We’re pausing our Revelation series for a week, because it’s vital to flag up that Britain could be actively persecuting Bible Christians in 2 or 3 years’ time. Lots of us are unaware. It sounds crazy, but it’s reality. Consensual prayer to be banned, `Christian summer camps` to be clamped down on, Christian parenting to be restricted (`Parents most of the time are the problem`), groups like the Evangelical Alliance to be `hit hard`, legal penalties of up to ten years in prison or £100,000 fines – these are all very serious possibilities in this promised `no loopholes` legislation. We face the real possibility of many pastors and youth workers soon being banned lifelong from ministry, or even imprisoned. For more details please read on…
Like I say, all that may sound crazy. But as a starter, this is from the reliable Christian Institute, https://www.christian.org.uk/news/labour-wants-a-no-loophole-conversion-therapy-law/?e131023: `The Labour Party has announced its commitment to introducing a comprehensive ‘conversion therapy’ law.` [Labour are way ahead in the polls to be the government after the next general election – Pete.] `Speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds promised “a full, no-loopholes, trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy”…. In her speech, Dodds also promised “stronger laws so those who carry out anti-LGBT+ hate crime get the tougher sentences they deserve”.`
Obviously the first question here is what `conversion therapy` and `hate crime` are. We of course condemn homophobia (any hatred of gay people); because our God certainly doesn’t hate homosexuals! God loves every gay and transgender person in the world enormously; Christ loves and values them so much He died in colossal agony for every one of them, exactly as for every straight person. So we are called to be deeply loving to LGBT people, and must pray that anyone LGBT will feel welcome in our church whether they agree or disagree with what the Bible says. (I personally rejoice that in my time as a pastor my church had numerous people in leadership or upfront roles who were celibate but gay or bi in orientation (and these were only the ones I knew about!); and I am deeply grateful for how they have blessed me.)
But the next and crucial question is what Ms Dodds’ words `conversion therapy ‘ and particularly `no loopholes` mean; and these come straight out of the amazingly totalitarian letter sent by the LGBT activistic Ozanne Foundation to the government. This letter (which incidentally was cosigned by the then moderator of the national Baptist Union council, now regional minister looking after the Baptist churches in the eastern region of England; these are bizarre times) demanded the actual criminalization of the `full range of religious practices` that `offer help` in `suppressing` desire for homosexual behaviour, leaving no `loopholes`; and with a very explicit stated demand for a ban of a kind whereby any religious leader successfully accused of doing so (which obviously can include consensual discussion, prayer, exposition of Romans 1, or preaching as to how believers can learn to `suppress` temptation towards sexual activity outside marriage as biblically defined) should be given `a criminal record that would stop them following their vocation`. (Please see the full text in eg https://www.mygwork.com/en/my-g-news/religious-leaders-urge-boris-johnson-to-ban-conversion-therapy .)
We need to grasp how very much Labour’s `no loopholes` will probably mean. Tireless LGBT activist Jayne Ozanne said in an interview (I’m quoting another of Christian Institute’s valuable posts, https://www.christian.org.uk/news/conversion-ban-champion-parents-are-the-problem/ ) that her `“biggest concern” is that “religious practices” such as prayer will not be covered by the Government’s proposed ban on “conversion practices”. She has previously described affirming the Bible’s teaching on sexual morality as “homophobia” and demanded that “gentle, non-coercive prayer” falls within the scope of a new anti-conversion law. Asked in 2021 whether she wants to ban praying with someone, at their request [my emphasis], about remaining celibate, she said: “Yes, because it is damaging”. [Also,] In this latest interview, responding to Government caution on a ban including gender-confused children as well as adults, she complained that parents are allowed to have “the upper hand here”, before adding: “Parents most of the time are the problem, not the solution”. [Further,] Expanding on her wish to target the ordinary work of churches, she shared her concern that prayer would be excluded from the proposed ban with “weasel words to allow those practices because they’re seen as, “well, it’s only prayer”. They’ve talked about how everyday religious practice and private prayer will be allowed. Well, that is the main form of conversion practices.` And singling out the key national umbrella group Evangelical Alliance, Ms Ozanne also claimed that where organisations tell members `they have to go ahead with trying to transform people` a criminal offence is needed to `hit them hard`.
And there’s yet more; we urgently need to grasp just how wide-ranging the assault on UK biblical Christianity is likely to be. Ms Ozanne has called for Christian summer camps to be controlled in any `conversion therapy’ Bill. `Speaking on Times Radio she said: “I’ve had parents contact me this summer, that many children have been on Christian camps… [where they] will have been told that they need to transform themselves, that they need to pray the gay away”` (https://letuspray.uk/news/campaigner-demands-clamp-down-on-christian-camps). (Letuspray commented that `To say that Christian camps` – the `highlight of the year for many young people` – `are carrying out conversion therapy is an outrageous claim… There’s no evidence to suggest that there was a single camp in the UK this summer trying to force same-sex attracted teens to be straight. If there was, we would know about it. Ozanne herself would have reported it to the police because verbal and physical abuse are – rightly – already illegal.`) Likewise, Ms Ozanne has also accused Oxford University’s Christian Union of homophobia for affirming the Bible’s teaching on sexual morality, saying on twitter `We can’t allow this harmful practice of telling LGBT people who are in relationships that they are ‘sinful’ to continue` (https://www.christian.org.uk/news/bibles-teaching-on-sexual-ethics-homophobic-says-lgbt-member-of-general-synod/ ). As for pastoral care, Tiernan Mason of the Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition has said that ` A lot of [conversion therapy] is just talking to a religious leader, such as a priest or a pastor` (or presumably imam) (Irish Daily Mail 1 May 2021, cited in a thorough resource on https://letuspray.uk/conversion ). ` ”Spiritual guidance” is really just religious speak for conversion therapy`, says Matthew Hyndman, co-founder of the Ban Conversion Therapy campaign (www.gaytimes.co.uk/originals/ban-conversion-therapy-co-founder-whats-more-threatening-than-telling-someone-they-will-spend-an-eternity-in-hell).
And these views have been expressed explicitly by influential figures in parliament. In the public record of a parliamentary debate on this, former Labour shadow first secretary of state Angela Eagle similarly highlighted prayer as needing to be banned: `Being told to pray harder to change and to question your innermost feelings and thoughts…none of that should be legal.` In the same debate Labour shadow foreign minister Stephen Doughty included pastoral care in his concerns, saying, utterly bizarrely, that people cannot consent to (what he is calling) conversion therapy, so it should be banned even where a person seeks out `spiritual support` over unwanted feelings. (All this is tragic when, as a gay Christian friend said to me recently, there can be many young people who (he said) might be led to self harm or even suicide if they are wrestling with their sexuality but, when they want to talk it through with their pastor or church youth worker, they may find the usually open “door of support” from the people who have always cared for them slammed in their face for fear of legal penalties on such a conversation.)
In addition Ms Ozanne and other activists have `called on the Government to imitate the conversion therapy legislation in the Australian state of Victoria. Under Victoria’s [astonishingly!] repressive law, “not affirming someone’s gender identity”, and parents refusing “to support their child’s request for medical treatment that will prevent physical changes from puberty”, are deemed illegal` (https://www.christian.org.uk/news/ci-warns-no-10-over-australian-conversion-therapy-debacle/ ). Further official guidance has been updated to tell Christians what they can and cannot pray and teach; religious leaders are told they are likely to be carrying out an illegal act if they tell people “that their gender identity is not real”, or if they say prayers that “ask for a person to not act on their attractions” or “talk about a person’s brokenness or need to repent”`; and the guidance `also states that Christians can only pray in a way that affirms that everyone is “perfect as they are”.` (Ludicrous, but as the CI post adds, such wordings can even make it a criminal act to say and preach the Lord’s Prayer, which after all asks God to “forgive us our sins” and “lead us not into temptation”. And repentance is fundamental to our gospel itself.) And government Minister Jacob Young has said `I want to see people go to prison if they try to convince a gay person that what they’re doing is wrong` (https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/politics/article/jacob-young-conservatives) . It’s quite astonishing how suddenly and dramatically things have developed on this issue, and what major legal sanctions could very soon be about to come, freedom of speech and belief notwithstanding.
So then: here is what `no loopholes` means: a massively wide-ranging assault on UK biblical Christianity; and one that Labour’s equalities minister now is promising to back with the full force of the law. And let’s be clear: as we said above, criminalization of the `full range of religious practices` that `offer help` in `suppressing` desire for homosexual behaviour, leaving no `loopholes`, can and probably will be used to attack such basic aspects of standard church life as consensual discussion, prayer, exposition of eg Romans 1, or preaching as to how believers can learn to `suppress` temptation towards sexual activity outside marriage as biblically defined.
And what are the further likely consequences of a `no loopholes` law such as Ms Dodds is promising?
First, the crucial Bible guidelines are clearly that we ourselves must be geared up to obey God rather than the authorities, if the two conflict (Acts 4:19, 5:29).
And secondly, therefore, whatever legislation is passed, MPs need to expect pastors and youth leaders around the country to continue to preach passages like Romans 1 and to pray with fellow-believers who are wrestling with how not to turn homosexual desires into practice. (And I believe many Catholic priests, orthodox Jews, and Muslims will feel and do precisely the same.) We do not need a head-on collision – nor I think does the government! The greater part of youth work in the UK is done by the churches, and it is the churches most of all that have stepped up to run food banks. But because of the very powerful influence of our LGBT friends, and because politicians’ interaction with `faith communities`, if any, tends to be with the bureaucracies of the declining “mainline denominations” (rather than the newer, more vibrant streams like, say, New Frontiers, Elim, or the Redeemed Christian Church of God; let alone the numerous London churches with memberships in the thousands; all of which in contrast would be strongly committed to obeying the Bible in all circumstances); I doubt that they are aware just what a headlong clash may be coming if they are misled like this. All this is likely to result in a huge number of clashes between many faith communities and the legal system, taking up a vast amount of the time of the police and the courts. It is an imminent and amazing threat to freedom of speech and belief, but I very much doubt that our MPs are aware, and they need to be. I want to encourage as many of us as possible to talk to our MPs on this (but if you quote eg the Ozanne Foundation position, please be very careful to do so accurately); and please also pass this on to anyone else you can think of to do so.
However, thirdly, we need to be aware that a `no loopholes` law such as Ms Dodds has promised could make our obedience to Jesus very costly indeed, amounting to full-scale government persecution. Christian Institute again, on the subject of the conversion therapy law in Victoria: `The penalty in Victoria is up to ten years in prison or a maximum fine of over £100,000 [my emphasis], and the state has already begun a programme of ‘re-educating’ church leaders` (https://www.christian.org.uk/news/ci-reminds-govt-conversion-therapy-bill-must-not-criminalise-innocent-conversations/ ). Jayne Ozanne has said that this ban in Victoria `is seen as the gold standard’; Matthew Hyndman of the Ban Conversion Therapy campaign said it is `by far the best example’; Blair Anderson and Tristan Gray of End Conversion Therapy Scotland have said it is ‘what we consider to be the best practice’ (https://letuspray.uk/blog/not-affirming-someones-gender-identity-why-the-gold-standard-ban-should-worry-us-all). Influential Tory MP Alicia Kearns has been quoted as saying `The model that’s been passed in Victoria is a good one`; she has also written an article https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/we-must-criminalise-abhorrent-practice-of-lgbtq-conversion-therapy in which she says how she and others are lobbying the government for strict legislation that would `criminalise` anything at all that they can call `conversion therapy`, and she too explicitly describes this as including `prayer sessions`. Also, very importantly, she calls for `a mandatory legal requirement to report known or suspected cases of “conversion” therapy`; ie church members will themselves be in trouble if they don’t inform on their pastor or youth worker.
What then do we do? First, and seriously, we need to start praying, and keep praying, for God’s intervention and deliverance! `Do not bring us to the time of trial, but deliver us from the evil one!` This is not just one minor political issue among all the others, but something that will have colossally destructive effects on UK biblical faith and biblical churches, such as nothing has done for very many decades. Secondly, as 1 Peter 4 says, `Since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude`: be geared up, and help others to be geared up in our training, for wide-ranging legal attacks on us, such as are common in many other countries but that we have not known here.
Thirdly, please make this known. It grieves me to say this – I am an ex Labour Party member – but it’s essential it be widely known that any committed Muslim, Jew, or Christian who follows the teaching on sexuality of the Quran, Hadiths, Tanakh or Bible needs to think very hard indeed before voting for Labour next time. And we need to ensure that friends who are committed Muslims or Jews, and Catholics too, are well aware of all this; since I’m not sure that these three communities are as informed of what’s coming their way as evangelicals are; because it seems to be evangelicals who are the targets of the hatred that’s already happening. (If you read Times Online you will know what I mean.) CI did an excellent downloadable leaflet two years ago at https://www.christian.org.uk/resource/conversion-therapy-update/ – a weblink still worth our circulating as widely as we can.
BUT at the end of the day!: although very serious persecution may well come (see my Revelation 13 post last week), ultimately God loves us, God is in control, and God will give us `grace to help us in our time of need` (Heb 4:16)!
PS Since I started writing this, the Conservative government have announced that they will present a `conversion therapy` bill before the 2024 election. I may be ill-informed but my impression is that this may be better than one from Labour, because the Conservatives tend to be more concerned to preserve freedom of speech. Even so — it could easily be amended very drastically by Labour and the active LGBT contingent of Conservative MPs. (I should add that similar laws have come in (eg France, Canada – bad) or are coming in many western countries.)
PPS One last point: In the Times a while ago, respected gay journalist Matthew Parris wrote about how sexual identity is often a choice about a place on a spectrum of sexuality, made in the light of external factors. In that case, it is outrageous that a law is being promoted to criminalize friendly and consensual discussion of that choice and those factors. Similarly a while back the Times ran an autobiographical piece by the Booker winner Bernardine Evaristo in which she described her years as a highly sexually active lesbian and then how she’s been `fully heterosexual` (with a male husband) for 30 years. Her article showed clearly how sexual desire and orientation are not always fixed from birth as LGBT activists are saying but can be as Parris says a spectrum up and down which some people at least may choose to move. (Likewise Dominic Davies, the CEO of Pink Therapy, has been quoted as saying `Sexuality can be quite plastic for many people… [there are] plenty of examples..of sexual fluidity over a lifespan for many LGB and T people.` The growth in the percentage of people identifying as bisexual would seem to prove his point.) But what was also very significant for the present debate was how she then speculated about how external (family and political) factors might have influenced her sexual orientation. If it’s acceptable to recognise how external factors can rightly do that, it can hardly make sense for it to be illegal to deny someone (consensually, obviously) safe spaces to think through the implications that such external factors – such as their religious deepest beliefs about life – might have for their sexuality; and it’s outrageous that such safe spaces might be criminalized. We must take action(s) before it is too late.
