The information that Kristie Higgs has lastly been exonerated in her six-year battle to clear her identify is a welcome improvement for Christians in Britain and whereas we will hope that it marks the start of a turning of the tide, it is price remembering simply how unhealthy issues have gotten earlier than we begin celebrating an excessive amount of.
Higgs was dismissed from her position as a pastoral assistant at Farmor’s Secondary College for “gross misconduct” relating to 2 personal Fb posts she made. Neither put up used impolite or vulgar language, there was no diminishing of any group of individuals, and no name for violence or discrimination. Readers can choose for themselves right here and right here.
Regardless of this, Higgs was subjected to a six-hour interrogation throughout which she was informed that her views had been just like these of a “Neo-Nazi”.
Christian Concern, whose authorized arm supported Higgs in her authorized battle, stated the ruling is “seminal” and “confirms that the Equality Act protects conventional Christian beliefs on social points, akin to opposition to the concepts of transgenderism and ‘gender-fluidity’ and opposition to same-sex marriage”.
We will solely hope that they’re appropriate.
Even when it’s the case although, it is going to take years for Christians to get well the boldness they need to should share their beliefs publicly.
That’s as a result of for years Christians have felt the necessity to disguise their true beliefs for concern that they could lose their jobs or maybe even face authorized penalties.
An ideal instance of this was in 2010 when the then Pope, Benedict XVI, got here to Britain on a state go to. The supposedly neutral protection of the BBC could not go 5 minutes with out reminding viewers of the Pope’s “controversial social views”.
This took an particularly sinister flip when the BBC later interviewed bizarre Catholics and inevitably requested about these “controversial social views”. Ft began to shift, eyes began trying to find an escape route, and ultimately they might keep away from the query by saying they had been simply joyful the Pope was visiting.
The clear subtext was that no-one needed to say on nationwide tv that they agreed with the Pope for concern of shedding their jobs.
That is comprehensible and maybe even on some degree biblical. Romans 12:18 says, “Whether it is doable, so far as it depends upon you, stay at peace with everybody.” We needn’t begin fights with a secular world that can by no means perceive us.
On the similar time, we do have an obligation to the reality and to “let our sure be sure and our no be no” (Matthew 5:37). Furthermore, we wish our kids to develop up with biblical values moderately than the morally and scientifically questionable views of the present paradigm.
On this sense there’s something to study from Calvin Robinson. Robinson is understandably to not everybody’s style and little question a few of his previous actions and statements have been of questionable knowledge. However there isn’t a doubt that Robinson is keen to say outright what he believes to be God’s fact it doesn’t matter what the implications could also be for himself.
Briefly, if we need to stay in a Christian society, we have to be keen and in a position to publicly converse Christian fact. It should not simply be Calvin Robinson and the Pope. It ought to grow to be so widespread that not having Christian views is the embarrassing secret. Hopefully, this newest judgment from the Courtroom of Attraction will give Christians at the very least a little bit of the braveness they want, however it is going to take a few years to swing the pendulum again to the place it needs to be.
