February 2024 Persecution Magazine
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West Watch<br />
ISSUES INVOLVING CHRISTIANITY IN THE WEST<br />
Christian Professor Fired in UK for<br />
Beliefs on Biblical Marriage<br />
A<br />
theology professor in Derbyshire, England, has been<br />
fired from a Methodist Bible university after sharing his<br />
religious beliefs on social media. Dr. Aaron Edwards, an<br />
employee at Cliff College for seven years, was dismissed<br />
for publicly criticizing the Methodist Church and its complacent<br />
views on biblical marriage. Edward’s employer had accused him<br />
of “bringing the college into disrepute.”<br />
Earlier this year, Edwards shared on X (formerly Twitter) that<br />
“Homosexuality is invading the Church. Evangelicals no longer<br />
see the severity of this because they’re busy apologizing for their<br />
apparently barbaric homophobia, whether or not it’s true. This is<br />
a ‘Gospel issue,’ by the way. If sin is no longer sin, we no longer<br />
need a Saviour.”<br />
Edward’s tweet drew push back from several human rights activist<br />
groups, prompting university officials to become involved. Cliff<br />
College released a statement, calling the post “unacceptable”<br />
and “inappropriate,” and demanded the professor remove the<br />
tweet.<br />
Edwards refused to take down the post, arguing it would violate<br />
his conscience. He further pointed out that the post was not<br />
defamatory to any individual in particular and was, therefore,<br />
not in violation of the school’s social media policy.<br />
Despite his sincere efforts, the school opened an investigation,<br />
leading to the professor’s suspension and subsequent dismissal.<br />
At one point during the investigation, Edwards claimed that<br />
school officials threatened to refer him to the U.K. government’s<br />
counter terrorism and hate speech unit. Edwards is suing Cliff<br />
College for unfair firing and compensation under England’s<br />
Equality Act.<br />
International Christian Concern (ICC) has invited Edwards<br />
to speak at the International Religious Freedom Summit in<br />
Washington, D.C. on Jan 30-31.<br />
ICC UPDATE TO THOSE ON CAPITOL HILL<br />
If you’d like to stay informed about ICC’s advocacy work and policy<br />
recommendations, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, The Capitol<br />
Dispatch at www.persecution.org/icc-advocacy<br />
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<strong>Persecution</strong> | FEBRUARY <strong>2024</strong>
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