At the beginning of this year a major concern of mine is the ongoing need to value freedom of speech and religion in our country.

As a bible believing Christian l can go do a church of my liking that values my beliefs.

However what about Christians facing a risk of being discriminated in workplaces for holding particular biblical views that are considered controversial, should they be penalised for having these views ? Should some be considered a harmful influence for even just having some christian views?
Do some Christians need therefore not to even say l have certain views even when politely and appropriately asked what their views are on these matters ?

Is not tolerance about accepting others views and learning to live with others . Of course deliberately threatening physical violence to others should not be tolerated.

The questions l have are :
Is there a threat to free speech with censorship?
Also are there risks of overreach in definitions hate speech?

Some but not all.

Some illegal immigrants have broken our British laws but not all.
Some followers of Islam want to have a type of sharia law in our country that contradicts our British laws but not all .
There will be some Christians at the Tommy Robinson organised Carol singing in Whitehall London that are concerned about some of the illegal immigrants who have broken our British laws and also want to help some illegal immigrants. Some will also identify there can be limits on how many we can help .
Not all at the Carol singing event in Whitehall London say that all immigrants or all illegal immigrants need to go back to there country of origin .
However it must be said this event ,they say will just be about singing Carols and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ

Not all who value the Christmas posters from Leeds Church of England diocese that say:

“Outsiders welcome Whatever your story ,Christmas starts with Christ “

want all illegal immigrants to stay in our country no matter what . I think we need to balance our need to show care and understanding with some limitations.

I hope not to polarised by politics this Christmas .

As for me l thank God for the simple yet profound messages of Christmas . Jesus Christ who is both human and divine came to reconcile us to a Holy God.

Pope Francis as soon as he became Pope displayed a desire not to display as much wealth ,or status in not quite as ostentatious way as previous traditions . I mean he preferred to use a basic car to travel in and it was said he used public transport at times. Also he preferred to live in  somewhat simpler accommodation in the Vatican than the previous Popes.

Pope Francis did appear to make efforts to have empathy and develop connections with the poor and some commentators would say marginalized people. I do respect the desire to achieve this and attempts to do so. I can see that our Lord Jesus Christ did connect with marginalised people , hurting people, and the poor.

However on what l would see as a flip side to what Pope Francis  achieved is an undermining of essential biblical doctrines or beliefs l hold. These are primarily the traditional biblical doctrines of marriage and uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ said he was ” the way the truth and the life and that no one comes to the father except through him”. Pope Francis did say something to the effect that he considers other faiths apart from Christianity can lead to God. I therefore consider Pope Francis undermined what l consider essential biblical beliefs..

We now await the next Pope and what he will bring to the world. Like many l can pray that God’s will be done in the appointment of the next Pope.

Hi if l may indulge the Church of England ( C of E )at significant periods in my life has helped form my Christian views .

I am now more dismayed by the exposure of sexual abuse in the C of E by TV channel 4 and now the BBC.l am pleased these issues have come to light and yes change has to happen to prevent much of this happening again.

Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned and William Carey a previous Archbishop of Canterbury has handed his permission to officiate back in. Now Stephen Cottrell Archbishop of York is facing news media calling for him to resign .

All these Archbishops it must be said have not been accused of doing such abuse themselves but have been accused of not acting well when they have had knowledge of vicars with significant evidence of actually sexually abusing others.

This is hard to write. I am tempted to discuss this further but l won’t . However , l must say l think Stephen Cottrell Archbishop of York should resign over this matter.
I am aware of different perspectives with C of E clergy and Church of England parishioners with some saying he does not need to resign, l beg to differ.

An  emotive subject for many.

Robert Medford

A chat in the street :

Recently l spoke to two persons openly sharing their understanding of the Islamic faith in a city centre. They had aspirations for their  faith and welcomed the direct questions l gave them. I value freedom of expression in the street and city centres.

I must say that these two activists for their faith don’t represent all people of their faith . I appreciate that in all faiths there are different interpretations or views. The views of these men that l picked up  are:                                                                                    

1 . If a Muslim changes his faith it would be best if he didn’t broadcast it , kept quiet about it and avoid confrontation from others .

2 That the Islamic understanding of God’s law ( Sharia law) is best for society and better than democracy. Although whilst in England they recognised the need to accept and work with the national government laws.

3 That their understanding is that all faiths want to dominate others.

My own aspirations that all faiths  in our democracy including both Muslim and Christianity should be valued the same with the understanding that  we see who God is  differently and should aim to live alongside with equality and  freedom of expression was considered by them very unrealistic.

A reasonable freedom of expression in educational establishments, some public spaces and venues:

An area of concern is the cancelling of  some religious and ethical views in educational debates , presentations in venues and in some public places. I know of universities who have cancelled  speakers of traditional orthodox Christian views. Surely constructive debates should include diverse views at universities ,after all university students will become leaders in our country’s  institutions. People and children ( age appropriate) could benefit from being  increasingly informed of diverse views , ideologies , religious and ethical views in our society . Unfortunately the  cancelling of  some valid research papers or educational books can occur .Sometimes education establishments can be bias with unreasonable political pressure to conform to teaching of  certain ideologies to the exclusion of others.

Final Word :

Much more could be said about this and l know l have barely covered these issues . An area l have not covered is what can be defined as hate speech . However l conclude that there is a continuing   need to speak up for free speech and freedom of religious belief in our country .

Robert.

Hi l aim for  my Christian faith to be honed from a traditional interpretation of the bible which l consider is God’s word. I think their are aspects of our modern culture that attempt to put an overlay over a traditional interpretation of the bible. This can mean that certain verses are over emphasized and others devalued,  or dismissed to fit in with such overlays ,
These overlays challenge a fuller comprehensive  reading of the bible.These overlays can come from modern cultural views on who we are , who God is and what we value .Popular  films or shows  that say they depict christianity may over emphasize or alter some biblical passages to fit in with modern views.

Keeping to a traditional comprehensive view of the bible is challenging and their is ongoing learning. For me l think Christian growth is best achieved from a straight traditional reading of the bible ” the word of God once delivered to us”. I hope in my attitude not to be too pharisiaical  , to grow in learning how to love and to respect different views.

I have a history of  being  a member of the C of E until about 2019. I value the traditional biblical teaching of marriage but need to accept that some C of E churches will now offer same sex blessings and some will not.

Even though l have recently left the C of E l very much appreciate their liturgical style of worship,  history of biblical faith and teaching .

I have concerns that some laity may not have heard a balanced discussion about the value of marriage . Some in our larger  society and also within church   believe that supporting  traditional marriage is harmful. My question is this teaching always  harmful or can considerable people find support relief and even improved mental health with this teaching .

How we love people is important everyone at times can have struggles of various types including sexual desires. The International Foundation for Therapeutic and Counselling choice ( IFTCC). (IFTCC.ORG ) have a lengthy declaration statement supporting the value of therapy and counselling for gay people who struggle with same sex attraction .

This declaration has research that shows that an approach to therapy or counselling which allows a broader approach than just highlighting that the troubled individual with unwanted same sex ataction should always move forward in preparation eventually for possible sexual intimate relations is, not necessarily always the most beneficial for the individual.

The outcomes of  some more broader  therapeutic approaches have  found that there is a considerable percentage of individuals  showing a lesser  degree of  depression and even suicidal intent then before therapeutic interventions. For further details please see the IFTCC declaration on their website   IFTCC.ORG.

Also sexual orientation can be  fluid . It is incorrect to say that everyone is born gay , bisexual or hetrosexual etc and don’t change. Saying this it  must be also said , very much so ,that a lot of gay attracted people will always be gay attracted and within the church they should find love and support. The issue is not that individuals can be  same sex attracted but the difficult issue of intimate sexual relations.

This subject is complicated and this desire for sexual intimacy is real and can be strong . Many people have different boundaries instead of the traditional biblical view that sex is best placed  within marriage between a man and a woman.

I hold to the traditional view but now C of E churches will eventually choose to either maintain this view or change. The choice will be up to each individual clergy member .

A leading UK website that supports traditional marriage is The Coalition for Marriage ( c4m.org.). This website has research and videos that support traditional marriage and reaches out to people of all faiths and none.

My plea is can we at least agree to disagree and accept differing views on this matter . Perhaps the expression “live and let live” is appropriate for this matter. I would rather all of  the C of E continue to uphold the traditional view but accept l must that change has happened.

Robert Medford

I was influenced by my christian school assemblies some years ago as l am now 62 years old. Nowadays it may be multi faith or humanistic care as priority in many school assemblies.These changes are not in it self bad but will school children hear the christian faith l have found so precious? Society has changed. Some peoples views have changed on what the christian faith means,after all we are a more secular country now.

More christian denominations have changed their views on what l call the foundational aspects of the faith that l hold .This is fair enough. Above all l suggest that we can be thankful for a degree of freedom of thought and expression in our country.

I recognise my views that were once more dominant in our society are no longer and I need to accept this . Thankfully l can still express my views that some may call dated or old fashioned views that could do with updating.

Their is a considerable number of christians who hold my views. Some are more quiet then me and some are in churches who are more open in afirming my views. I can find afirmation but nowadays face the fact that more people openly disagree with my views both in society at large and in some christian denominations.

Best regards,

Robert.

Hi our faith and hope are grounded in who we think Jesus is and what we think he accomplished on the cross. Also as an old fashioned evangelical I believe in the authority of Gods word to guide us in our christian life.The issues facing us today with concerns that we are destroying the world and each other have biblical views.

Climate Change :The bible clearly states that God will create a new heavens and earth so to say we will destroy the earth if we are not careful is removed from “God has the whole world in his hands”. Of course this doesn’t mean we neglect responsibilities to make the world environment better and fitter for us to flourish . As an aside l am not convinced that the release of carbon or carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the cause of climate change, but there is no doubt climate change is happening.

A threat to the uniqueness of Jesus: There are views that the biblical Jesus is just one way to God. To say that other Gods or understandings of God are equal is a move from historical christianity. This of course does not mean we should not tolerate the views of other faiths. Different faiths can work together at times on humanitarian causes or with the need to value free speech and tolerance. There are areas different faiths can agree to disagree on in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Out of chaos a one world government and religion: This is perhaps more difficult to envision. However a biblical view is that in our attempts to solve chaos in the world a world government will emerge with an encompassing world faith/religion that equalizes believes and may have the name of Jesus incorporated into its belief system. This belief system will be contrary to biblical christianity. However l must admit l am still thinking these details through.

Let us not fear for God is in control and Jesus is coming again!

Robert Medford

A letter to my Member of Parliament.

Dear………

I have concerns about the outcomes of proposed legislation to stop all conversion therapy. l  can appreciate  that some conversion treatments  and therapies in the past have been offensive. Also  in some instances in religious settings some ways of supposedly helping others have been extreme and cruel.

However l hope a reasoned balance can be found where individuals and religious leaders can be allowed to have views that say an adult who wants to stop same sex sexual activity can with  consent gain support by talking therapy and /or prayer. 

I consider that blanket ideas that say all aspects of an individual desiring to work towards stopping same sex sexual activity leads to harm is unjustified.  Some of the scientific research can be biased and unreliable. Also some  academic institutions may not want to give room for research that could show there are considerable numbers of people who benefit from religious sensitive pastoral support (prayer)  and talking therapies in unwanted same sex sexual activity.

I know of many individuals who have had lessening, anxiety, depression and low self worth in outcomes of pastoral religious care or  talking therapies when the individual aims to stop same sex sexual activity. The question is, “shouldn’t a person be free to engage with such help if they want to?” 

I acknowledge some same sex attracted people in the past have had bad experiences. However  does the  government  need to have legislation to give boundaries to all religious expression and secular help for those who have unwanted issues  with same sex sexual activity? 

 A blanket ban on views that suggest  that these sexual activities can at times change and that these changes for some individuals can lead to less harm rather than more harm, l consider is not required.If you can, please  help to encourage a cautious and what l would see as a balanced approach that allows for freedom of different views

. Yours sincerely,