UK High Court judges rule regarding homosexuality and foster care. A UK Christian Foster couple lost rights because they hold Christian views on Homosexuality as High Court Judges rule “… the laws and usages of the realm do not include Christianity, in whatever form.”
The BBC reports, “A Christian couple opposed to homosexuality have lost a court battle over their right to become foster carers. Eunice and Owen Johns, 62 and 65, of Derby, said the city council did not want them to look after children because of their traditional views.” The Johns had asked the UK High Court to rule their faith should not be a bar to them becoming carers, and the law should protect their Christian values. Instead Lord Justice Munby and Mr Justice Beatson ruled that laws protecting people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation “should take precedence” over the right not to be discriminated against on religious grounds.
The Daily Telegraph headlines one of many related articles on its web site, “Foster parent ban: ‘this is a secular state’, say High Court judges”. This reflects a section in the ruling which states, “We cannot avoid the need to re-state what ought to be, but seemingly are not, well understood principles regulating the relationship of religion and law in our society. We live in this country in a democratic and pluralistic society, in a secular state not a theocracy. Although historically this country is part of the Christian West, and although it has an established church which is Christian, there have been enormous changes in the social and religious life of our country over the last century. Our society is now pluralistic and largely secular. We sit as secular judges serving a multi-cultural community of many faiths. The laws and usages of the realm do not include Christianity, in whatever form.”
Editorial Comment: The details of this case are complicated particularly by the additional fact the judges concluded “that we should make no order” in response to requests by both parties involved (the Johns and Derby City Council) who had requested that the court should make a declaration one way or the other in support of their differing views. Whilst the court made no official order, in their ruling the two judges did make very clear statements which will reinforce a precedent set by other recent cases of which many Christians may not be aware. Some of the most crucial statements are quoted above from the Telegraph’s web site. We are sure it will alarm many of you to read that the UK justice system now considers Britain to be a secular country in which Biblical principles have no bearing on the law. However, this is the indisputable view of the judges in this hearing. Secularism has been defined as “the sovereignty of man” – this is why it is in direct conflict with Biblical Christianity which declares that our creator God is sovereign and that eventually we all will give account to Him.
Psalm 2 prophesies the day when the kings and rulers of the world “take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’” The move to secularism in Western societies should not take Christians by surprise, although it is a trend which the Church has on the whole not simply overlooked, but has actively participated in. In their ruling the judges state “the Church of England permits its clergy, so long as they remain celibate, to enter into civil partnerships” as partial justification for their ruling. This point has not been missed by others; the BBC quotes Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall (a lesbian, homosexual and bisexual organistion) who said, “Thankfully, Mr and Mrs Johns’ out-dated views aren’t just out of step with the majority of people in modern Britain, but those of many Christians too.” It is very sad that church leaders have chosen to agree with men rather than with The LORD.
By now you may be wondering what this has to do with creation issues. From both Scripture and other historical sources we know that many societies embraced homosexual practices long before Darwin successfully marketed his doctrine of biological evolution. In Romans 1 Paul showed this to be this to be one of the consequences when people “exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…” Paganism of course has been a common reason for such thinking, but in the post-Enlightenment West, evolution has become the favoured argument and basis for every high thing which has “exalted itself against the knowledge of God.” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Today it is a popular justification for godlessness at every level of society, and in part it has gained such ground because in the past, as well as today, Church leaders have wanted to be intellectual friends with the world.
However, Paul’s warning in Romans 1 makes it clear that when a society refuses to worship The LORD as Creator, He gives them up to “uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves.” Later Paul added that though they know in their consciences that these things are wrong, they “not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” It is clear that Western societies are increasingly choosing to call sin “good” and the righteousness of God “evil”, so what are His people to do? We can follow the course of compromise, not wanting to offend society or we can stand with our Creator and call sin, sin! It is a choice each one of us has to make time and time again. It is a time when the opening lines of a well-known hymn should ring loud in our hearts – “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.” (ref sex, family, society)
Evidence News 2 March 2011