Views, Visions and Values.: Equal Marriage : Just Plain Wrong: A Christian Per...

Views, Visions and Values.: Equal Marriage : Just Plain Wrong: A Christian Per...: Today, both in the United Kingdom and other Countries, we face the challenge in the name of Equality and Tolerance to allow same sex ...

Council tells churches they must conduct gay marriages

Council tells churches they must conduct gay marriages

Churches

Simon Calvert of The Christian Institute said the Council’s letter shows the need for churches to know their legal rights.

He said, “there is no legal reason whatsoever for churches to stop holding marriages in the ways they always have. They are free to do so”.

The Christian Institute has produced a new free legal guide which gives reassurance that churches are well within their rights to say no to same-sex marriages.

Bureaucrats

“The behaviour of Essex County Council goes to show why churches need to know their legal rights, because bureaucrats who want to push for gay marriage will try and go beyond the law”, warned Mr Calvert.

He added: “We want to be clear that Christians still have the right to express their belief that marriage is between a man and woman. Christians have every reason to be confident and bold in upholding the truth about marriage.”

“This is just the kind of thing we feared would happen,” said Colin Hart, Campaign Director of the Coalition for Marriage, which spearheaded opposition to the introduction of same-sex marriage.

A litmus test for orthodoxy

A litmus test for orthodoxy

The Evangelical Alliance’s decision to remove Steve Chalke’s organisation Oasis from membership raises the question of what defines an evangelical today. Justin Brierley reflects on why homosexuality has become the latest tipping point.

‘So where do you stand on homosexuality?’ asked the church leader I had met only five minutes ago.

We were attending a media event, and had reached the wine-and-canapés-hobnobbing part that inevitably follows. It’s the kind of question which, in any other context, would seem vastly inappropriate from someone you had just been introduced to. ‘Terrible weather we’ve been having...so what do you think about gay sex?’

There is an unwritten (and slightly depressing) rule in some evangelical circles that the quickest way to ascertain if a person is ‘sound’ is to find out what they think about sexuality. We live in a world of ever-increasing categorisation, and homosexuality seems to have become the de-facto crunch issue that can potentially mark you in or out of the evangelical fold.

Christian feminism is not an oxymoron

Christian feminism is not an oxymoron

"THAT is totally untenable!" my friend yelled over the party music. "You can't be a feminist and a Christian." She was a staunch atheist, and spent the evening telling me, as many have done before, that Christianity is unavoidably and embarrassingly patriarchal. She urged me to throw off the shackles of my misogynistic faith.

I am surprised at how frequently this happens at feminist gatherings. Regularly I find myself the only Christian present, treated like an anomaly in need of conversion to fully fledged, religion-free feminism.

Often it takes me a while sheepishly to admit my faith in these circles. Finally I pipe up that actually I do "believe in that stuff", between the tirades of "God is dead" and "Religion is the oppressor!" that usually emanate from the microphone. In years of attending feminist seminars and marches, one thing has become clear: you are about as likely to meet another Christian there as you would a vegan at a meat-feast buffet.

Occasionally I have found my faith welcomed by fellow feminists. But, more often than not, the confession of Christianity has been met with the sort of facial expression you would pull when opening an awkwardly disappointing Christmas present.

Can You Discern the Spirit Behind the Gospel of Reason?

Can You Discern the Spirit Behind the Gospel of Reason?

While many politicians—including President Obama—are embracing the National Day of Prayer, at least two members of Congress, as well as state and local officials, are swinging their support to the atheistic camp in the name of reason.

Indeed, Congressman Michael Honda, D-Calif., and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., are celebrating the National Day of Reason, which bills itself as an “observance promoting a more inclusive alternative to the religiously focused, government-sponsored National Day of Prayer.”

It doesn’t take a lot of spiritual discernment to figure out what group is behind this one. You guessed it: the American Humanist Association. This irreverent institution has worked hard to encourage elected officials to proclaim May 1 as the National Day of Reason, flying in the face of the political correctness for which they typically strive.

7 Inspiring Leaders and the Traits That Made Them Great

7 Inspiring Leaders and the Traits That Made Them Great

John Maxwell says everything rises and falls based on leadership. I agree.

But leadership was not something taught when I went to the University of Florida. I’ve had to learn it the hard way, mostly by trial and error. Here are seven traits of leadership I’ve learned by watching leaders who exhibited them:

1. Vision. This is the ability to see the future. The Bible says without vision, the people perish. I’ve learned to focus on one thing and simply work in that direction when I didn’t have any idea what do. Somehow, a way is found.

Christian Brits protected less than other religious believers

Christian Brits protected less than other religious believers

Christians are afforded less protection for their beliefs by the state compared to those who practise other religions, a new survey suggests.

Of the 2000 people surveyed exclusively for The Telegraph, nearly half thought British believers had less protection.

This figure rises to 62 per cent among those who identify as non-practising Christians.

Criticism

The poll also reveals that over half of the respondents – 56 per cent – believe Britain is a Christian country.

The survey comes amidst criticism from a group of atheists who lambasted David Cameron after he called Britain a Christian country during Downing Street’s Easter reception.

But several ministers have backed Cameron’s comments including Attorney General Dominic Grieve who said atheists who claim that Britain is not a Christian nation are “deluding themselves