Ely Cathedral proclaims solidarity with the LGBT community and flies the rainbow flag at the city’s first ever Gay Pride Parade (https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/gallery/photos-ely-pride-jubilee-cathedral-15018264).  Yet more evidence, if any were needed, of the Church of England’s growing celebration of apostasy.

Let us be clear, the Bible unequivocally prohibits any and all behaviours identified as sexual sin, which includes fornication, adultery, homosexuality and incest – in fact anything outside marriage between one man and one woman for life.  It also clearly states that in the beginning God created Adam. Then, because there wasn’t any fit helper or companion that could be found for the man, and he was lonely, God took one of his ribs and made a ‘woman’.    So from the beginning the man and the woman were a part of each other.  They were ‘bone of bone’ and ‘flesh of flesh’, and together they ‘completed’ each other.  God’s command and gift to them was to live with each other in lifelong and exclusive union, so that they might support each other, and together care for any children they might have.

That’s the template for humanity and the way we are made – not as gender-neutral beings who can choose for ourselves if we want to identify as men, women, or anything in between, but as biological beings with clear identifying characteristics based on our sex at birth.  And of course this isn’t to say that on occasion things don’t go wrong.  Sadly, a very few babies are born with ambiguous genitalia, just as others are born with life-threatening conditions or disability – and when that happens, all alike need help.   But the starting point is that we are created male or female – it’s in our DNA – and we are designed to live in lifelong, exclusive ‘relationship’ with someone of the opposite sex.  For the Church, in its wisdom, to hold or maintain anything that deviates from this fundamental order is a denial of Christian faith, and apostasy.

At a similar event to that in Ely, readers of this blog will know that earlier this summer in Bournemouth an elderly gentleman was physically assaulted by a gang of LGBT thugs, for daring to say homosexuality was a sin prohibited in the Bible.  You’d think on the basis of age alone such bully-boy tactics would have provoked public outrage and calls for punishment of the offenders.  But no! Apparently in 21^st century Britain ‘hate crime’ goes only one way, so that if you’re gay, lesbian, or trans-gender, you can say and do whatever you want.

Is this really what democracy has become?  Where free speech is permitted only for those who follow current – and, by definition, transitory – cultural norms?  And is this why the Church has buckled?  Is it afraid? Or has it been infiltrated and taken over by the self-serving and/or deliberately malign?

When the Church loses its voice, the rot in society spreads, and the weak and voiceless become increasingly vulnerable to abuse.    Now, on the coat tails of adult licence, it is becoming mandatory that children as young as four be inculcated with this sexually damaging ideology that flies in the face of biology and refutes science.   At the very least, teaching a child of four that it’s up to them to choose their gender is deeply confusing; at worst it is pure and simple exploitation, prioritising justification for adult behaviours over child welfare. But subsequently teaching children the finer details of anal and oral sex, without mention of the attendant, but well established, physical risks and harms, is criminal.  The unhappy truth is that we are breeding a damaged generation, caught in the slime of moral degeneracy, and for whom sex in all its forms has become the be-all and end-all of life, with paedophilia and abuse flourishing for the simple reason it is very hard any longer to say ‘no’.

Enough!  

No matter what LGBT and transgender activists would have us believe, sin is not a variable concept subject to cultural change that can be redefined at whim.  And God has not become more sophisticated in the two thousand years since His Son walked the Earth calling people to repentance.  Nor has He changed His mind about what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour.  The bottom line is, either God is a figment of mankind’s collective and fevered imagination – in which case nothing said in the Bible matters a jot.  Or He really is the Supreme Being and Creator of all, and the moral precepts in Scripture stand, in which case we need to get a bit of backbone and defend the faith for which Christ died.

It is not possible to compromise with sin.   A little bit of pre-marital sex or adultery isn’t okay, no matter what we teach children today about their sexual rights.  Anal sex isn’t ‘normal’.  Destroying innocent life before birth because the mother doesn’t ‘feel ready’ is not a woman’s inalienable human right.  And self-identifying as a surgically changed man or woman, with a lifetime ahead on drugs, is not fulfilment: it’s mutilation.

As the battle for the soul of our nation grows, the devil still prowls around like a wolf, seeking those he can devour.   He is becoming worryingly successful.  It is time for the Church and ‘ordinary’ Christians alike to stand up and defend our faith.  

On Saturday, 14^thJuly, Bournemouth held a Gay Pride Parade through the centre of town. According to the local paper, thousands of spectators lined the streets to welcome the dozens of floats celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture. The parade was led by crews from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service, joined by members of the police force, fire service and paramedics (http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/15384778.PICTURES__Sea_of_colour_for_Bourne_Free_pride_parade/).

David Skinner is an elderly gentleman who also attended, but in his case to bear witness to the shocking death at the turn of the century of Harry Hammond, a 69 year old, Christian street preacher, who in 2001 was physically attacked at a similar parade, after the sign he was carrying provoked outrage from the crowd.  The sign read: ‘Jesus Gives Peace, Jesus is Alive, Stop Immorality. Stop Homosexuality, Stop Lesbianism, Jesus is Lord’.”   The police response then was to arrest Mr Hammond for incitement of his attackers.  At the subsequent trial, he was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine and costs of £650. Shortly afterwards he was hospitalised and died.

Mr Skinner took with him to the parade a large sign proclaiming, “IN MEMORY OF HARRY HAMMOND – died 2001- Defending freedom of speech for Biblical truth….”.  Bolted below this, he had a large No Entry sign, superimposed over two men engaged in a sexual act.

Once again this provoked perhaps predictable outrage, and once again the holder of the sign was assaulted, as the placard was wrenched from Mr Skinner’s grip and smashed on the floor.  A woman then followed this up by drenching him in some sort of sticky liquid, that he said for a moment he feared was acid.

All this was recorded on film, and the police were called.  But even though shown the recording of what had happened, they dismissed all allegations of assault and refused to act. Indeed, they threatened, if he persisted in his complaint, to arrest him under sections 4A and 5 of the Public Order Act.  The clear implication was, therefore, that in the opinion of the police Mr Skinner was at fault and LGBT supporters could do what they wanted – even to the extent of committing a criminal offence.

This is unacceptable.  Mr Skinner was peaceably exercising his legal right to freedom of expression.  It is not denied that those participating in the parade might be expected to react negatively – but this did not give them the legal right to attack him physically, provoke fear, and destroy his property.

The mandate of the police is to uphold and enforce the law – without partiality – to protect all members of the public, and to preserve the peace.  They should have acted to protect Mr Skinner, and have immediately arrested those guilty of assault and criminal damage.  As it is, the partisan attitude of officers, both present at the incident and after, is shocking, shameful, and an abuse of justice.

We call for justice to be upheld and applied with equality, for a proper investigation to be made – of both the incident and of the officers called to deal with the offence – and for Mr Skinner’s attackers, clearly identifiable from the several film recordings that were made, to be immediately arrested and charged.

Sign petition here: https://www.citizengo.org/en/signit/164935/view

Amidst all the recent LGBT celebrations and jollity, a couple of weeks ago there was a Gay Pride parade in sunny Bournemouth.  Truth to tell, from the video footage VfJUK has seen, it looks to have been a somewhat turgid affair, but these events appear ‘popular’ these days.  The parade in Bournemouth, however, was chiefly remarkable for a barely acknowledged, but totally reprehensible, assault on David Skinner, an elderly gentleman who was there to bear witness to the shocking death at the turn of the century of Harry Hammond.

For those for whom this name is unknown, in the words of Mr Skinner, Harry Hammond was, “a 69 year old, Christian street preacher, who (at the pride parade) in 2001 went into the town centre with a large sign which read: ‘Jesus Gives Peace, Jesus is Alive, Stop Immorality. Stop Homosexuality, Stop Lesbianism, Jesus is Lord’.”   It could perhaps have been expected that this would produce something of a reaction. Mr Hammond was doubtless hoping for repentance, but in the event he was physically attacked, and then arrested by the police for incitement of his attackers.  At the subsequent trial, he was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine and costs of £650.  Shortly afterwards he was hospitalised and died.  Hence Mr Skinner’s tribute at this year’s parade.

But history, as they say, has a way of repeating itself.  Mr Skinner took with him to the parade a large sign proclaiming, “IN MEMORY OF HARRY HAMMOND – died 2001- Defending freedom of speech for Biblical truth….”  Bolted below this, he had a large No Entry sign, superimposed over two men engaged in a sexual act.

Once again there was perhaps predictable outrage, and once again the holder of the sign was assaulted, as the placard was wrenched from Mr Skinner’s grip and smashed on the floor.  A woman then followed this up by drenching him in some sort of sticky liquid, that he said for a moment he feared was acid.

All this was recorded on film, and the police were called.  But even though shown the recording of what had happened, they dismissed all allegations of assault and refused to act. Indeed, they threatened that, if he persisted in his complaint, they would arrest him under sections 4A and 5 of the Public Order Act.  The clear implication is, therefore, that in the opinion of the police Mr Skinner was at fault.  Which in one respect may be true, to the extent that, if he exercised his legal right to freedom of expression, it might reasonably be envisaged that those participating in the parade would react negatively.  But this surely would still not justify their attacking him physically! As it is, given the attitude of our gallant law enforcement officers, adherents of the new morality presumably now feel they have licence to do whatever they want, even to the extent of committing a criminal offence.

VfJUK asks if the police would have acted in the same way if the position had been reversed?  More specifically, would they have told LGBT activists it was fine for people to push them around and smash their property?  Or would the perpetrators by now be facing public abuse and humiliation, a huge fine, and even accommodation at Her Majesty’s pleasure?

The truth is that, where so-called LGBT rights are concerned, it is not an even playing field.  No matter what happens, they are always the ‘victims’, and can apparently say and do whatever they want.  We would remind the police that the offence of assault is committed if someone so much as lays a finger on you without permission – but David Skinner was jostled, his placard torn from his hands and smashed, and then he was deliberately drenched in some sort of viscous, but unidentified, liquid, which provoked real fear.

And the police say there was no offence.

In theory in the UK we still have the rights to freedom of belief and of speech.  Indeed, under the Equality Act 2010, religion is a protected characteristic, of equal status with such things as sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, disability and race.  Yet increasingly, religious conviction and conscience are being summarily stifled.   In the tradition of the pigs in Animal Farm, it appears that some equalities are more equal than others.

This is not good enough.  Increasingly, we find ourselves living in a totalitarian state where traditional British values of honesty, fairness and justice are being traduced and treated with disdain.  We say again to Government and to the authorities in our land: Stop prioritising LGBT rights over Christian rights to freedom of belief and expression.

It is with profound sadness that we report Cllr Richard Smith has been forced to resign from office as Mayor of Ferryhill, after a campaign of extreme intimidation and abuse provoked by complaints of LGBTQ activist and professional female impersonator Mark Boyes, aka Tess Tickle.

The online abuse and threats of violence from LGBTQ supporters have been so intense and frightening that Cllr Smith was forced to report them to the police.

In a statement accompanying his resignation, the ex-mayor said, “To be denied the opportunity to hold personal views was never my expectation when I undertook the role of town mayor, and it is a matter of sincere regret to me that those personal views have been so tragically and outrageously twisted and reported on in order to discredit both myself and my faith.

“I believe everybody has a right to chose who they are but my perspective, being a Christian and a minister, is what the Bible says. I have no hatred to anyone who chooses that lifestyle, but don’t want to be forced to accept it.”

Mr Smith added  he could no longer bear to see his family, colleagues or church threatened due to the backlash http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/16333331.ferryhill-mayor-at-centre-of-facebook-row-resigns/

In 21^stcentury Britain, truth is apparently outmoded, irrelevant, and dead.  Certainly, in the case of Richard Smith -pastor of Immanuel Christian Fellowship, decorated military veteran, and mayor of Ferryhill, Co Durham – slaughtered by the unremitting and vicious attack of LGBTQ activists.

The unforgiveable crime of which Mr Smith stands accused is that on his private Facebook page he allegedly shared social media posts critical of homosexuality.  He is therefore a hate-filled bigot.

Now let us be absolutely clear here, Mr Smith is a committed Christian who holds to Biblical morality, which does indeed hold certain behaviours to be sin.    The heart of the gospel is that we are all sinners, and that Christ came to save us from sin.  To put it another way, God condemns sin, which he takes very seriously, but loves sinners.  In fact, God loves sinners so much, that He sent His only Son to battle for our liberation!  So, unsurprisingly, this is Mr Smith’s position.   He cannot endorse what the Bible labels sin, but unequivocally does not hate sinners.  On the contrary, he has publicly stated  “As a Christian and a minister of the church, anyone regardless of faith, culture, race, gender or sexuality is welcome to my support.”

So exactly where is the bigotry and intolerance here?

The only evidence VfJUK can find is with LGBTQ activists, who from the moment Richard Smith was elected mayor have appeared determined to force him out, branding him a hate-filled bigot, who should not be allowed to hold public office.  In this they have been supported by The Northern Echo, the local newspaper, which from the first has carried extensive coverage of the campaign, throwing its weight behind the female impersonator and complainant Mark Boyes, aka Tess Tickle.

Day after day the paper has reported criticism and calls for Mr Smith’s resignation, coupled with statements of outrage.  Fine, you may say, public information and all that.  But it hasn’t mentioned the not inconsiderable public support for the mayor, nor the widespread condemnation of the tactics of those trying to get him removed. For instance, the poll the newspaper itself carried asking for readers’ opinions on whether or not Mr Smith should resign and showing a clear 56% majority calling for him to stay, has been quietly dropped.  Much too has been made of an online petition calling for the mayor’s resignation, which has attracted over 400 signatures!  Yet the online petition calling for Mr Smith’s support and so far numbering over 4,300 signatures has been entirely ignored!

Meanwhile, Tess Tickle’s supporters have been quick to post their thoughts on social media, an example of which is below.   A lady who must here remain anonymous, but of whose post we have a screen shot, wrote:

“This day in age.  F…. sake!  Tie the twat up in a rainbow flag, strip the nob head naked and leave him there to be laughed at.  This shits getting boring!  His breed are getting fewer though, you just do have the odd few still breathing. X”. (Grammatical errors are reproduced in entirety)

Nice.  And this was one of the less threatening posts.

Now VfJUK has been told that Mr Smith’s supporters have been harassed, spat upon, subjected to threats of violence, and at least one gentleman has had the wheel nuts on his car loosened!  This kind of behaviour, however, is apparently completely acceptable, when its object is … a Christian, who has been sincerely trying to fulfil his civic duty.

Today the Government has proudly announced a 75 point plan to improve the lives of gay people. Citing a recent survey of gay people in the UK, the BBC reported,

“LGBT hate incidents had been experienced by 40% of people in the survey, with more than nine in 10 of the most serious offences going unreported.” (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44686374)

On the evidence of Ferryhill, it would seem that Christians daring to voice their belief are even more likely to experience hate crime – certainly they are being increasingly hounded out of public life!   But who rises in their defence?

So exactly what is the reality here?  Who are the intolerant bigots?  And who really are the victims?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mr Smith tells us he is feeling so beleaguered that he now believes he may have no course other than to resign.   The persecution campaign appears to be gaining momentum.

Please, write to the newspapers and, if you live in Co. Durham, your local MP, calling out for this intimidation and bullying to be stopped, and for justice.  Call for Mr Smith to be confirmed in office.

And please sign our petition in Mr Smith’s support.  Though, in all honesty, we can’t guarantee that the Ferryhill council will pay any attention!