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The Third Degree

Opposition on campus

Historically, the most exciting and strategic times of the gospel’s advance have been marked by fierce opposition and resistance from those who find its message offensive and foolish.

In Acts, we read of Paul’s encounter with Alexander the metalworker who did him ‘a great deal of harm’. In the 1780s, Charles Simeon, curate at Trinity Church, Cambridge, preached for ten years to a congregation locked out of their pews by angry churchwardens. Opposition is part and parcel of Christ’s call to mission.

Today, the gospel is boldly and faithfully being proclaimed on university campuses around the UK, and students in Christian Unions are facing criticism and censure in much the same way.

Edinburgh Uni

Edinburgh University CU planned to host the six-week PURE course, written by UCCF Team Leader Linda Marshall. It aims to help Christian students engage with the biblical teaching on sex and relationships, with reference to the pressures of modern day life.

A number of weeks ago, Edinburgh’s Student Union newspaper published a misleading and distorted article which claims that the course is homophobic. As a result, there has been a ‘Stop PURE’ campaign, with opponents threatening to picket the PURE course if it goes ahead on campus. All of this can be seen as part of a wider anti-Christian agenda. The President of BLOGS (Bisexual, Lesbian Or Gay Society) went on record in the Student newspaper: ‘Thankfully, society as a whole has realised that the Bible is not the literal word of God and believes that the bigotry and intolerance within its pages is unacceptable.’

Matthew Tindale, the Christian Union Staff Worker at Edinburgh said: ‘This is an infringement of Christians’ right to freedom of speech. BLOGS is preventing gay students from being given information on which they can make informed decisions and choices about their lives and lifestyles. We believe the BLOGS has a right to believe what they do about relationships, but in a free society, so do Christians. Activists cite the Student Union’s Anti-Discrimination policies against the CU, but, in fact, it is the Christian students who are being discriminated against for what they traditionally believe.’

The university has now ruled that the course should be banned, and the CU is looking for an alternative venue to run the course off campus.

Exeter Uni

Within the same week, the 50-year-old Christian Union at Exeter University has been attacked by the Student Guild for being ‘too exclusive’ for some students, and as a result has been forced to change its name to the ‘Evangelical Christian Union’.

CU leaders have since appealed, but the Guild Officers have refused to allow a reversal of the name change, instead calling a vote on the matter amongst the entire student population, despite the fact that just one student had made the initial complaint. The issue was hi-jacked by students who find orthodox Christian teaching on sexuality and other matters offensive, and used the vote politically. Posters by opponents of the CU used the vote falsely to claim that the CU is anti-women, anti-gay, and exclusive.

The Guild has now insisted that the CU may no longer ask prospective committee members or visiting speakers to sign a doctrinal basis, and has been told it must disaffiliate from UCCF. When the CU refused to do so, it was thrown out of the Guild and refused requests to book rooms.

Standing together, standing firm

In both Edinburgh and Exeter, the gospel is being met with anger and fear for the simple reason that the truth hurts. Please stand with UCCF Christian Unions, as students and staff around the country enter new territory where freedom to preach the gospel is under threat. A re-defined sense of tolerance now dictates that we cannot make exclusive claims to the truth; in this environment the articulation of the gospel will always be met with little sympathy, and increasingly with aggression.

Please pray for CUs and the staff who encourage Christian students to be faithful to Jesus’s call, even in the face of hostility. Pray that they will know the truth and power of God at work in the gospel as they stand firm.

If you would like to find out more about what is happening in Edinburgh or Exeter, please contact Pod Bhogal, UCCF’s Head of Communications on 0116 204 7684.

Daniel Hames, UCCF