10 December deadline looms for conversion therapy input
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Dec 2021
The consultation on a conversion therapy ban in England and Wales has been published, but raises many questions that have yet to be clarified.
The government has proposed a two-pronged approach to a ban. Firstly, giving sentencing courts power to impose tougher sentences for physically violent criminal acts that are motivated by conversion therapy.
Parents to sue over school trans guidance
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Nov 2021
The Christian parents of two boys are seeking a judicial review in connection with the Cornwall Schools Transgender Guidelines, which encourage children to dress as they choose to reflect their 'true gender'.
The document – first published in 2015 – defines 'true gender' as 'the gender that a person truly feels they are inside'.
news in brief
Cuba: 2,000 petition for
pastor’s release
More than 2,000 people
have signed a petition
demanding
the release
of a Protestant pastor
imprisoned
without
trial
in
Cuba.
The
petition
calls
for
the
release of Pastor Rosales Fajardo, who
has been detained without trial for over
two months for participating in peaceful
protests against the ongoing shortages of
medicine and food resulting from Covid-19.
Fajardo, who has been pastor of
the
Monte de Sion church for 20 years, faces
charges
including
‘disrespect’ and
‘public
disorder’. If found guilty he could be jailed
for between three and 20 years.
Stonewall influence on judges comes under spotlight
Nicola Laver, The Critic
Date posted: 1 Dec 2021
The extent of Stonewall’s
influence on
judicial training in England and Wales could
become clearer, following a case brought by
Maya Forstater (see photo), the tax specialist
who won an appeal against an employment
tribunal after she posted gender-critical
beliefs online.
There has been mounting concern that
Stonewall is exerting far-reaching influence
on the training of judges. A number of recent
rulings have revealed a growing boldness to
issue rulings reflecting a judicial view that
people who hold gender-critical beliefs do
not deserve protection under equality law.
Expelled gender-critical ex-barrister is backed
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Sep 2021
An ex-barrister turned trainee therapist who publicly expressed his gender critical beliefs – that sex is biological and immutable – has been expelled by the Metanoia Institute three years into a five-year university degree.
James Esses was attempting to safeguard therapy and counselling for vulnerable children with gender dysphoria, lodging a public petition which has garnered more than 10,000 signatures. Speaking out also cost him his role as a Childline volunteer.
news in brief
Israel: rare Biblical inscription discovered
Israeli archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, excavating in Judea, have uncovered an extremely rare 3,100-year-old inscription with a name from the book of Judges.
‘Jerubbaal’, on a small jug from 1,100 BC, could be the first hard evidence of a name from that Old Testament book found on a contemporary artifact. ‘The name of the Judge Gideon ben Yoash (Judges 6-8) was Jerubbaal, but we cannot tell whether he owned this particular vessel’, they said. More importantly, ‘that name only appears in Judges, yet now it has also been discovered in the precise archaeological stratum from that period.’
politics & policy
Time to end the evil of
sex-selective abortion
James Mildred
Date posted: 1 Sep 2021
In the future, men are set to outnumber
women by a considerable margin. That’s
according
to some new research which
suggests there are millions of missing girls
thanks to sex-selective abortion.
In certain countries, there’s a clear cultural
preference for boys rather than girls and by
2100, if current rates continue, 22million
girls could be lost to the practice.
news in brief
USA: two pastors arrested over Capitol riots
James Varnell Cusick Jr., 72, and his son Casey Cusick, 35, both pastors at the Global Outreach Ministries church at Melbourne, Florida have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riots on 6 January.
They face charges including: disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. David Lesperance, a 68-year-old congregant of their church, faces similar charges. Bodycam footage and CCTV images showing the three men inside the Capitol have been presented as evidence.
politics & policy
Stonewall backlash
James Mildred
Date posted: 1 Jul 2021
A few years ago, a former journalist speculated that the debate over transgender had the potential to break Stonewall. Based on a flurry of recent news stories, it now seems their words were strangely prophetic.
A once well-disciplined campaign group is under fire over its approach to trans rights and its treatment of those who dare to disagree.
Puberty blocker: drug companies’ shares
fall after landmark transgender case
EN
Date posted: 1 Jan 2021
The
companies
behind
controversial
puberty blockers at the centre of a landmark
transgender ruling have seen
their share
prices dip.
The firms, AbbVie Inc and Takeda, saw the
value of their shares fall in the aftermath of
the Kiera Bell case.
Biden: liberal changes or token gestures?
Gerald Bray
Date posted: 1 Mar 2021
The
inauguration of a new American
President
is
always
a
time
of
great
expectations, but especially now, after the
sorry end to the previous regime.
Most people are relieved that the transfer
of power went off without a hitch. The
overarching need to deal with the pandemic
is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and
Joe Biden’s promise to deliver 100 million
does of the vaccine in his first 100 days in
office is being widely hailed as an ambitious
but still achievable goal. In the circumstances,
other matters have taken a back seat. Biden is
a sincere Catholic and his recent attendance
at church has been duly noted,
though
some of his executive orders are not what
the Vatican would have prescribed. He has
rescinded the restrictions on abortion that
the previous administration introduced and
has appointed homosexual and transgender
people to prominent positions. He has also
removed the bar to transgendered soldiers
serving in the armed forces. It is hard to
say what practical effect things like that will have, and for the moment few people are
talking openly about them. Whether they are
the tip of a looming iceberg of radical reform,
or simply a nod to left-wing lobbies that will
soon be disappointed in their deeper aims,
remains to be seen.
Living in Love and Faith – a primer...
Revd Dr Ian Paul tells us what it’s about and why evangelicals outside the CofE should be aware and praying
How has the publication of Living in Love and Faith come about?
The Church of England has officially been discussing the whole question of sexuality, in particular same-sex relationships, for 50 years. After a series of reports, some controversial, and a process of ‘Shared Conversations’, it is no closer to agreeing on whether there are good reasons to change its understanding of marriage. When the bishops said this to General Synod, there was a minor rebellion, and as a result, this ‘teaching resource’ was developed.
Scots hate crime
law modified
Christian Today / guardian.co.uk
Date posted: 1 Apr 2021
A controversial hate crime law in Scotland
has been passed. The
legislation had
attracted a wide coalition in opposition to
it, including evangelicals.
During the debate at Holyrood, Humza
Yousaf, Cabinet
Secretary
for
Justice,
accepted one amendment from the Tory MSP
Adam Tomkins which restated rights under
Article 10 of the European Convention on
Human Rights, which emphasises the right
‘to offend, shock or disturb’, in relation to a
reasonableness defence.
everyday evangelism
The power of ‘Dunno, what do you reckon?’
Glen Scrivener
Date posted: 1 Mar 2021
What should we do when confronted with difficult questions about the faith?
For many Christians the fear of encountering such questions keeps them from being public about their Christianity, but such fears needn’t paralyse us. Here are two ways of engaging even when you don’t know ‘The Answer’.
news in brief
New EA event held
Christians
from around
the UK
tuned
in to the Evangelical Alliance’s first ever
leadership conference last week.
The online
event was organised
after
the movement
said
it wanted Christians
in leadership, both within the church and
outside, ‘to share insight and pray into what is
happening in the UK and what God is saying’.
The evening was a mixture of
interviews,
worship, prayer and talks, hosted by Gavin
Calver, CEO of the EA, and Jo Frost, director
of communications and engagement, with
contributions from UK evangelical leaders.
Scotland hate crime revision
Evangelical Focus / Irishlegal.com / en
Date posted: 1 Jan 2021
Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order
Bill is undergoing more revisions to protect
plays
and
public
performances
from
prosecution, and there may even be further
protections inserted for freedom of religious
expression.
Scottish
Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf
said: ‘Mere expressions of antipathy, dislike,
ridicule and insult are not on their own criminal
behaviour.
I’m
committed
to work with
parliament to ensure hate crime law is effective,
while protecting freedom of expression.’
Why is hate-filled abuse ‘within community standards’?
‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ (Who guards the guardians?) is the question the Roman poet Juvenal asked, at just about the same time as the New Testament church was rapidly expanding.
It’s not often that Latin phrases come to mind (mainly because I know so few), but this one seems entirely appropriate for the increasing tendency we are seeing in our major internet platform providers to decide that they, and they alone, are the arbiters of truth.