World News and Trends: Proposed "Sexual Orientation Regulations" threaten traditional marriage in Britain
According to a recent report in The Daily Telegraph, "New governmental proposals could require clergy to bless homosexual 'weddings' or face prosecution, the Church of England said yesterday" (June 10).
According to a recent report in The Daily Telegraph, "New governmental proposals could require clergy to bless homosexual 'weddings' or face prosecution, the Church of England said yesterday" (June 10). These new Department of Trade and Industry proposals (labeled Sexual Orientation Regulations or SOR) are apparently designed to protect homosexual men and women from discrimination with regard to goods, services and facilities on the basis of their sexual orientation.
It is understood that religious schools "could be required to teach that homosexuality was of equal value to heterosexual marriage and if ministers of religion were not properly protected they could be open to legal action" (ibid.).
To give the Anglican Church its due, on the whole its leaders have responded to these new governmental proposals with diplomacy, courage and conviction.
For instance, the church's information pack states: "Christians of course earnestly desire the repentance and salvation of homosexuals. However, the Bible is clear that the only right sexual relationship for which we were created, is a relationship between a man and a woman in the context of a legitimate marriage. Consequently, there are times when Christians need to be free to discriminate against homosexuality in order to be constant and clear . . . in teaching that the Bible says homosexual practice is sinful" (Anglican Web site, emphasis added).
The British government wants these new regulations to become the law in England and Wales by October. However, it has formally asked if there should be any exceptions to protect religious groups.
According to the Anglican information pack, "The regulations have been described by some leading Christian figures from across denominational lines as representing an even greater threat to Christian liberty than had been posed by the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill."
Christians should pray fervently that the final outcome of the proposed legislation will make provision for ministers and others to obey God's laws without suffering legal penalties. (Sources: The Daily Telegraph [London], the Anglican Church Web site.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2006
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Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
