Briton is a Role Model for Persecuted Christians

Adrian Smith has plucked up the courage to sue his employer, writes Milo Yiannopoulos

From the Catholic Herald (UK)

By Milo Yiannopoulos

Thank the Lord that Adrian Smith, the man shamefully demoted and humiliated in one of the most outrageous assaults on private Christian conscience in recent memory, has plucked up the fortitude to sue his employers.

Quite right too. Smith, a housing working in Manchester, was sacked from his job and shunted down into a much more junior – and less well paid – job, because he had the temerity to suggest that marriage perhaps ought to be between a man and a woman.

He did so privately, and on his own Facebook page, but was disciplined by Trafford Housing Trust for breaching its “code of conduct”. I dread to think of the endless, politically correct garbage that “code of conduct” must consist of. No doubt if he had tweeted, “I’m not entirely sure that the Trust needs all these Diversity Support Officers,” he’d have found himself in similarly hot water.

Christian Preacher Arrested for Saying Homosexuality is a Sin

A Christian street preacher was arrested and locked in a cell for telling a passer-by that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God.

From The Telegraph
By Heidi Blake

Dale McAlpine was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” after a homosexual police community support officer (PCSO) overheard him reciting a number of “sins” referred to in the Bible, including blasphemy, drunkenness and same sex relationships.

The 42-year-old Baptist, who has preached Christianity in Wokington, Cumbria for years, said he did not mention homosexuality while delivering a sermon from the top of a stepladder, but admitted telling a passing shopper that he believed it went against the word of God.

Police officers are alleging that he made the remark in a voice loud enough to be overheard by others and have charged him with using abusive or insulting language, contrary to the Public Order Act.

Mr McAlpine, who was taken to the police station in the back of a marked van and locked in a cell for seven hours on April 20, said the incident was among the worst experiences of his life.

“I felt deeply shocked and humiliated that I had been arrested in my own town and treated like a common criminal in front of people I know," he said.

“My freedom was taken away on the hearsay of someone who disliked what I said, and I was charged under a law that doesn't apply.”

Christian campaigners have expressed alarm that the Public Order Act, introduced in 1986 to tackle violent rioters and football hooligans, is being used to curb religious free speech.

Sam Webster, a solicitor-advocate for the Christian Institute, which is supporting Mr McAlpine, said it is not a crime to express the belief that homosexual conduct is a sin.

“The police have a duty to maintain public order but they also have a duty to defend the lawful free speech of citizens,” he said.

“Case law has ruled that the orthodox Christian belief that homosexual conduct is sinful is a belief worthy of respect in a democratic society."

Mr McAlpine was handing out leaflets explaining the Ten Commandments or offering a “ticket to heaven” with a church colleague on April 20, when a woman came up and engaged him in a debate about his faith.

During the exchange, he says he quietly listed homosexuality among a number of sins referred to in 1 Corinthians, including blasphemy, fornication, adultery and drunkenness.

After the woman walked away, she was approached by a PCSO who spoke with her briefly and then walked over to Mr McAlpine and told him a complaint had been made, and that he could be arrested for using racist or homophobic language.

The street preacher said he told the PCSO: “I am not homophobic but sometimes I do say that the Bible says homosexuality is a crime against the Creator”.

He claims that the PCSO then said he was homosexual and identified himself as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender liaison officer for Cumbria police. Mr McAlpine replied: “It’s still a sin.”

The preacher then began a 20 minute sermon, in which he says he mentioned drunkenness and adultery, but not homosexuality. Three regular uniformed police officers arrived during the address, arrested Mr McAlpine and put him in the back of a police van.

At the station, he was told to empty his pockets and his mobile telephone, belt and shoes were confiscated. Police took fingerprints, a palm print, a retina scan and a DNA swab.

He was later interviewed, charged under Sections 5 (1) and (6) of the Public Order Act and released on bail on the condition that he did not preach in public.

Mr McAlpine pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing on Friday at Wokingham magistrates court and is now awaiting a trial date.

The Public Order Act, which outlaws the unreasonable use of abusive language likely to cause distress, has been used to arrest religious people in a number of similar cases.

Harry Hammond, a pensioner, was convicted under Section 5 of the Act in 2002 for holding up a sign saying “Stop immorality. Stop Homosexuality. Stop Lesbianism. Jesus is Lord” while preaching in Bournemouth.

Stephen Green, a Christian campaigner, was arrested and charged in 2006 for handing out religious leaflets at a Gay Pride festival in Cardiff. The case against him was later dropped.

Cumbria police said last night that no one was available to comment on Mr McAlpine’s case.

Archbishop Warns of “Civil Unrest” in Wake of UK Court Ruling against Christian Counselor

From LifeSiteNews
By Peter J. Smith

The clash between Christians and the state has intensified, with a UK court now having upheld the dismissal of a Christian psychologist who refused to give advice on sexual intimacy to homosexual couples - a decision the former Canterbury Archbishop Lord Carey has denounced as a prelude to “civil unrest” between Christians and the secular government.

Gary McFarlane, 48, a Bristol solicitor, father of two, and evangelical Christian, had worked part-time as a psychological counselor with Relate for five years, during which time he even gave advice to homosexual couples working out basic relationship problems. However, he was sacked from his job in 2008 when he qualified as a psychosexual counselor, because he said he could not give advice in homosexual intimacy as this violated his conscience and beliefs.

McFarlane tried without success to challenge Relate’s decision to fire him at an employment tribunal, arguing that they should have accommodated his religious views. He then appealed to the UK Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the tribunal’s ruling.

However, Lord Justice John Laws denied McFarlane’s request in a strident ruling that argued the law had no responsibility to protect the individual’s expression of conscience or religious belief.

Laws made clear that the court did not view legislation protecting individual conscience as justifiable, calling it an irrational position that “is also divisive, capricious and arbitrary."

"The conferment of any legal protection of preference upon a particular substantive moral position on the ground only that it is espoused by the adherents of a particular faith, however long its tradition, however long its culture, is deeply unprincipled," said Laws in his ruling.

"In a free constitution such as ours there is an important distinction to be drawn between the law's protection of the right to hold and express a belief and the law's protection of that belief's substance or content," ruled the Lord Justice. Laws said that if the law created special exemptions for adherents of one belief, then it would lead to a disenfranchisement of the rest of the members in society, and would lead to “theocracy, which is of necessity autocratic.”

"The law of a theocracy is dictated without option to the people, not made by their judges and governments,” wrote Laws. “The individual conscience is free to accept such dictated law, but the state, if its people are to be free, has the burdensome duty of thinking for itself."

Gary McFarlane lamented the ruling saying, "I have the ability to provide counseling services to same-sex couples.

"There should be allowances taken into account whereby individuals like me can actually avoid having to contradict their very strongly-held Christian principles."

Lord Carey struck out at Law, saying the fact that leaders of the Church of England and other faiths have felt compelled to intervene in court cases involving discrimination against Christians and their viewpoints is “illuminative of future civil unrest” coming to the United Kingdom.

"It is, of course, but a short step from the dismissal of a sincere Christian from employment to a religious bar to any employment by Christians," said Carey.

Carey denounced the judgment, saying it "continues a trend on the part of the courts to downgrade the right of religious believers to manifest their faith in what has become a deeply unedifying collision of human rights."

"The description of religious faith in relation to sexual ethics as 'discriminatory' is crude and illuminates a lack of sensitivity to religious belief,” he continued.

"The comparison of a Christian, in effect, with a 'bigot' (i.e., a person with an irrational dislike to homosexuals) begs further questions. It is further evidence of a disparaging attitude to the Christian faith and its values."

Yet the archbishop also said that Laws’ ruling suppressed British pluralism rather than encouraged it, because the state was enforcing secular values rather than embracing a neutral stance that would allow all individuals of all faiths to live out their beliefs freely.

"It heralded a 'secular' state rather than a 'neutral' one. And while with one hand the ruling seeks to protect the right of religious believers to hold and express their faith, with the other it takes away those same rights. It says that the sacking of religious believers in recent cases was not a denial of their rights even though religious belief cannot be divided from its expression in every area of the believer's life.

"Oddly the judge doesn't address the argument that rights have to be held in balance and he is apparently indifferent to the fact that religious believers are adversely affected by this judgment and others."

The disenfranchisement of Christians in the United Kingdom continues apace under the anti-discrimination laws introduced by Labour. In the past several years numerous reports of Christians losing their jobs or even being arrested simply for expressing their Christian moral views have surfaced – events that appear shocking in light of the 70th anniversary this year of Winston Churchill’s famous “Finest Hour” speech from the Second World War.

The famed British Prime Minister had rallied the British people on the eve of the Battle of Britain in June 1940 saying, “upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization.” He warned that if they failed, “all that we have known and cared for will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.”

‘I Stand By My Statement Absolutely’: Scottish Candidate Sacked by Conservatives for Opposing Gay Agenda

It is a sad portent for the future of Britain when, even within the Conservative Party, Christians of principle and character cannot seek public office. At the national level, Britons are offered little choice and less hope.

From LifeSiteNews
By Hilary White

Being sacked by the UK’s Conservative party as their candidate for the Ayshire and Arran riding in Scotland has not led Philip Lardner to back away from his stand supporting traditional Christian moral values, nor has it stopped him from running in the riding as an independent, even though he says it may cost him his job.

Lardner told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) today that since being dropped by the party yesterday for defending traditional Christian views on homosexuality he has been threatened by homosexualist activists and placed on “cautionary suspension” by his employers.

But even in the face of possible loss of his livelihood, Lardner remains adamant. “Absolutely I stand by my statement absolutely,” he told LSN.

Lardner, a primary school teacher who has also expressed his skepticism about the “climate change” political craze, fell foul of the party just days before the May 6th general election after writing on his campaign website of his support for the rights of parents and teachers not to be forced to teach children that homosexuality is normal and acceptable.

“The vast majority of my local membership of the Tory party have been resolute on support for my opinion,” he said. “And you might be interested to know, this includes a member whose own daughter is a lesbian.”

Conservative party leader David Cameron has said about the decision to axe Lardner, “I couldn’t have acted quicker – decisive action in minutes of finding out about this.” A Tory spokesman said Lardner’s views were “deeply offensive and unacceptable.”

But Lardner told LSN, “I’m definitely still running. My name is on the ballot.”

All this, he said “shows what happens when you stand up for free speech,” against the “politically correct bullies” in and out of the Conservative party.

His sacking, he told LSN, is an indication of deep problems in the UK’s Conservative party. Lardner noted Cameron’s habit of presenting himself as a Christian “when it suits him,” but said, “If I’m unsuitable as a candidate for holding [traditional Christian] views, then what of the majority of the membership who are Christians?”

“I think David Cameron must make clear whether or not he wants Christians to vote for the Conservative party. By suspending me, he has effectively said there is no place for Christians in the party. Does he or does he not want the vote of Christians who share my views?”

Lardner’s comments have been removed from the Tory party campaign website, but they have been retrieved by the homosexualist news website PinkNews.

Lardner had written: “I will always support the rights of homosexuals to be treated within concepts of (common-sense) equality and respect, and defend their rights to choose to live the way they want in private, but I will not accept that their behaviour is 'normal' or encourage children to indulge in it.”

He went on to question the government’s attempts to force churches to accept homosexuals as ministers, an example of the same “equalities” ideology that has also created legal conflicts for Christian teachers, nurses, policemen and schools. “Why should Christian churches be forced by the Government to employ homosexuals as ‘ministers’ against all that the Bible teaches? They are being forced by the Government to betray their mission,” Lardner wrote.

“Christians (and most of the population) believe homosexuality to be somewhere between ‘unfortunate’ and simply ‘wrong’ and they should not be penalised for politely saying so — good manners count too, of course. The current ‘law’ is wrong and must be overturned in the interests of freedom as well as Christian values.”

Lardner indicated little surprise at the response to these comments, saying, “I thought there would be a reaction, but I did it to inform of my local constituents of my opinion.” The point of making the comments was “openness and transparency,” he said.

Nevertheless, running as an independent is going to be difficult, Lardner said, although he added that he is confident that he has the support of constituents.

“Ideally if I had the funding I’d put out a letter explaining what has happened.” At the moment he says is hoping that those who “believe in the same values I’ve expressed” will come forward with offers of financial help. “I’m confident that the people of Arran will back me,” he added.

Lardner, a member of the Tories since the mid-1980s, said that with its “modernizing” program and recently acquired dedication to the homosexualist agenda, the Tory party has cut itself off from the majority of its own membership and from the general voting public.

“It’s my party,” Lardner said, “and my local members’ party as much as it’s David Cameron’s party. The Conservative party is one of the most important social institutions of the United Kingdom. It has contributed hugely to the success and development of the United Kingdom. One or two people shouldn’t be allowed to highjack that from the party’s roots.”

The problem the Conservative party is facing, he said, is that it “does not respect the public and the public’s views.”

With even the homosexualist movement admitting that the homosexual population constitutes only between 3 and 10 per cent of the voting public, Lardner is not the only one questioning the emphasis the Conservative Party has placed on the movement’s ideologies.

James Delingpole, a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, wrote recently, “But gays aren’t normal. Some of my best friends are gay and I don’t think any of them would describe their sexual preferences as ‘normal’.”

Delingpole wrote that the sacking of Lardner by the Tories is a bad sign for the party.

“Conservatism is a broad and tolerant church – and that ought to include toleration of the mild intolerance of free citizens like Lardner…. [W]hen the Conservative party starts playing the game of ‘offence-taking’, ‘victimhood,’ ‘minority grievance’ and so on, it is doing so on terms entirely dictated by the false values of the liberal-Left.”

Tim Montgomerie of the blog Conservative Home said, “I see no evidence for hatefulness in Mr. Lardner’s remarks, even though I disagree with his choice of words.

“Although he’s probably wrong to say ‘most of the population’ share his views, they are shared by many conservative Christians and people of other faiths. His suspension by the Scottish Conservative Party seems a disproportionate response.”

To contact the Conservative Party
Scottish Conservative Central Office
83 Princes Street
Edinburgh EH2 2ER
info@scottishconservatives.com
Phone: 0131 247 6890
Fax: 0131 247 6891

To contact Philip Lardner:
philiplardner@aol.com

Read related LSN coverage:
British Party Leaders Bash Pope Benedict in Televised Debate
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10042704.html

UK Tories Publish “Rainbow List” of Gay Candidates
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10031002.html

Only Hope for a More Conservative Britain is a Tory Loss: Conservative Insider
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10032901.html

British Tories will Institute Gay ‘Marriage’ and Adoption: Gay Frontbencher
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10021908.html

American Street Preacher Arrested in Britain for Declaring Homosexual Behavior a Sin

From LifeSiteNews
By Hilary White

An American street preacher has been arrested and fined £1000 in Glasgow for telling passersby, in answer to a direct question, that homosexual activity is a sin. Shawn Holes was kept in jail overnight on March 18, and in the morning pled guilty to charges that he had made “homophobic remarks…aggravated by religious prejudice.”

Holes, a 47 year-old former wedding photographer from Lake Placid, New York, was in Glasgow as part of a preaching tour of Britain with a group of British and American colleagues. He said, “I was talking generally about Christianity and sin.”

“I only talked about these other issues because I was specifically asked. There were homosexuals listening – around six or eight – who were kissing each other and cuddling, and asking ‘What do you think of this?’” A group of homosexuals approached police with a complaint. Holes later said that the situation seemed like a “set-up by gay campaigners.”

“When asked directly about homosexuality, I told them homosexuals risked the wrath of God unless they accepted Christ.”

The charge, under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, has angered freedom of speech advocates in Britain and has even been criticized by homosexualist campaigner Peter Tatchell who called the £1,000 “totally disproportionate.” Local Christians supporting the preaching ministry took up a collection and paid the fine.

Tatchell told the Daily Mail, “The price of freedom of speech is that we sometimes have to put up with opinions that are objectionable and offensive. Just as people should have the right to criticize religion, people of faith should have the right to criticize homosexuality. Only incitements to violence should be illegal.”

Holes relates that at the same time he had been asked for his views on Islam and had said he believed there is only one true Christian God and that the Prophet Mohammed is a “sinner like the rest of us.”

He said that two men who were listening spoke to police officers who approached him and said, “These people say you said homos are going to Hell.”

“I told them I would never say that, because I don't use the term homo. But I was arrested.”

Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Glasgow told the Scotsman, “We supported [hate crime] legislation but it is very difficult to see how this man can be charged for expressing a religious conviction.

“The facts of this case show his statement was clearly his religious belief. Yes, it is strong language he has used, but it is obviously a religious conviction and not a form of discrimination.”

Gordon Macdonald, of Christian Action Research and Education for Scotland, said, “This is a concerning case. I will be writing to Chief Constable Stephen House of Strathclyde Police for clarification of the guidance given to police officers in these situations.”

In related news, a district judge has thrown out the case against another street preacher, Paul Shaw, who was arrested on February 19 in Colchester over comments he made about homosexual activity. Shaw, who did not plead guilty, said, “I’ve preached regularly for about three or four years without incident.

“In four years, I’ve only dealt with homosexuality about twice.” Shaw told the judge that he was obliged to act according to his conscience and that homosexuality was a significant issue in Britain today. The case was dismissed through lack of evidence and written testimony from complainants.

Shaw said, “My reasons were twofold. Firstly, there is a consequence for the country and society if society does not appreciate the difference between right and wrong, particularly noticeable by homosexuality.

“As a nation, we are coming under God’s judgment not very far away in the future and there will be terrible consequences for this if it is not made unlawful again. Secondly, on a personal level, as with all other sins, it needs to be repented of in order to enter the Kingdom of God.”

District Judge David Cooper told Shaw, “There are other sorts of ‘sins’. Do you think you could concentrate on those for a bit?”

Meanwhile, a new study conducted on behalf of religious think-tank Theos has shown that nearly 1/3 of British people think that Christians are being marginalized and religious freedom has been restricted. The report’s author Professor Roger Trigg, wrote, “A free society should never be in the business of muzzling religious voices, let alone in the name of democracy or feigned neutrality.”

“We also betray our heritage and make our present position precarious if we value freedom, but think that the Christian principles which have inspired the commitment of many to democratic ideals are somehow dispensable,” Professor Trigg said.

Senior Bishops Call for End to Persecution of Christians in Britain

Christians in Britain are being persecuted and "treated with disrespect", senior bishops have said.

From The Telegraph
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones

Nurse Shirley Chaplin with the cross she has been told she must remove at work. Photo: APEX

Six prominent bishops and Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, describe the "discrimination" against churchgoers as "unacceptable in a civilised society".

In a thinly-veiled attack on Labour, they claim that traditional beliefs on issues such as marriage are no longer being upheld and call on the major parties to address the issue in the run-up to the general election.

In a letter to The Sunday Telegraph, the bishops express their deep disquiet at the double standards of public sector employers, claiming that Christians are punished while followers of other faiths are treated far more sensitively.

Their intervention follows a series of cases in which Christians have been dismissed after seeking to express their faith. They highlight the plight of Shirley Chaplin, a nurse who was banned from working on hospital wards for wearing a cross around her neck. This week she will begin a legal battle against the decision.

Christians are also increasingly concerned that the Government is ignoring their views on issues such as sex education and homosexuality when introducing new legislation.

A group of 640 head teachers, school governors and faith leaders have signed a separate letter to this newspaper warning that compulsory sex education in primary schools will erode moral standards and encourage sexual experimentation.

They call for the dropping of legislation that will see children as young as seven taught about sex and relationships.

In their letter, the bishops urge the Government to stop the persecution of Christians.

"We are deeply concerned at the apparent discrimination shown against Christians and we call on the Government to remedy this serious development.

"In a number of cases, Christian beliefs on marriage, conscience and worship are simply not being upheld.

"There have been numerous dismissals of practising Christians from employment for reasons that are unacceptable in a civilised country."

In addition to Lord Carey, the letter has been signed by the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishop of Winchester; the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester; the Rt Rev Peter Forster, the Bishop of Chester; the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis, the Bishop of Hereford; the Rt Rev Nicholas Reade, the Bishop of Blackburn; and the Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill, the Bishop of Lichfield.

Mrs Chaplin will take the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust to an employment tribunal this week after she was told last year that she must hide or remove a small cross on her necklace if she wanted to continue working on hospital wards.

While the trust refused to grant her an exemption, it makes concessions for other faiths, including allowing Muslim nurses to wear headscarves on duty.

Mrs Chaplin, 54, has spent all of her career at the Exeter hospital and had never been challenged before over the necklace, which she has worn since her confirmation 38 years ago.

The bishops criticised the way in which Mrs Chaplin had been treated and stated that she should not be prevented from expressing her faith by wearing her cross.

"This is yet another case in which the religious rights of the Christian community are being treated with disrespect," they say.

"To be asked by an employer to remove or 'hide' the cross is asking the Christian to hide their faith.”

The bishops said that it was “deeply disturbing” that the NHS trust’s uniform policy permits exemptions for religious clothing, but appears to regard the cross as “just an item of jewellery”.

They also expressed surprise that the court has asked for evidence to be submitted to verify that Christians wear crosses visibly around their neck.

Mrs Chaplin is being represented by leading human right’s barrister Paul Diamond, who also advised Caroline Petrie, the nurse who was suspended for offering to pray for a patient. She was later reinstated.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, founder and director of the Christian Legal Centre, described the treatment of Mrs Chaplin as “scandalous”.

“This is yet another case of double standards for Christians,” she said.

“It would seem the Exeter Hospital would rather use its money to deny Christians their rights than using its scarce financial resources to treat patients.

“It is ridiculous that in our country with such a great Christian heritage the court requires evidence to prove that the cross is a Christian symbol whilst not applying the same standards to other faiths."

Lynn Lane, the human resources director for the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust, said: "The trust has fully acknowledged that this has become an important issue for Mrs Chaplin which is why we offered her a number of different options in the hope that a mutually acceptable solution could be agreed.

"For the trust this has always been about compliance with our agreed uniform policy and the safety of staff and patients."

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, the human rights group, said: "Whether personal faith motivates the wearing of a cross, turban, head scarf or Star of David, it is fundamentally illiberal to require people to check such an important part of themselves at the workplace door for no justifiable reason."

" Freedom of thought, conscience and religion should protect people of all faiths and none.

"We look forward to the Supreme Court demonstrating this by overturning the Court of Appeal in Nadia Eweida's case against BA."