“But if the watchman
see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if
the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
[Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Bethany
Christian Services Begins Offering Its Services to LBGT Couples
[2] Court
of Appeal Rules against Christian Public Servant
[3] Melbourne,
Australia Pastor Arrested for Incitement
[5] New
Trinity Review Article "The Pope's Utopian Dream of a World
Socialist Order" by Brad K. Gsell
---
[1] Bethany
Christian Services Begins Offering Its Services to LBGT Couples
Bethany Christian Services, the largest Protestant adoption and foster
agency in the United States, announced 1 March 2021 that it will now be
offering its services to LGBT couples.
The
Michigan-based group announced it will begin placing children in LGBT families
nationwide. In a statement to The Christian Post, Nathan Bult, senior vice
president of the historically evangelical organization, said that faith in
Jesus is at the “core” of their mission," but they are "not claiming
a position on the various doctrinal issues about which Christians may
disagree."
+ The Christian
Post, National
Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com
+ Bethany Christian
Services, 901 Eastern Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan
[2] Court
of Appeal Rules against Christian Public Servant
The
UK
Court of Appeal has today ruled that it was lawful for a Christian
non-executive NHS director and magistrate to be sacked for expressing in the
media that children do best when raised by a mother and a father.
Mr.
Richard Page, 74, from Kent, was suspended from the magistracy and forced out
of a role at an NHS Trust, after explaining on television that he had been
discriminated against for his Christian beliefs on parenting while presiding
over an adoption case.
After
a six-year legal battle seeking justice against the decisions to remove him,
today’s judgment has instead taken a significant step in developing further
limitations on freedom of speech for Christians in the workplace.
Mr
Page now intends to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
‘Views might cause
offence’
In
his judgment on Mr Page’s claim against NHS Improvement, Lord Justice Underhill
stated that:
“The
extent to which it is legitimate to expect a person holding a senior role in a
public body to refrain from expressing views which may upset a section of the
public is a delicate question.”
He
recognised that Mr Page “had a particular interest in expressing
publicly his views about same-sex adoption in the context of his removal as a
magistrate, which was a legitimate matter of public debate” and that
he expressed his views ‘temperately’ in the media.
However,
he judged that Mr Page’s views on same sex-marriage and ‘homosexual
activity’, might cause ‘offence’.
Media appearance
‘justified sacking’
The
ruling suggested, for example, that Mr Page should have “declined to
answer” Piers Morgan’s questions on his beliefs during an interview on
Good Morning Britain in 2016.
Mr
Morgan’s treatment of Mr Page during the interview led to 70 complaints to
Ofcom.
However,
it was ruled that Mr Page’s responses to Piers Morgan’s questions justified his
removal from his financial role in the NHS, as they might inadvertently “deter
mentally ill gay people in the Trust’s catchment area from engaging with its
services.”
Lawyers
representing Mr Page had argued at the hearing in November 2020 that upholding
his removal on these grounds would force Christians holding traditional views
about sexual morality into silence, making it almost impossible for them to
hold any kind of public office.
Concluding
his judgment however, Lord Justice Underhill stated that, “the issue
raised by this case is not about what beliefs such a person holds but about the
limits on their public expression.”
He
added that:
“the
freedom to express religious or any other beliefs cannot be unlimited. In
particular, so far as the present case is concerned, there are circumstances in
which it is right to expect Christians (and others) who work for an
institution, especially if they hold a high-profile position, to accept some
limitations on how they express in public their beliefs on matters of
particular sensitivity.”
‘Artificial way to exclude
Christian beliefs’
Andrea Williams, chief
executive of the Christian Legal Centre,
said: “This
is the first time the Court of Appeal has endorsed the perverse distinction
between unlawful discrimination for Christian beliefs and lawfully dismissing
someone for offending an LGBT audience by expressing those beliefs.
“This
is simply an artificial way to exclude Christian beliefs from the protection of
the law. Nobody would get away with applying a similar distinction to any other
protected characteristic. You would not get away with dismissing a homosexual
for coming out as a homosexual, and then saying: “we duly respect your sexual
orientation as long as you keep it to yourself”. This is an unfair and chilling
decision, and the Supreme Court should put it right.
“The
judgment sends a direct message to Christian public servants that if they allow
their beliefs to influence their decision-making while in public office, they
must self-censor and be silent, and are ultimately unfit for that office. If
they express their beliefs in private to colleagues, they will be reprimanded,
and if they then state those beliefs to the media, they will be sacked and will
have their lives torn apart.
“The
idea that you can remove a director from the NHS based on a perception that
members of the LGBT community may be offended by something he said in the
media, is extraordinary and should concern us all.
“This
ruling provides a green light for employers to punish Christian employees who
do not fall in line with and unquestionably support LGBT ideology. We will
continue to stand with Richard Page as he seeks justice. We will not stop until
this wrong is put right.”
Responding to the outcome,
Mr Page said: “This
is another deeply concerning ruling from the courts against Christian freedoms,
and I intend to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.”
+ Christian
Concern,
[3] Melbourne
Pastor Arrested for Incitement
Victoria Police have arrested
and charged the Melbourne Pastor who made headlines last week for conducting a
church service in defiance of state restrictions.
Pastor Furlong has been
charged with three separate incitement charges for the protest and for conducting
a church service on Sunday. He was released on bail and will appear in court in
July.
https://caldronpool.com/melbourne-pastor-arrested-for-incitement/
The lawyer for Trinity Bible
Chapel of Woolwich Township,
Ontario, Canada
says church elders have been fined CA$38,000 after they were found in contempt
of court last month. They've also been ordered to pay CA$45,000 in legal fees.
The church in Woolwich
Township held in-person services with hundreds of people in attendance during
the provincial lockdown. Under the Reopening Ontario Act, only 10 people were
allowed to attend religious services during that time.
+ Bell Media, 299 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario
M5V 2Z5, Canada, Contact
Page
[5] New
Trinity Review Article "The Pope's Utopian Dream of a World
Socialist Order" by Brad K. Gsell
The latest issue of the Trinity
Review features the article "The Pope's Utopian Dream of a World Socialist Order"
by Brad K. Gsell, which exposes Pope Francis' socialist schemes in his
encyclical letter "Frateli Tutti" on Fraternity and Social
Friendship, which is more than just a reminder for us to love one another, but is
rather Francis' attack on capitalism and promotion of socialism.
+ The Trinity Foundation, Post
Office Box 68, Unicoi, Tennessee 37692, 423-743-0199, Fax:
423-743-2005, tjtrinityfound@aol.com
