News Archive
Hot potato no.1
I've been struck by the great national debate that's raging over the recent Sexual Orientation Regulations (SOR) bill that will become law. So, what's the big deal?
Here's some practical examples of what this issue means:
* The legislation means a Christian hotel owner will not be allowed to discriminate against same-sex couples when allocating rooms.
* Adoption agencies - like the catholic ones in the news - will be acting unlawfully if they refuse to allow homosexual couples to adopt children.
* Ministers (like me), who refuse to 'bless' homosexual partnerships in church, will be acting against the law.
I like to think that I'm not a knee-jerk or reactive sort of thinker, and it would certainly be easy to join the evangelical chorus presently gaining increasing momentum in the UK, of withdrawing into our comfortable, doctrinally pure ghettos, and finger wagging at society. But surely that isn't the way of Jesus. I do find evangelical defeatism - you know the thing; the idea that it's just another sign of societies demise that will quicken Jesus' return - profoundly depressing and unbiblical.
For a start, let's try and think clearly here. What are the central issues at the heart of this? For me, my angst and opposition to the SOR bill is not about a person's sexuality but about freedom of conscience. Let me spell it out: the reason I want to protest about the SOR is because it strikes against the bedrock of this nation; that is the freedom of myself, my family and my congregation to hold Christian beliefs without fear of criminalisation.
My first duty is always to elevate biblical truth as the final arbiter in our ethical and moral dilemmas. To me, that means on the one and, rejecting any forms of prejudice, especially some of the insidious forms of homophobia found in some circles, whilst protesting forcefully against laws that do not allow people to follow their consciences.
That's what I think Jesus would do. What do you think?