Lecturer to appeal after judge says sacking for one biblical tweet “reasonable”
from Christian Concern:
A Christian lecturer, theologian and father of six will appeal an employment tribunal ruling which concluded that it was ‘reasonable’ for a Bible college to sack him for misconduct for one tweet defending Christian sexual ethics.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Dr Aaron Edwards, 39, had taken legal action against Cliff College in Derbyshire on the grounds of harassment, discrimination and unfair dismissal.
Dr Edwards had worked for seven years at Cliff College, but in February 2023, everything changed for him and his family.
At the time, the Church of England (CofE) was debating whether it should allow same-sex blessings in their churches. As a theology lecturer with a strong understanding of the wider implications of these issues, Dr Edwards posted a message on Twitter:
“Homosexuality is invading the Church. Evangelicals no longer see the severity of this b/c they’re busy apologising for their apparently barbaric homophobia, whether or not it’s true. This *is* a “Gospel issue”, by the way. If sin is no longer sin, we no longer need a Saviour.”
He also tweeted: “That *is* the conservative view. The acceptance of homosexuality as “not sinful” *is* an invasion upon the Church, doctrinally. This is not controversial. The acceptance is controversial. Most of the global Church would agree. It is not homophobic to declare homosexuality sinful.”
He added that: “I expressed the conservative view as a doctrinal issue, re. the implications for sin/the Gospel. It was not an attack on individuals, it was addressed to evangelicals. It seems that holding the view that homosexuality is sinful is only welcome if it remains “unexpressed”.
A Twitter storm followed. Dr Edwards insisted, and clarified in subsequent tweets, that the post was not ‘homophobic’ and that it was addressed to evangelicals who agree with his message, but felt they couldn’t say so for fear of backlash.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
