Can Christian businesses discriminate?

Having shared my thoughts on the cases involving Christian owners of Bed & Breakfasts who were fighting in court that they should be able to turn away LGBT customers in this blog post (http://vicaringroo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/my-thoughts-on-cases-involving.html), I'm sad to see another business owned by Christians in the press today, for denying service to someone that doesn't fit within their expression of faith.

This time the controversy surrounds Ashers Baking Company in Northern Ireland, who turned away a customer who'd ordered a celebration cake with an image of the fictional characters Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street, with the wording "Celebrate Gay Marriage" and the logo of Queerspace, a volunteer-led LGBT campaign group.  Their reasoning was their Biblical values.

The BBC news story is here, and the Pink News article is here.

It saddens me to see this happening again, because it seems that people just aren't learning that you can't use your views to discriminate against others, no matter how important those beliefs are to you. If that was allowed, we would fall over the precipice to the place where service providers and businesses could refuse to serve people of other cultures or faiths, or refuse to serve people who don't live a life that they approve of. Where does that stop ... could we see a shop owner refusing to serve an unmarried mother because she had premarital sex, or refusing to welcome a person from another faith tradition because they believe that 2 Corinthians 6:14 calls them to not mix with non-believers?

2 Corinthians 6:14 "Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness?" [NRSV].

It also saddens me to see that the Christian Institute have picked up the fight and are turning this into more than it needs to be, because this is such a senseless waste of money, fighting against people, when those time and money resources could be put to serious use in addressing issues of poverty, hunger, malnourishment ... so many other things that are serious issues that would seriously promote Christian values of good works, loving their neighbour, sharing the GOOD NEWS of Jesus. This does feel more like trying to fight against the LGBT community for the sake of it.

In the case of Ashers, Daniel MacArthur seems like a nice guy. He seems like a guy that's really convinced he's doing the right thing, and sticking by his beliefs, which are absolutely infallible, something he feels he needs to take a stand on. However, he needs to learn that his actions and views are based on a biased and discriminatory reading of Scripture, one which encourages discrimination. Those views are enforcing a particular brand of Christianity, but not representative of all Christianity.

It's interesting that he mentions specifically that they couldn't complete the order because it was "in contradiction with what the Bible teaches," as he's contradicting Leviticus 19:27 ("Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards."), and as a bakery they are directly disobeying a number of Scripture verses;

• He's sat in front of two posters advertising savoury sausage rolls and chilli sausage rolls, when Leviticus 11 clearly forbids using pork.
• In fact, Leviticus 3:17 forbids eating any fat ... bit of a tricky one for a bakery. 
• Leviticus 19:9 forbids reaping to the very edge of your fields ... I wonder if they strictly check their flour suppliers for adherence to this code.

Running a bakery by what the Bible teaches is a particularly tricky business, when so much is written about foodstuffs.

I suspect they and their supporters would say that these verses are now irrelevant, and they follow other verses ... which is probably the whole crux of the matter ... they choose which verses apply to them.

They may claim that those are all Old Testament laws, and - as Christians - they live under the new covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus.  However, they will happily quote from the Old Testament code when arguing against Equal Marriage.

However, the New Testament also says some fairly atrocious things, such as women should remain silent in church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35) ... which some of the anti-LGBT Christian charities seem to completely unaware of, while heaping restrictions on others. 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 speaks clearly against divorce and the remarriage of divorced wives ... I wonder if Ashers ask for proof that it's the first marriage when baking wedding cakes? 

It may be worth a few Christian business owners reading the equality law properly, and realising that having a faith doesn't give them the right to discriminate. If they want the freedom to discriminate, then they need to change their business model so that they function as a religious organisation (in the case of the B&B owners, this may mean considering running a Christian retreat house instead), as commercial organisations do not qualify for exemptions from the prohibition on discrimination.

Of particular relevance in cases like this are the words in the New Testament, in 1 Peter 2:13-14 , which call for obedience to the law ... "13 For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, 14 or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right."

Considering that there are laws that they're willing to ignore and others they're willing to enforce when it comes to others, it would seem it's not so much about living or working by Biblical standards, it's about using the Bible selectively to enforce their own viewpoints. It's not they who serve Scripture, but Scripture that serves them.

It may also be worth their while meditating on the words of Matthew 23:3-33 as a warning against being too sure and proud in religiosity.

May the God of love and of all creation continue to change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26 - A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh).

Happy International Women's Day

With gratitude for the women who have played, and play, a role in shaping my life.

This list obviously includes my mother, who instilled the virtues of right & wrong in me, taught me how to manage my life and my household, taught me to cook, iron, clean, but also taught me how to assert myself, have a good argument, make my will known and stand firm.  When we were victims of the economic downturn in South Africa in the late 1980's, Mom was the one who swallowed pride and went looking for food with cap in hand, and we survived for several months on regular deliveries of food donations from our local Catholic church.

The list of influential women extends beyond to include teachers, inspirational friends, clergy, colleagues, nuns, cleaners, pioneers, and more.

The most inspirational teachers in my life were women; from Miss Kelleher who instilled a desire to work meticulously (albeit slowly) on my studies, to Miss Fleming & Miss Von Zeuner who showed me at the age of 12 how to begin to think independently when it came to politics (I was schooled during the apartheid era, which I knew was desperately wrong, but was not aware at the time that you could voice that you disagreed with the government, or that enough voices could change a country. These two teachers took a great risk by encouraging discussions in their classes that would not have been allowed by the school, and encouraged us to find our own voices);
The first person I came out to was a female friend - who helped me see that it wasn't a big deal - I was still the same person.
When my training incumbent subjected me to public humiliation when he discovered I was gay, and began a systematic breakdown of my career, including kicking me out of the parish, making me pay off a 3-yr car loan in 3 weeks, spreading rumours about me around the parish, pinning notices about me to public noticeboards, having me followed around town on days off and in the evenings, and more, it was a female friend who came to my rescue and paid for me to fly to her and stay with her, and who helped me see that my calling was a calling to serve God, not necessarily with a dog collar.
I have learned a lot about ministry from the women in my profession, who have been excluded from playing the institutional game, which made them easier to confide in and befriend. That's not to say that I haven't learn from men in ministry, particularly those who were around during my training years.  However, as people who have also often been sidelined by the official institution, the female ministers I've known have been both colleagues and confidantes, and I'm grateful for them.

This list is a starting point, there are so many more, from church cleaners who taught me about integrity & friendship that crosses income barriers, to parishioners who showed me different models of family & how to raise children (who knows, a skill I may yet need), to those who were, and still are, pioneers in male-dominated workplaces.

I should mention that I've long had a real respect and admiration for African women, those I met, and those I didn't, who - during the dreaded apartheid years, left their own families to be the nanny, cleaner, cook & household manager for white families, in order to provide for their own families. I'm astounded and humbled that they would do that, and often raise someone else's children without prejudice or agenda.

So, happy Women's Day, and I hope to live to see the day when we no longer need a Women's Day, or Pride festivals.

For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of ...

For a change, I'll start and end this post with a verse from the Bible, that's worth bearing in mind when reading some of the comments. As always, verses are best applied contextually, considering the context of the reader, the writer and the verse's own context, but as the Fundamentalists are often fond of quoting single verses in support of their exclusive arguments, I think it only fair to put these two verses here, as they can speak volumes into the situation.

(With apologies for the wealth of links in this post, but I wanted to give them as a means of reference & elaborating on points.)

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Luke 6:45
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

- New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

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The arguments against Equal Marriage are becoming more and more ludicrous and increasingly detached from reality.  Surely this is a good thing ... if these people make themselves known, we can begin to get them the specialist help and attention they sorely need.  Clearly, they are incapable of coherent thought, have lost their grip on reality, and pose a significant threat to themselves & others.

Here are some of the more ludicrous arguments given publicly recently (in most cases, I've copied the text from the headlines or subheadings of articles that are linked at the end of each bullet point ... some, but not all, words are my own):

• Firstly, the seemingly particularly hateful Lynette Burrows, who claimed in a debate at Oxford University that children should be with "straight sluts and drug addicts," rather than "Sodomites"! http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/30/lynette-burrows-children-should-be-with-straight-sluts-and-drug-addicts-rather-than-sodomites/
• Lavinia Sealy, the Conservative chair of Surrey County Council says she is “fundamentally opposed” to equal marriage and that it will have “negative consequences for “families and children” – she also claims “there are lots of gays in the media” and “if anybody speaks out, you’re rubbished.” http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/30/surrey-council-tory-chairwoman-says-same-sex-marriage-is-dangerous-to-children-blasts-gays-in-the-media/
• Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has told students in Surrey that allowing gay couples to marry would be like sanctioning incest. http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/28/exclusive-defence-secretary-philip-hammond-links-incest-with-same-sex-marriage/ although he's now saying that he didn't claim that, with some opposition from the students he was speaking with http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/28/philip-hammond-denies-same-sex-marriage-incest-claims/
• Anthony Ozimic, a member of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, a lobby group opposed to abortion rights, says the teaching of equal marriage in schools would lead to the “promotion” of gay lifestyles. He claimed allowing schools to teach their students about the topic will “confuse and mislead children about the nature and meaning of sexuality,” and that marriage has always been “heterosexual”. He also described same-sex marriage as a “category error” and that homosexuality is “not natural” and said “homosexuals are promiscuous”.
  http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/21/video-anti-abortion-uk-activist-says-homosexuals-are-promiscuous-and-equal-marriage-will-confuse-children/
• Just this morning, I was made aware of this guy, who says "David Cameron is an anti-Christ", the UK is evil and all those who support Equal Marriage "will go to hell".  He feels so strongly about Equal Marriage that he's planning on sleeping rough on the night the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill is discussed in Parliament ( https://twitter.com/kleephotography/status/296902362658910209/photo/1 ). He's also recorded this particularly interesting video about his feelings on the matter http://youtu.be/m9bTtLPBAfU 
• We all know the Catholic church's official stance of being particularly strongly against Equal Marriage (or equality for women, or transparent accounting, or accountability for it's leaders).  Their homophobic views are often not mirrored by those in the pews (who have often been pressured into signing the petition against Equal Marriage, en masse, during church services), and who have been writing into the Catholic publication, The Tablet, stating their disapproval.  Nevertheless, these views are sidelined, while their leaders bombard the press with letters and press statements that are increasingly ludicrous (and, I hope, futile!).
  One of the most recent statements comes from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, of San Francisco, who stated that 'gay marriage is like male breastfeeding'?! http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/archbishop-says-gay-marriage-male-breastfeeding290113
  Their own Pope Benedict said in a speech that "gay people are not fully developed humans" http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/pope-says-gay-people-are-not-fully-developed-humans280912
  Indeed, he dislikes gay people so passionately, that he used his speech on World Peace Day to describe same-sex marriage as "a threat to justice and peace," adding that "it will spark harm for society." http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/12/14/pope-uses-peace-day-message-to-attack-same-sex-marriage/
  They changed tack a little recently, when they pushed out a document, stating that they recognised "that gay couples make loving parents but they must be banned from marriage."  http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/29/catholic-church-we-recognise-that-gay-couples-make-loving-parents-but-they-must-be-banned-from-marriage/
  Although, sense & reason should depart shortly, because there's been a last-ditch call to action by the Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Rev Peter Smith, who says “the time to act is now,” and has initiated the printing of another million postcards (coercing faithful members to litter letterboxes, churches & streets) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9830044/Gay-marriage-Catholic-Church-tells-priests-time-to-act-is-now.html
  In addition, they've issued a document which alludes to teachers in Catholic schools being demoted or dismissed if they are in a same-sex relationship ... The document states “a partnership of intimacy with another person, outside a form of marriage approved by the church…can be removed from office.” http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/28/catholic-church-warns-gay-teachers-they-risk-the-sack-if-they-marry-or-enter-into-civil-partnerships/

When you look at all of that, it's amazing that they get away with all of this openly and freely, without facing the consequences of their abuse. However, they are quick to claim that they're the victims of inequality, and they are being bullied by the pro Equal Marriage folk. Last time I checked, nobody was calling them incestuous, perverse, promiscuous Sodomites that are not fully developed humans, and are threatening justice & peace, bringing harm to society, endangering children.

Perhaps the silver lining in all this is that now that these comments are coming out in the open, people can finally get to see these people for the deluded, discriminatory, hate-filled manipulators of power that they are.

To expand on this, this is a very compelling and enlightening video by Roger Ross Williams, featuring the Revd. Kapya Kaoma, speaking about how money donated by American evangelicals helps to finance a violent anti-gay movement in Africa, and sheds light on the desire for power over politics, finances, entertainment and spirituality. http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/01/22/opinion/100000002020130/gospel-of-intolerance.html?WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0130-L20&nl=el

Roger Ross Williams is Director of the film, "God Loves Uganda" (http://www.godlovesuganda.com/), a feature-length, in-depth look at the evangelical campaign to change African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right.

Compare the above comments with the comments from somebody like Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu who recorded this message ( http://youtu.be/NV-9EjzmpE0 ) for the OUT in Africa film festival a few years ago, where he speaks about the blessing of our sexuality, or this video where he speaks about homosexuals ( http://youtu.be/Zhu_ryd3Dak ).

Consider also the very measured study by Matthew Vines, looking sensitively & sensibly at both sides of the discussion ( http://youtu.be/ezQjNJUSraY ).

Bear both of these people (and hundreds of thousands of others who offer support & love because of their faith) in mind, in the light of the Scripture verse at the top of this post, and the one below:

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Matthew 7:15-17
15 ‘Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

- New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Some are MORE EQUAL than others

Regarding Equal Marriage, a friend of mine sent me this email:

Naturally I read lots of newspapers and it seems that with gay marriage, the reports are mainly on politicians opposing it. With so much opposition from people in positions of power, it seems unlikely to me that it will ever be legalised. This makes me worry that as I grow into middle and old age, we, as members of the gay community, will always be second class citizens. If the law doesn't give us equal rights to straight people, won't it act as a cue for society to regard us as "not quite as equal"? It's actually a scary thought to think that when I retire in the year 2056, the government will still regard me as "not quite as equal". It puts me in mind of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' and that phrase that the pigs painted: "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others". It genuinely scares me. I don't even want to get married, but I do want to be acknowledged as being as equal as a homeless person, a homeowner, a CEO and the Royal Family. Is there anything I can do to fight for our cause?

Here's my reply:

It's true, but many people seem unaware that the LGBT community are being treated as second-class citizens. They seem to think that by letting us have 'almost' weddings and by not beating us up when we go out (as long as we're not TOO gay), or by treating us as a novelty, that they're doing their bit and that we're all good with that.

However, it's not all negative ... the anti lobby is very vocal, so it may seem that they hold the reigns, but the pro's are doing better than everyone seems to think. Like I've said in the past, tho' ... people who're against Equality and Equal Marriage can be as vocal as they wish, and it's seen as 'supporting their faith' or 'values', etc., but many who are pro Equality & Equal Marriage often can't speak out, because they're not out themselves, or because (in the case of clergy), doing so puts their head above the parapet and risks them going against their superiors, and potentially endangers future jobs.

I think it's crucial to remain engaged and to be sharing the truth with friends, family & colleagues. Information and education are key. Many people may think that Equal Marriage is wrong, because that's what they're hearing. Many people think that Civil Partnership is enough and offers the same as marriage, because that's what they're hearing. They need to be given the truth.

If u take a look at my youtube playlist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV-9EjzmpE0&feature=share&list=PLB169B8F471E38896 there are plenty of resources there (videos 6, 7 & 11 are ones I find I keep referring back to). If u share them or the information in them with the people around you, they can hear some of the truth about the inequality that exists.

The other thing about the struggle at the moment, is that politicians are too comfortable. Too many are claiming that they haven't heard from their LGBT constituents (why would they willingly identify themselves as such in the current climate?!) who want Equal Marriage, but they've heard from plenty of bigots that don't. So keep writing, phoning, emailing and encourage your friends & family to do the same, even if (ESPECIALLY IF) they're not LGB or T themselves (allies have enormous influence - and a safer platform to speak from).

And so, to all ... please, remain engaged & vocal, & share, share, SHARE