign Secretary, said: “racists should not be foster parents, and neither should those who believe homosexual behaviour is wrong”.
Furthermore, the Tories’ Iain Duncan Smith also claimed that “…foster parents should not be allowed to push their views on children in their care”.
However, fellow panellist, Liam Halligan of the Daily Telegraph, said: “Mr Duncan Smith had got it wrong”. He said: “I’m a tolerant guy, but sometimes if you absolutely push tolerant people they become intolerant because you go past the point of no return… and this is a situation where the absolute letter of the law, which may have been drafted with good intentions, has completely blown away any proportion of common sense”.
This viewpoint is seen as a ‘Tyrannous New Morality’ that is every bit as oppressive
The former UN Deputy Secretary General, appeared to share Mr Starkey’s concerns about the state deciding morality.
Mr Starkey, a self-professed atheist, said: “It seems to me that what we are doing is producing a tyrannous new morality that is every bit as oppressive as the old” and he warned that this new morality was “intolerant, oppressive and intrusive into family life”.
A book about the definitions causes and solutions to Prejudism, Bigotry and Hatred
The Danger of prejudice
Mr Starkey further illustrated the danger by pointing to the case of the Christian guesthouse owners who were recently fined £3,600 because of their policy of restricting double beds to married couples.
He said: “The way to do that is not to ban them, not to fine them. It is for them simply to put up what seems to me to be a quite proper notice in a small privately run hotel which says we are Christians and this is what we believe, otherwise… we are producing a new tyranny.”
Discrimination should be illegal but Christians should be entitled to hold their belief
Mr Starkey said that: “direct discrimination against homosexuality should be illegal”, but insisted that Christians should be entitled to hold their beliefs without fear of state interference.
Earlier this year Michael Portillo, discussing the plight of the Christian B&B owners sued over their double bed policy, expressed concern at the dangers posed by a “secular theocracy” and although Mr Portillo did not agree with the B&B owners’ beliefs, he was concerned about the erosion of personal liberty.
The former cabinet minister made the comment on BBC Radio 4’s: the Moral Maze, examining the ongoing conflict between religious belief and human rights law.
Restrictions imposed on Religious Beliefs is a major concern
Other members of the show’s panel also expressed concern that the law had gone too far in restricting the rights of people to manifest their religious beliefs.
Referring to the dangers posed by the emergence of “secular theocracy”, Mr Portillo said: “I’m not on the receiving end of this at the moment at all because I’m not a religious person, but I can easily conceive of how I could be on the receiving end of some future legislation”.
Mr Portillo also cautioned against allowing the common consensus to dictate the law, warning that a minority could use new laws to sway public opinion.
This Extract is taken from news reported in The Christian Institute Online News Archives
[The Christian Institute: Gay historian David Starkey appears to defend Christians]
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Secularisation: A Warning To The Churches
On the subject of “Secular Theocracy” and its links with civil partnership ceremonies and in particular Gay Marriages being somehow Christianized under new legislation promoted by the Equalities Commission and ‘Others’, how can we, who are ‘Christians’, be certain that we are not being led down the garden path by Christian Extremists, who may actually be privately supporting an Orwellian View of Society that is currently seeking to control the populace and dictate to us how we should behave, when we should go to work, when eat, sleep and play, and then remove our individual rights, silence the dissidents, take away our freedoms, and ultimately Euthanize us when we are no longer considered valuable, or productive to society.
Is this current drive for secularisation through legalism really a form of Fascism by the back door? Is it part of The Fabian Society’s ‘Policy of Gradualism’ or even an expression of Albert Pike's Societal Reforms, being invoked on an all too unsuspecting society? Christians may well be advised to check these links out on the internet for a complete insight into this damning crisis that is fast looming in the churches, and within our society as you'll be amazed at what you thought you knew about this subject.
The articles described above contain a complex argument that has been raging for several hundred years both within the church and outside of it. For this reason, it is imperative that Christians be aware, that to argue strongly, even vehemently, against such inferred practices, such as that referred to in the articles above, only serves to exacerbate it and strengthen its resolve and purposes with resulting casualties being promoted on both sides, in the process.
The danger of being spiritually choked by the tares
The judges decision may appear to be wrong in that he clearly favours what was once viewed as immoral and possibly A-moral as a valuable, social, and moral right over that of another, valuable, social, and moral right, to the detriment of all other socially recognised values, or moral rights that we have developed in society. Surely the proper course of Law should be that these Moral rights must be taken into account as a whole and not viewed individually, although they may be applied that way, so as to maintain moral balance. As a judge, he also has to balance this new-found view with the need to protect the weak from the strong, as does the church, also have this power. The real question here is: Who are the weak in this insidious situation?
However, failure to Judge righteously only serves to increase contempt and further the causes of evil doers who secretly and privately seek to undermine the fabric of social and religious order both outside the church and also within it. Therefore, individuals, who insist on taking such moral high ground would do well to remember that there are wives and children among the many church congregations that may be inadvertently exposed to risks and unwise practices, not of their making, as well as those who follow a completely different set of morals or beliefs.
Here-in then, lays the dilemma that should cause all believers to heed the warning: Beware of the Tares! (Those individuals or individual groups, who promote the voice of secular theocracy), that these may well be wolves in sheeps clothing!
In reality though, Christians and non-christians alike, who persue such immoral attitudes secretly or otherwise, are promoting a society that is fast becoming a society that has had its conscience seared with the hot iron of media science and distorted political values. An approach, that having begun with so-called ‘good intentions, has gradually stripped this country of its historically-earned democracy and freedom in favour of unjust regulations and modern organisations and New Age practices that can only spiral downwards into even more, moral and social decline, leading to an increase in violence at every level of our once great social institutions and beyond.
Historical Prejudice in action
Already this century has witnessed these facts occurring on the streets of Britain. Unless we, as a nation, stop this from developing further, the situation can only get worse. From a Biblical perspective: Was this not the same process that caused the Egyptians to enslave the Israelites and mistreat them any which way that could be dreamt of?
Is it not the same process that caused Jonah to disobey God's calling to go to Nineveh simply because he hated the Ninevites with a vengeance and wanted to see them destroyed even though Jonah knew that the God he served was a merciful and forgiving God?
Is it not the same process that saw the Jews persecuted throughout Europe and Britain in the middle ages when many were put to death or suffered in prisons simply for being Jewish?
Is it not then the same process that led to Hitler killing 6,ooo,ooo (Million) Jews and Gypsies and Disabled Persons and those with Mental Illnesses etc. simply for who they were?
Is it not the same process that enabled the Voortrekkers (Dutch Speaking People) of South Africa to mistreat and virtually enslave the Black Populations of that country by stigmatizing them, and putting up signs saying: "NO BLACKS"? Is it not the same then as putting up signs saying ‘No Red-Heads’ or ‘No Brunettes’ or ‘No Christians’ and even ‘No Homosexuals’?
Is it not the same process that caused coloured people to be put into slavery endorsed by none other than that great Preacher George Whitfield and others?
Is it not the same process then as the mistreatment of Black People in the Southern States of America who were persecuted and murdered. Is it not the same process that witnessed coloured people being mistreated and persecuted in their thousands in just the same way as those Dutch People had in South Africa.
God raised up people like Jesse Jackson, Nelson Mandela and many others in past times to turn the tide on those who blindly persecute, bully, hate, maim and kill all in the name of prejudice and for what?
Is it not that our God is a loving, forgiving , caring and merciful God (Micah ch 7 verse 17-19)?
Serving a Loving and Merciful God
We may not like what these groups do or the way they may behave, talk, or look even, but Jesus Love's them no matter who they are and besides that who are we to go against God's Sovereign Will when He has proclaimed that “The Gospel of Salvation must be preached To EVERY Creature” and that "The End of The Gentiles must be fulfilled". Could this argument that everyone is talking about, actually be the cannon that brings this scripture to its fulfilment? TO ALL christians, What says the scripture: "Love one another" and "NOT to hate them that persecute us" but rather to "do GOOD unto them..." that in all things Our Father which is in Heaven may be glorified.
There is another Way and it is the Jesus Way. His Gospel is The Gospel Of Love
Heeding the Warning to the Churches
Don’t let Satan bite your heel. So next time you’re called to sign on the dotted line for this political action or for any other, ask yourselves, is this the way God wants me to behave? How can we preach Salvation to others if we behave immorally too?
THE PYRAMID OF HATE
Genocide:The deliberate, systematic extermination of an entire people
Against People
• Threats
• Assault
• Terrorism
• Murder
Against Property
• Arson
• Desecration
(violating the sanctity of a house of worship or a cemetery or a country, or a beautiful place etc.)
• Employment
Discrimination
• Housing Discrimination
• Educational
Discrimination
• Harassment
(hostile acts based on a person’s race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender)
• Name Calling
• Ridicule
• Social Avoidance
• Social Exclusion
• Telling Belittling Jokes
• Accepting Stereotypes
• Not Challenging Belittling Jokes
• Scapegoating
(assigning blame to people because of their group identity)
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Prejudiced Attitudes - Violence - Discrimination - Acts of Prejudice
©2003 Anti-Defamation League and Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation
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