British Christian Wins Case Over Facebook Gay Marriage Post

11/17/2012 Britain (FMT) - A British Christian who was demoted by his employer over comments he made on Facebook opposing gay marriage in churches won a High Court case for breach of contract yesterday. Judges in London found that Adrian Smith, who works for a local government social housing body, had not been guilty of any misconduct and awarded him token damages of less than £100 (US$158, 125 euros). Smith, 55, lost his managerial status, had his salary cut by 40 percent and was handed a final written warning after posting on Facebook that gay weddings in churches were “an equality too far”.

Although the remarks were not visible to the public and were posted outside work time, Smith’s Manchester-based employer, Trafford Housing Trust, said he had broken its code of conduct by voicing religious or political views that could upset his colleagues.

Judge Michael Briggs ruled that the trust had no right to demote Smith and had breached its contract with him, while the Facebook posts did not constitute misconduct. The judge said Smith could have won far more in damages if he had launched proceedings for unfair dismissal at the employment tribunal.

“The breach of contract which the trust… committed was serious and repudiatory,” Briggs said.
Smith said in a statement after the ruling: “The judge exonerated me and made clear that my comments about marriage were in no way ‘misconduct’.

“My award of damages has been limited to less than £100 – but that is for technical legal reasons.
“But I didn’t do this for the money, I did this because there is an important principle at stake.
“Britain is a free country where people have freedom of speech, and I am pleased that the judge’s ruling underlines that important principle(Source).”

Christian Bed and Breakfast Owner Sued For Refusing Gay Couple

9/18/2012 United Kingddom (The Christian Institute) - A Christian bed and breakfast owner appeared in court yesterday after being sued by a homosexual couple. The case began after Susanne Wilkinson refused to let Michael Black and John Morgan share a double room at her B&B in 2010. Mrs Wilkinson, 56, says her faith is not restricted to Sundays and that it affects “every area” of her day-to-day life.

After the case first hit the headlines Mrs Wilkinson and her husband were inundated with hate mail, including a hand-delivered note threatening to torch their house. Mrs Wilkinson, whose case was heard at Reading County Court yesterday, said: “All we ever wanted was to be able to live and work in keeping with our faith.

“Christianity isn’t just something we do in church on a Sunday – it affects every area of our life, including our home and our business. Surely there is room for that in modern British life.” Mrs Wilkinson, who runs the Swiss B&B in Cookham, is being supported by The Christian Institute’s Legal Defence Fund(Source).

UK Deputy PM Calls Christians Bigots?

09/12/2012 UK (Virtue Online)-In using the 'B' word against opponents of same-sex marriage, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, has revealed the depth of his hostility towards Christians and others who wish to retain the current legal definition of marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.

And yes Mr Clegg has called us bigots because that is the word that appeared in the Cabinet Office press release he approved in advance of last night's reception marking the end of the Coalition Government's same-sex marriage consultation.

British Christians would be to wise to note the strength of Mr Clegg's moral abhorrence against those he perceives as guilty of homophobia. In 2006, the Labour Government of Tony Blair tried to pass a religious hate speech law which, according to some legal experts at that time, could have earned British Christians who criticised Islam a seven-year prison sentence. Mercifully, it was narrowly defeated in the House of Commons.

It is surely quite conceivable that a future Labour government would want to outlaw criticism of same-sex marriage as 'homophobic hate speech' with the offence carrying a custodial sentence. Given the depth of hostility against opponents of same-sex marriage within the British political establishment, why should Christians who criticised the innovation not expect to risk prison?

Jesus told his disciples in his Sermon on the Mount: "But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" (Matthew 5v44 - Authorised Version).

So, however resentful one may feel at the unjust suppression of freedom of debate in our country (which I for one have no wish to see meted out on supporters of same-sex marriage), the right response as a British Christian, now and in the likely much more difficult future, is to pray for the redemption of Mr Clegg.
And to continue graciously and faithfully to uphold the biblical teaching that marriage, as God created it and as Jesus hallowed it, is exclusively between one man and one woman for life.

The above constitutes the two-fold Christian duty to God and to our country, even though the second part is perceived as bigotry by the political establishment. And may well become illegal to fulfill under the politically correct new moral order engulfing Britain. The Christian calling to pray, however, as the Apostle Paul wonderfully demonstrated in his prison epistles, is impossible to outlaw even in jail(Source).

UK: Christian Groups Angry Over PM’S Gay Marraige Comments

07/28/2012 UK (Christian Today)-Christian groups have criticised Prime Minister David Cameron after he suggested the church was “locking out” people who are gay, bisexual or transgender. Rev Rod Thomas, the Chairman of Reform, a conservative evangelical network within the Church of England, said the Prime Minister’s comments were “regrettable”.

He said the suggestion that the church was ‘locking out’ a section in the community was a “misinterpretation” of the church’s position.

“As Christians we advocate and showpastoral care and love to all in the community, following Christ’s command to love our neighbour as ourselves,” said Mr Thomas.

“However the church’s mission is to bring God’s word to God’s world. God designed marriage to be the union of one man and one woman, reflecting the union of Christ as bridegroom and his church his bride. That purpose will never change.

“God is not a person with whom even UK prime ministers can negotiate a more congenial set of commands.
“We utterly deny that by supporting the biblical definition of marriage anyone is being ‘locked out’ from meeting God through Jesus Christ and experiencing his transforming love.”

Mr Cameron hosted a reception at Downing Street on Tuesdayfor the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. He told guests that the Government would be legislatingfor gay marriage “in this Parliament” and the Coalition was “committed both to changing the law and also working to change the culture”.
Mr Cameron said: “I make that point not only as someone who believes in equality but as someone who believes passionately in marriage.

The Prime Minister’s vow of supportfor gay marriage comes in spite of strong opposition within his party.
Regarding the church, Mr Cameron said it was a “very complicated and difficult issue” but said he passionately believed “that all institutions need to wake up to the casefor equality, and the Church shouldn’t be locking out people who are gay, or bisexual or are transgender from being full members of that Church, because many people with deeply held Christian views are also gay”.

“And just as the Conservative Party, as an institution, made a mistake in locking people out so I think the churches can be in danger of doing the same thing,” he said. Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern said: “David Cameron’s comments are disingenuous.

“All people are loved by God and welcomed by Him but that does not mean that all behaviour is right or that we can pretend that marriage is something that it is not.

“This is not an issue of equality but of honesty. Commitment is an important aspect of marriage but that is not all there is to it(Source)."

UK Christian Health Worker Sues Over Dismissal for Pro-life Views

05/29/2012 UK (The Christian Post)-A Christian woman suspended from the U.K. National Health Service for voicing her opposition to abortion has filed a lawsuit against the government body, claiming it violated her rights to free speech and religion.

Margaret Forrester, working as a "psychological wellbeing practitioner" for the National Health Service, was suspended in Nov. 2010 after she privately told colleagues she was concerned women receiving abortions were not adequately educated on the negative effects of the procedure.

Forrester then gave a pro-life, charity-sponsored booklet entitled "Forsaken" to one of her colleagues, which featured stories of women who had dealt with post-abortion syndrome, in the hopes of better educating women facing unplanned pregnancies. It was shortly after that encounter that the mental health practitioner was suspended for "gross professional misconduct."

Forrester, 40, has chosen to take up her grievances regarding her suspension with England's High Court, where she filed a lawsuit Monday. She is being represented by the Thomas Moore Legal Center, a conservative religious freedom charity, and is arguing that the handling of her religious expression by the Central and North West London NHS Trust was a human rights violation.

During disciplinary proceedings, Forrester, a Roman Catholic, was told that the "Forsaken" abortion-awareness pamphlet was "religious in tone" and therefore may be offensive to some nonreligious colleagues, the Telegraph reported.

"If employees of the NHS cannot even discuss the subject of abortion with their colleagues then this means that the NHS has become a dangerously totalitarian organization with no regard for freedom or diversity," a representative for the Thomas Moore Legal Society told the publication.

A spokesperson for the NHS told the Telegraph: "The Trust thoroughly disputes these allegations and will continue to defend its position vigorously. We are confident that we will be able to successfully defend these claims(Source)."

BBC Boss Says: We’ll Mock Jesus But Not Mohammad

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
-John 15:18

02/29/2012 UK (The Christian Institute)-The head of the BBC, Mark Thompson, has admitted that the broadcaster would never mock Mohammed like it mocks Jesus.
He justified the astonishing admission of religious bias by suggesting that mocking Mohammed might have the “emotional force” of “grotesque child pornography”.
But Jesus is fair game because, he said, Christianity has broad shoulders and fewer ties to ethnicity.
Bias
Mr Thompson says the BBC would never have broadcast Jerry Springer The Opera – a controversial musical that mocked Jesus – if its target had been Mohammed. He made the remarks in an interview for a research project at the University of Oxford. Mr Thompson said: “The point is that for a Muslim, a depiction, particularly a comic or demeaning depiction, of the Prophet Mohammed might have the emotional force of a piece of grotesque child pornography.”
Insults

Last year former BBC news anchor Peter Sissons said Christians are “fair game” for insults at the corporation, whilst Muslims must not be offended. Mr Sissons, whose memoirs were serialised in the Daily Mail, said: “Islam must not be offended at any price, although Christians are fair game because they do nothing about it if they are offended(Source).”

Campaign To Retain The Legal Definition Of Marriage As That Between A Man And A Woman

02/21/2012 UK (Christian Concern)-Conservative MP for Enfield Southgate, David Burrowes, has faced harassment, abuse and even a death threat due to his support for a campaign to retain the legal definition of marriage as that between a man and a woman.

Mr Burrowes is a leading supporter of ‘The Coalition for Marriage’, a campaign launched on 20 February to stop the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples. He said: “My views are that the values of marriage should be between a man and a woman and that is something which is set out in statute hundreds of times – if you change the shape of marriage then you change its purpose and risk changing the meaning of it.

“I do not see the need for legislation to recognise gay marriage. I will vote against it. But it does not at all follow that I am anti-gay and homophobic.

“I don’t in any way challenge the fact that people will want to change the law and it’s important that this is a debate that is done with respect and we respect people’s views.”

Campaign against Mr Burrowes
As well as receiving abusive messages and a death threat, Mr Burrowes faces opposition from within his own party. Phillip Dawson, the treasurer at Mr Burrowes’ Conservative association, has launched a campaign to challenge his position and also to condemn his involvement with Christian group CARE, urging him to “listen to the views” of his homosexual constituents.
...
Consultation
Next month, Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone will publish a consultation on homosexual marriage, although the consultation will be asking ‘how’ such a measure will be introduced, rather than ‘whether’ it should be.

The Prime Minister’s plans do not appear to be favoured by Christians. A recent poll by ComRes found that 83% of church-going Christians in the UK are opposed to the plans to legalise homosexual marriage, and 57% of all respondents are ‘less likely to vote’ for the party because of this move.

Earlier this month, the Archbishop of York, Dr Sentamu, also received abusive and threatening emails after he told The Daily Telegraph that marriage was not for the “state to define” but must continue to be legally recognised as “a relationship between a man and a woman(Source)."

UK Christian Woman Denied Rights Given To A Muslim Over Work Days?

The double standards here shock, anger and enrage me. In Saudi Arabia, women aren't even allowed to drive a car and in Islam a woman can be beaten into submission (Sura 4:34). Is it just me or is Britain slowly starting to look like countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as this article is showing? (Words written in bold throughout the article are of the author)Read it for yourself:

02/21/2012 UK (The Christian Post)-A Christian care worker from the U.K. claims that she was discriminated against when she was not allowed accommodations from her employers for her beliefs while her Muslim co-worker was treated differently. Celestina Mba is suing the London Borough of Merton after being forced to resign from her position at the Brightwell Children's Home in 2010 over her desire not to work on Sundays, the day of Sabbath.

She states that her requests not to work on a Sunday were initially respected by the council, which reportedly indicated they could "work around" that fact, when she applied for the job. Seven months into her job at the respite home, however, her bosses changed their position and asked her to cover shifts on Sundays, forcing her to choose between her job and her faith.

Mba, a Christian since a young girl, has never worked on a Sunday and worships every Sabbath at her Baptist church. She is also part of the ministry team visiting hospitals and providing pastoral care for young women, according to The Daily Mail UK.

The 57-year-old employee tried to reach a compromise with her employers, saying that she was willing to work "at any unsocial time of shift (i.e. night time or Saturday shifts) in order to preserve [her] Sundays."
She claimed that was even willing to take a reduction in pay as well and tried to arrange shift swaps with her colleagues, which the management purportedly tried to obstruct.

But she believed that ultimately her bosses did not want to compromise with her and saw the issue as "a question of management power with disrespect to the Christian faith."
Her beliefs and unwillingness to work on a Sunday eventually led to a disciplinary hearing in January 2010 and she resigned four months later.

I praise the Lord Jesus Christ for giving my sister in the faith the willingness to be uncompromising in her beliefs.

While her own faith could not be accommodated for, Mba stated that managers were "happy" and willing to allow her Muslim colleague to attend mosque every Friday. But her former manager, John Deegan, testified that he did not know of any Muslim employee being given special treatment and also denied Mba even mentioning that it was difficult for her to work on Sundays because of her religion.

"This is another case where we see intolerance towards the Christian faith and a lack of willingness to make accommodation for it," Andrea Williams, director of the CLC, said.
...
Richard Thompson, president and chief council of the Thomas More Law Society, believes that under American law, though he wasn't sure about the laws in the U.K., the courts would hopefully find that Mba was being discriminated against on the basis of religious belief, especially since her Muslim co-worker was given rights that she was not(Keep reading).

UK Judge Rules Against Christian Guesthouse Owners

02/10/2012 UK (Christian Concern)-Two Christian guesthouse owners have today lost their appeal against last year’s ruling which left them with a £3,600 fine for only letting married couples rent double-rooms in their guesthouse. Peter and Hazelmary Bull were found to have discriminated after refusing a double-room to a non-married same-sex couple in 2008. The Bulls appealed the decision, claiming that they had always restricted double-rooms to married couples in accordance with their Christian beliefs.

However, today the Court of Appeal upheld the original decision and found that same-sex couple Mr Hall and Mr Preddy had been discriminated against under equality laws. Mr Hall and Mr Preddy were backed in their case by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The EHRC has intervened in several cases relating to the clash between freedom of belief and homosexual rights, and in every such case it has intervened strongly against the freedom to manifest religious belief. The EHRC caused outrage last year when it argued in Johns v Derby Council that Christians with Christian moral views on sex should not be allowed to foster because they might ‘infect’ children.

The Christian Institute funded Mr and Mrs Bull’s appeal.
Spokesman Simon Calvert said: “Peter and Hazelmary have been penalised for their beliefs about marriage.

“Something has gone badly wrong with our equality laws when good, decent people like Peter and Hazelmary are penalised but extremist hate preachers are protected.”

Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“This was the wrong decision. A number of judgments have now elevated sexual orientation rights above historic freedom of belief. This was never the intention of Parliament, and has no democratic mandate.

“Bed and breakfast owners have now become another category of people in the UK who will be penalised if they try to serve the public without compromising their religious beliefs.

“We are heading towards a two-tier society where only those who subscribe to secular, humanistic values will be able to operate in many areas in the public sphere.

College ‘Sacked Head And Wife For Being White Christians’

It enrages me that not only are my brethren in Christ are being mistreated for their religion (Christianity), they are also being discrimated for their race as well. Surprisingly for some people who are visiting this blog or who have been following it for a while, Arab-supremacy can be found in Muslim sources like the History of Jafar al-Tabari:

Tabari IX:69- "Arabs are the most noble people in lineage, the most prominent, and the best in deeds. We were the first to respond to the call of the Prophet. We are Allah's helpers and the viziers of His Messenger.

So race-discriminated incidents as described below should be unsurprising:

12/30/2011 UK (The Telegraph)-Professor Malory Nye, 47, claims he was dismissed from his job at the Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education in Dundee, Scotland, because its hierarchy viewed his race and religion as a threat to its Muslim values. His wife Isabel Campbell-Nye, 42, alleges she was also forced out of her position as head of the college’s English language centre because she brought in too many students who were not Muslims or Arabs.

The independent college, sponsored by the Dubai royal family, advertises itself as a research-led institution “that promotes a greater understanding of different religions and cultures in a multicultural context, for the benefit of the wider community”.

However, the couple allege that its claims of multiculturalism were a charade and that Prof Nye was dismissed to make way for a Muslim replacement. They are taking the college to an employment tribunal claiming racial and religious discrimination, and unfair dismissal. Mrs Campbell-Nye is also claiming sex discrimination on the grounds that she was allegedly suspended and later dismissed because she is married to Prof Nye.

However, they believe they fell out of favour with leaders at the college, whose patron is Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai, over fears they were pushing it in a more cosmopolitan direction. They allege that Abubaker Abubaker, the director of operations, and Mirza al-Sayegh, chairman of its board of directors and private secretary to the Sheikh, decided to force them out because they were British, white and Christian.

Prof Nye said: “It is clear to me that there is collusion between these two individuals that I should be removed from my position on the basis that I am not an Arab and not a Muslim and that the person who has the role of principal should be Arab and/or Muslim.

“However, I believe that such inclusive multiculturalism no longer fits the particular type of multicultural vision of certain managers and the chairman, that is accepting of different cultures, so long as the majority of students are Muslims and/or Arabs and the ethos is distinctly Islamic.

“My face and lack of Muslim faith no longer fit.”

He said his suspension also came just days after he changed the college’s name from its former title: Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic studies. The couple, from Perth, were frogmarched off the college grounds in June and suspended and have not been allowed to return since.

Mrs Campbell-Nye claims Mr Abubaker also sought to remove her because she had attracted too many non-Muslim, European and Asian students to study English at the college.

“The only times Mr Abubaker has encouraged me to bring in students to English language are when they are Arabs or Muslims.

“I believe that Mr Abubaker’s discrimination against me, because I am not Muslim, I am not Arab, and I am also a woman – and because I have brought a number of non Muslim/non-Arab students to the college – is a significant reason for my suspension.”

A spokesman for the college said: “We can confirm that we have been notified that Employment Tribunal proceedings have been raised in the name of Professor Malory Nye and his wife, Isabel Campbell-Nye.
"The College, an independent, not-for-profit charity, places diversity, religious pluralism and multiculturalism firmly at the core of its Higher Education programmes – and its day-to-day activities," the spokesman said.

“The Al-Maktoum College will vigorously defend its reputation as a centre of excellence within the higher dducation sector and the good name it has won over the last ten years here in Dundee, nationally and internationally.

“Professor Nye was dismissed from his post as Principal at the College following a period of suspension on full pay and an inquiry conducted by the College Chancellor.

“Contingency plans were put in place to ensure the continued smooth running of the College.

“We are in consultation with our team of legal advisers and, as a result, we are not in a position to discuss the matter further at this stage(Source).”

Christian Are ‘Evil’ For Backing Marriage, Says Tesco R&D Boss

Tesco is a living example of Isaiah 5:20 where it is said:
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

12/16/2011 UK (The Christian Institute)-Christians are “evil” if they resist the redefinition of marriage to allow for same-sex marriage, the Head of Research and Development at Tesco.com has said.
The inflammatory comment came as news emerged that the supermarket giant is selling a drink degradingly called “P***y Natural Energy”, in a limited edition can exclusive to Tesco. The company has already faced criticism for dumping its support for the Cancer Research ‘Race for Life’ and sponsoring London’s gay pride festival.

If you won’t be shopping at Tesco this Christmas, tell them so on their Facebook page: facebook.com/tesco or email CEO Philip Clarke: philip.clarke@uk.tesco.com

The “evil Christians” comment was made by Nick Lansley, Head of Research and Development for the Tesco website.

He wrote: “I’m also campaigning against evil Christians (that’s not all Christians, just bad ones) who think that gay people should not lead happy lives and get married to their same-sex partners.”


Offensive
Earlier this year, a Christian housing manager from Manchester was demoted and had his salary slashed by 40 per cent for posting a moderate comment on Facebook, saying churches shouldn’t be forced to host homosexual civil partnerships if they don’t want to.

Judgment
Director of The Christian Institute, Colin Hart, said: “I won’t be shopping at Tesco this Christmas, and I am repeatedly hearing from other Christians who have already come to the same conclusion.
“Mr Lansley is entitled to his opinions, and Christians are entitled to choose not to shop at Tesco.
“The decision by Tesco to sell an offensively named drink shows very poor judgment, even if 5p from every can goes to Cancer Research. Come on, Tesco, you are meant to be a family-friendly store. Start acting like it.”

UK Gov’t Won’t Support Persecuted Christian’s Case In Europe

It seems like the government in the United Kingdom is getting more and more hostile to Christianity:

12/16/2011 UK (The Christian Institute)-Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar who was disciplined for her stance on civil partnerships, will not receive the backing of the UK Government when her case reaches Europe. Miss Ladele’s case is one of a quartet of religious liberty cases involving Christians that are set to appear before the European Court of Human Rights. The Government has decided not to support any of the four Christians in Europe, instead backing previous rulings from British courts.

Reasonable
Supporters of Miss Ladele say there were plenty of registrars at Islington Council who could have easily provided a civil partnership service without requiring her involvement.They say there could have been a ‘reasonable accommodation’ of her religious beliefs that would not have affected service delivery. Two of the other cases heading to Europe involve Christians who wanted to wear a cross at work.

Hide
Nadia Eweida wanted to wear a small cross on the outside of her uniform, but bosses at British Airways ordered her to hide it. And Shirley Chaplin was told by Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust that she could not wear a cross around her neck while she worked on hospital wards. The other case involves Gary McFarlane, a Christian counsellor who was sacked because he did not want to give sex advice to homosexual couples.

Wrong
The Government, in 40 pages of legal arguments, said the UK was “entitled to conclude” that “other than in limited prescribed circumstances, religious belief does not justify discriminating on grounds of sexual orientation”.

It also said that the Christians were not protected because neither wearing a cross nor following their conscience at work was a core requirement of their faith.

UK Gov’t Won’t Back Christians Fighting For Their Rights

12/10/2011 UK (Mail Online)-The Government was slammed last night for refusing to support a group of Christians fighting for their rights in the European courts. Four individuals who have been disciplined at work or lost their jobs after refusing to remove crosses or to conform to gay rights laws are attempting to overturn the decisions of British courts and tribunal.

They had hoped for support from Ministers after a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, appealed to Prime Minister David Cameron on their behalf But the Government told the European Court of Human Rights that it backed the British judges and does not accept that the Christians have suffered discrimination.

To the dismay of Lord Carey, the Government even said that wearing a cross or a crucifix was not a ‘generally recognised’ Christian practice – even though Church leaders say it is a hugely significant symbol.
Lord Carey said: ‘I am very disappointed for the individuals concerned who have simply followed their conscience.

‘Such is the result of a liberal establishment that has become deeply illiberal.’

In landmark hearings, the court in Strasbourg is to consider the cases of Shirley Chaplin, a Devon nurse banned from working on the wards after she failed to hide a cross she had worn since the age of 16, and Nadia Eweida, a check-in clerk for British Airways who was told to remove her small crucifix at work.

The European judges will also examine the cases of Relate counsellor Gary MacFarlane, who was sacked after suggesting he would refuse to provide sexual therapy to gay couples, and registrar Lilian Ladele, who was disciplined by Islington council in North London after refusing to officiate at civil partnership ceremonies.

Even the Government’s own watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has told the European Court that the British courts have failed to protect the rights of some believers.
Christian lawyers say the rights of the four to express their beliefs at work should be protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, which allows individuals to ‘manifest’ their faith in public.
But the Government, in 40 pages of legal arguments drawn up by the Foreign Office, said they were not protected because neither wearing a cross nor following their conscience at work was a core requirement of their faith.
...
It said that even if the European Court did decide that Ms Eweida and Mrs Chaplin could wear crosses, employers could overrule this because of health and safety rules banning jewellery at work. It also denied that the rights of Ms Lidele and Mr MacFarlane had been breached, arguing that they could have resigned rather than stay in jobs where they had to carry out tasks that were against their beliefs. The Government added: ‘The UK is entitled to conclude ... that other than in limited prescribed circumstances, religious belief does not justify discriminating on grounds of sexual orientation.’

But the Christian Legal Centre, backed by Lord Carey and former Anglican Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali, says the visible wearing of the cross or crucifix is ‘clearly an aspect’ of the practice of the Christian religion. The centre’s head Andrea Williams said: ‘Sharing faith in the public square goes to the centre, the heart, of a Christian’s life and belief – it’s who they are(Source).

Christian Worker Fired At Britain’s Heathrow Airport For “Insulting Muslims”

And the persecution of my British brethren in Christ continues. Only this time it seems to involves the special status that Islam demands. This angers me because if it was the other way around, if a Muslim was fired for insulting Christians there would be an uproar. The double standards never cease to infuriate me.

11/29/2011 United Kingdom (CIC) -  A Christian worker at London’s Heathrow Airport has been dismissed after claims she insulted Muslims, raising fears that "radical Islam" has now arrived "at the heart of the UK border," her defense team and supporters told BosNewsLife Tuesday, November 29.  Advocacy group Christian Concern (CC) said Nohad Halawi, who worked in the airport's duty-free section as a perfume saleswoman for 13 years, was "summarily fired" in July following "un-substantiated complaints by five Muslims about her conduct".

CC said the dismissal came although she has "many friends of different religions amongst the staff." It appears, the group explained, that Muslims "took offense at something Mrs. Halawi said after mishearing her. She had described a Muslim colleague as an allawhi - 'man of God' in Arabic, yet another worker who overheard her thought she said Alawi, which was his branch of Islam."

Halawi reportedly said she was told by those involved in the complaints to "go to Hell" for her religion and that Jews were responsible for the September 11 terror attacks against the United States. A friend, she added, was reduced to tears after being bullied for wearing a cross.

She has pledged to take the case to what is known as the Employment Tribunal, CC confirmed. "In her submission to the Tribunal, Mrs Halawi has wide support from other Heathrow staff, including other Muslims, as she tries to clear her name, regain her job and expose the identity of supporters of radical Islam at the heart of the UK border," the group said.

FACING "THREATS"
Autogrill Retail UK Limited, trading as World Duty Free, and Caroline South Associates, for whom she sold perfumes and other goods, reportedly said in a reaction that "as a part-time, commission-based worker in Duty Free," she has "no legal employment rights, either from the company, nor Caroline South Associates."

She has had her security pass removed by Heathrow Duty Free and was told she was no longer welcome to trade at Heathrow Airport, CC said. "She has been threatened with costs if she attempts to go to an Employment Tribunal, despite the fact that this forum is cost free," the group added.

There was no immediate response from officials about the alleged threat. Halawi, who came to Britain from Lebanon in 1977, is being helped in her case against the dismissal by lawyers of the Christian Legal Centre. They say Halawi's it raises important legal issues including whether Muslims and Christians are treated differently by employers.

“Nohad’s case is one of the most serious we have ever handled," said the Centre's Chief Executive Andrea Minichiello Williams. "Nohad represents tens of thousands of people across the UK who work, in all but name, as ‘employees’ for companies and yet have absolutely no employment rights(Source)." 

UK Christians Fell Marginalized According To A New Report

And the persecution of my British brethren continues........

11/10/2011 UK (Christian Today)-A new report out from Premier Christian Media warns of a “strong bias” against Christians in British public life. The media group’s report is based upon consecutive polls it has commissioned in recent years to gauge perceptions among Christians and non-Christians.

Feelings of marginalisation were found to be particularly strong amongst Christians. In a 2008 survey of 500 Christians, 73% said they felt Christians were being unfairly marginalised in British society. That was followed by a C-Panel poll the following year which found that 66% of Christians felt there was greater negative discrimination towards Christians than other faiths. Although non-Christians were far less likely to agree that Christians were being marginalised, poll results revealed a sympathetic general public.

In a May 2010 ComRes poll of Christians and non-Christians, 38% believed marginalisation of Christianity was increasing. In March this year, a similar ComRes poll found that 37% of the general public felt the Government favours other religions over Christianity. In the 2010 survey, 43% of the general public said they expected the marginalisation of Christians in society to increase in the next five years. Premier noted perceptions of “favouritism” towards Muslims in particular and a bias towards homosexual lobby groups.

It pointed to the recent statement by the Equality and Human Rights Commission acknowledging that Christians were being discriminated against more than other religious groups in the workplace and proposing the “reasonable accommodation” of beliefs. It retracted the statement a few weeks later following the intervention of Angela Mason, formerly of gay rights group Stonewall. Despite perceptions of marginalisation, Premier noted that in another poll, only 12% of Christians said they had experienced victimisation directly.

Premier said that the feelings of marginalisation could be attributed to the media or the rise of secularism.
The report stated: “There are several explanations for this general feeling of increased marginalisation. The first reason is the rise of secularism, evidenced through the virulent campaigning of such groups like the National Secular Society.

“Another contributory factor could be the negative role some parts of the media has played, not only in shaping public perception, but more specifically, creating a climate of anxiety and fear amongst Christians.”
Polls consistently revealed feelings of dissatisfaction with the way that issues of a Christian nature are portrayed by the media, with one respondent saying that Christians were often depicted as “complaining”, “bigoted” or “extreme”.

“Our evidence shows that not only is the misrepresentation of Christians and Christianity in the news affecting the general public’s perception, but it is also affecting the Christian community,” Premier said. Premier warned that the “sensational” way in which some legal cases involving Christians had been covered by the media had contributed “significantly to creating a climate of fear amongst Christians”.

The report went on to state that there was an “inconsistency” in the way that courts apply and interpret equality laws in relation to Christians.

“When it comes to competing rights between different groups, the rights of Christians seem to be ‘sacrificed on the altar of political correctness’,” the report stated.

In spite of the evidence for marginalisation, Premier stressed that there was a “distinct difference” between ‘marginalisation’ and ‘persecution’ and that the term ‘persecution’ could not be applied to the British experience.

“This is not persecution in the sense that Christians in North Korea and elsewhere experience it. It is just a clash of cultures and needs to be resolved as such.”

Polls indicate strong support for religious freedom in British society, with 87% of people agreeing that religious freedom is an important part of being British. The report concludes with a warning that religious freedoms are being eroded in the UK by “equality legislation and political correctness”.

“To some extent this is inevitable,” Premier states. “Post-modern culture rejects all meta-narratives, including the biblical worldview and its claim to uniqueness.

“Christians who take their faith seriously are at risk of being marginalised because we threaten the presuppositions of this culture.”

The report makes several recommendations, including an appeal to people of all faiths and none to tolerate the beliefs of others and the right to express deeply held convictions “in a civil manner”.

Courts should not show bias to other faiths or groups, the report says, and the media should represent Christianity in a more balanced way. Legislation also needs to be reviewed and revised to enable true freedom of thought, conscience and religion, while employers should ensure religious liberty in the workplace, Premier says.

“The suggestion that religion is a purely private matter is naïve and shows a total misunderstanding of the teaching of Jesus and the whole Bible."

UK’s Christians Face Their “Biggest Challenge In The Last 400 Years”

And the Western/European persecution of Christians continues.......
11/11/2011 UK (Church Times)-THE Christian faith in the UK is facing its “biggest challenge in the last 400 years” as Christians experi­ence rising intolerance in society, the first sitting of a parliamentary in­quiry, Clearing the Ground, heard on Tuesday.

The Conservative MP Gary Streeter chaired the inquiry, which seeks to establish whether changes to the law and recent court decisions have affected Christian freedoms in the UK. Representatives of four Christian groups gave evidence: the Evangelical Alliance, Premier Chris­tian Radio, the Lawyers Christian Fellowship, and the Maranatha Community.

The leader of the Maranatha community, Denis Wrigley, told the inquiry that there was “a struggle taking place for the soul of the nation”, and Christians were losing the ability to speak freely and express their convictions.

The executive director of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship (LCF), Mark Barrell, told the inquiry: “Many Christians are apprehensive they’re not ‘as equal’ before the law”. Christians were taking their cases to court as a last resort, but these cases were just “the tip of the iceberg”.

Tom Cordrey, a barrister from the LCF who was also giving evidence, said that there needed to be more proportionality applied in court cases involving Christians. He quoted the case of Lilian Ladele, the registrar in Islington who asked to be excused from carrying out same-sex cere­monies. Mr Cordrey said that the judge should have taken into account that there were plenty of other regis­trars to carry out these ceremonies.

The chief executive of Premier Christian Radio, Peter Kerridge, said that Christians’ freedom of expres­sion was being limited by “other groups’ rights encroaching upon Christians expressing them­selves”. Opposition to Christians was exemplified by coverage on the BBC, he said, which was “signifi­cantly more warm and sympathetic and positive in its portrayal of the Mus­lim faith than the Christian faith” (Source).

Christian Hotel Owners Appeal Against Ruling On Gay Couple Sharing A Room

11/08/2011 UK (The Guardian)-Devout Christian hotel owners who refused to allow a gay couple to share a double room have insisted at the appeal court that they should have been allowed to impose the ban.
Peter and Hazel Bull refused to allow Martyn Hall and his civil partner, Steven Preddy, to stay in a double room at their hotel in Marazion, Cornwall.

Earlier this year a judge at Bristol county court ruled the Bulls had acted unlawfully and ordered them to pay £3,600 compensation to the men.

James Dingemans QC, for the Bulls, told three appeal judges that Judge Andrew Rutherford at Bristol "erred in failing to balance the respective rights in this case".
He said the Bulls believed that "unmarried sexual behaviour was wrong" but were not prejudiced against gay people.

He said: "[The Bulls] have prevented hundreds of unmarried couples sharing double beds.
"[Their] beliefs may be considered outdated, uneconomic for those operating a private hotel, but, we respectfully submit, they are entitled to manifest those beliefs."

He said the Bulls had an "absolute right" to believe that "unmarried sexual behaviour is wrong" and a "qualified right" to "manifest that belief".

"If human rights is to have any value at all, it must be respecting of all rights," added Dingemans. "It should not be beyond the ability of the courts to accommodate both sides."

The website to the couple's hotel, Chymorvah, still features a note: "We have few rules, but please note that as Christians we have a deep regard for marriage (being the union of one man to one woman for life to the exclusion of all others). Therefore, although we extend to all a warm welcome to our home, our double-bedded accommodation is not available to unmarried couples. Thank you(Source)."

Scottish Church Leader Warns Persecution Risks If Marriage Redefined

10/26/2011 UK (The Christian Concern)-The Scottish Government risks making the beliefs of many Scots “unlawful” if it redefines marriage, one of Scotland’s most senior Roman Catholics has warned. Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow, has cautioned that a “hugely significant number” of Scots would be “vulnerable to accusations of discrimination” if they support traditional marriage. His comments come just days after a Christian housing manager in England was demoted for privately expressing his opinions about civil partnerships in churches.
Vulnerable
“What we do know is that there is a hugely significant number of Scots who are not only opposed to this change for very sound reasons but who would, even after such a change, continue to hold that there cannot be a moral equivalence between the two forms of union.

“A change in the law will effectively render such people in a sense ‘unlawful’ ie, in a position opposed to the law, vulnerable to accusations of discrimination, and in danger in some circumstances, of losing their jobs if their integrity does not allow them to equivocate.”
The Archbishop added: “We need to support marriage and not further unsettle its traditional place in our land.”
Referendum
The Scottish Government is currently holding a consultation on whether to rewrite the definition of marriage.
And an SNP activist warned that a “politically correct secular society” that redefines marriage was not his idea of an independent Scotland.
Rewrite
The Free Church Commission said that to change the meaning of marriage shows “an irrational determination to force a form of equality upon society which is not rooted in any recognised moral foundation”(Source).

Christian in UK Demoted for Views on Gay Weddings

10/24/2011 United Kingdom (The Telegraph) - Adrian Smith, a Christian, posted in his own time a response to a news story on the Government’s plans to allow gay weddings in church. The posting, which was only available to his friends, questioned whether the plans were “an equality too far”.

father of two has been found guilty of gross misconduct by the Trafford Housing Trust, a publicly funded housing association, and has been demoted from his £35,000 a year managerial post to a more junior £21,000 position.

Mike Judge, a spokesman for the Christian Institute, said it is the latest case of a public servant being targeted for their beliefs. He said an electrician at another housing association was recently threatened with disciplinary action for refusing to remove a palm cross from the association’s van.

Also people with their own companies, such as bed and breakfasts or hotels, have been threatened with legal action for expressing their views on gay marriage. Mr Judge called for a ‘common sense approach’ that enables people to express their beliefs in - especially in the age of the internet.

“I hope this does not intimidate Christians in the public sector,” he said. “They should be free to express their views in modest way(Source)."

Christianity In Britain Today Is Under Severe Persecution

My  brethren in Christ living in Britain are facing lots of persecution in their country. It's only a matter of time before it starts to get violent and they feel the same sort of violent persecution that our brethren in Christ Jesus face in places like China, Nigeria, Iraq, Egypt and Pakistan. This saddens and frightens me to some degree, but at the same time I'm glad that my British brothers and sisters in Christ get to suffer for the sake of the risen Lord.

10/21/2011 UK (Mail Online)-I am very much looking forward to tomorrow’s speech by Ann Widdecombe in which she will criticise our government for its double standards in withdrawing aid from countries which persecute homosexuals while at the same time turning a blind eye to those realms around the world which persecute Christians.

Ms Widdecombe says, 'You have a better chance of earnest representation if you are a hedgehog than if you are a persecuted Christian.'

I am too old and cynical to expect anything better of governments, of whatever hue. But you might think that the leaders of the Church of England would protest more strongly against the persecution of Christians abroad and over here. Recently a seventy-five year old woman in Saudi Arabia was given forty lashes for socializing with her men friends. Christianity is illegal in Saudi – one of our most important middle-eastern allies with whom we do massive trade in weaponry. If you are caught in that country with a Bible, or with the Cross around your neck, you will be arrested by the religious police and thrown into prison.

In Pakistan, a thirteen year old girl was taunted for being a Christian by five Muslim youths who then raped her. The rapists were not charged.Churches are burned down every week in Pakistan. A man is on trial for his life in Egypt for converting to our faith. In China a house church pastor has been slung into prison for utilising superstition to undermine the law.

There have been ancient and established Christian churches in the Middle East since the time of St Paul. Now these are breaking up as never before in 2000 years as hordes of Christians try to leave to escape persecution. In the face of endemic violence from the radical Islamists, the archbishops and bishops have set up an impotent, everlasting talking shop to promote Christian-Muslim dialogue and they issue vacuous communiqués from time to time.

Ah but surely all the atrocities are taking place in far off countries of which we know little? Not at all. Let’s come a bit nearer home:

In England a Muslim girl who converted to Christianity from Islam has been removed from the home of her carer after she chose to be baptised. She was placed in a foster home because her father beat her and threatened to send her to Pakistan for a forced marriage. Her carer, who has fostered more than eighty children, did nothing to encourage her to convert

Also in England, three Coptic Christian children have been placed by social services with a Muslim foster family after their parents divorced. They were originally placed in the custody of the city mosque.  The authority has refused to return the children to the custody of the Coptic Church.

And so on. The nurse who offered prayer to a patient, as part of her ministry to body and soul, is sacked. The airline worker who wears a discreet Cross is sacked also. A child was reprimanded for discussing God at junior school. Public libraries have been instructed to place Bibles on the highest shelf – as if they were some sort of pornography likely to deprave and corrupt.

In the face of all these terrible persecutions, it is easy to be seduced by the arguments of those who tell us there is a clash of civilisations between the Christian West and Islam. This is not true. Most practising Muslims desire only to say their prayers and go to the mosque and to have good relations with their neighbours of whatever faith or none. I have not come across many Muslims who object to Christmas decorations or the wearing of the Cross or the public exhibition of the Bible.

The truth is more sinister. We are dominated by a secular elite which hates Islam every bit as much it hates Christianity. This elite of atheists and metro-political despisers is also a cowardly elite and dare not attack Islam for fear of getting its corporate throat slit. But it finds it useful to invoke an allegedly outraged Islamic sensitivity in order to persecute the Christian faith.
This secular elite – the Dawkins, Pullmans, Toynbees, Graylings and the BBC entire, targets Christianity because it sees Christianity as the embodiment of those historic and traditional values which, until the contemporary reversal, made this country a place worth living in.
...
Why is the Church of England’s hierarchy not out on the streets protesting about the persecution of Christians? Because, shocking as it sounds, many of its members are effectively non-believers who reject the traditional teachings of the church – the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord – and reinterpret them in secular categories as mere metaphors for social involvement. Their ideal image of Jesus Christ is that of a social worker and preacher of the multicultural society. What was it Muggeridge said of the “liberal” Christian view of Christ – that they regarded him as the Labour member for Galilee South...
...
The law of the land says we must not discriminate – except in favour of secularism. Did you know it is an offence to teach Christianity in schools as something that is true – though the 1944 Butler Education Act assumed it is true? Christianity now must be taught only as one among many religions. The only way this can be done is from the secular perspective. This is atheism by state decree.

Christianity in Britain today is under severe persecution. And it will get much worse. I do not resent this persecution. I welcome it. For it will weed out the pseudo-Christians, the wimpish bishops and the caved-in Synod. By persecution we discover who our true friends actually are.

Persecution? Bring it on, I say. We will stand for what is good and right as Christian men knowing whose subjects we are. And if there should come the day when we are murdered by the unholy alliance between the Islamist terrorist and the secular commissar, then so be it. For 'the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.'

What I am saying in today’s piece is no mere airing of my personal prejudices. I am only quoting what I have read. And this is what I have read:

'They shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated for my name’s sake…rejoice and be exceeding glad, for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you(Source).'

And we as American Christians ought to take notice of what's happening to our British brethren in Christ Jesus. Because we could be next.