Furrowed Brow wrote:
Facebook gay wedding comment man wins demotion case
Adrian Smith described gay marriage as an "equality too far" on Facebook and was demoted at work as a result. His employer was
Trafford Housing Trust (THT). This is their policy on
Equality and Diversity
From the BBC Website: Peter Tatchell, a prominent campaigner on gay and lesbian issues, described the trust's actions as "excessive".
I agree with Tatchell
Adrian Smith said: "Something has poisoned the atmosphere in Britain, where an honest man like me can be punished for making perfectly polite remarks about the importance of marriage.
I also agree with Adrian Smith.
So to be clear this thread starts with the assertion that the Trust got it wrong, were way too heavy handed, and they should not have demoted Smith. Shame on them.
Do Christians in the UK, America and elsewhere feel the atmosphere is being poisoned against them when they see cases like this? But....before answering this question please also answer this next question. If Adrian Smith had posted a positive affirmation of gay marriage but worked in a Christian institution like the Vatican, or the head office of Watchtower, or they were an administrator at Brigham Young university etc, would they be treated better or worse than the way Trafford Housing Trust treated Smith? Do you think a pro gay marriage manager exercising their free speech should expect to stay employed within a Christian organisation that opposes gay marriage?
So the point I want to get at is this. Are folk like Adrian Smith victimised in a way Christian organisations would not do if roles were reversed?
Liberty becomes clouded by the issue. And that is the essence of the devil's work, not the inequity of the issue but the loss of liberty.
It isn't the liberty to live one's life as one chooses that is the real issue, it's the suppression of the lives of those who disagree. In this way is liberty cast aside for when one group enjoys personal expression at the expense of another the issue is no longer liberty. It is oppression and tyranny.
Once, not so long ago, a man was entitled to have and express his opinion without fear of recrimination. It was called liberty and it no longer exists. One can be severely punished for speaking in opposition to the agenda of certain groups. This is the very definition of repression and tyranny.
Gay movements, whatever the issue, first started growing teeth in 1968. In a year of global paradigm shifts, gays learned the use of the courts to get their way. Unfortunately they obtained their rights by suppressing the rights of others. Since the rights of others is of no concern to them, we now see the blossoming and full fruit of these radical examples.
A new dark age has descended upon western civilization and the primary reason for it isn't gays. The main reason is that we've forgotten God. Even more, the name of God, God's Holy Word and the sacrifice of His son upon the cross is despised and mocked. We've told the Father, Son and Holy Ghost to hit the road.
And so they have.
God alone can grant or withdraw liberty and when His precepts are ignored and His help is rejected the entire civilization suffers. The Biblical principle of decay in a civilization is recorded in the two books of Kings in the Old Testament. Little by little and bit by bit the civilization is devoured by its' enemies. At times there are minor reverses, but the trend is always toward decay, debauchery, governmental oppression and eventually complete collapse.
Oddly, the best literature on this sort of trend is recorded by atheist writers such as Gore Vidal. Some of the best commentaries are spoken by comedians like Bill Maher. Both of these men frequently expressed disrespect of organized religion and for good reason. There is little about Protestantism worthy of praise these days. Politically, both men as well as others are right on target when they describe the dangers and mechanics of the fall of the American republic as well as Western Civilization as a whole.
Christian literature, even if it addresses political issues at all, is often at least ten years or more behind current events. When matters change on a weekly or monthly basis being ten years late to notice them can be fatal to society.
We have forgotten God and can expect greater loss of liberty as time goes on. Hostility for expressing opposition to gay marriage is only a small example. It does, however, illustrate my point well. We are entering a new dark age - and we deserve every bit of it.
and that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...
R.I.P. AMERICAN REPUBLIC
[June 21, 1788 - October 26, 2001]
- Here lies Liberty -
Born in the spring,
died in the fall.
Stabbed in the back,
forsaken by all.
