Parents, take back control

En route to Sydney airport our Bangladeshi taxi driver was fascinated to hear about my occupation. ‘You’re a Pastor? What does your church think about same-sex marriage?’ ‘We don’t agree with it and think that it’s wrong, unbiblical and bad for humanity’.

He was genuinely shocked and pleased. His mosque had told him that Christian churches were largely pro-gay marriage and, given the constant appearances of church leaders in the media advocating that position, they had good reason. He was so pleased with the answer that the conversation continued and by the time we got to the airport we were discussing the death of Jesus on the cross!

Anaemia and acquiescence

Many Muslims do not understand why Christianity has been so weak and so willing to cave into the predominant culture. Again they have a point. When Parkside Community school in Birmingham sought to impose a sex education/relationships programme entitled ‘No Outsiders’ it was so strongly opposed by the parents that it had to be withdrawn. Now another four Muslim majority schools have also withdrawn the programme. Meanwhile in schools up and down the land, Christian parents are allowing their rights to be overridden and are meekly acquiescing in this new programme of state indoctrination. Ofsted have made it a priority to ensure that LGBTQ+ indoctrination is practised in every school.

Many Christian parents are confused about this because of the language that is used. After all we all want to live in world of ‘love’ where there are no outsiders and everyone is respected. We all deplore the idea of people being bullied. But we need to understand that under the Trojan horse of teaching tolerance and being against bullying, the LGBTQ+ activists are seeking to impose a sexual philosophy that is at its core both anti-Christian and harmful to humanity.

Exegesis and exaggeration

Take for example the threat of bullying. We all want to stop bullying but does that necessitate teaching Queer theory to our children? Would it not be better to deter bullying by exegeting the biblical truth that all human beings are made in the image of God and are as such to be treated with dignity and respect? Besides which, the extent of homophobic and transphobic bullying has been greatly exaggerated. The annual ‘Ditch the Label’ bullying survey of 2017 says 50% have experienced bullying because of their appearance – but only 4% because of sexuality and 3% because of gender identity. These are the least important categories for bullying. 91% of teachers say they have never or rarely seen transphobic bullying (81% for homosexual bullying). But on the basis of self-selecting surveys from Stonewall and other LGBTQ+ advocacy groups the Government pours large sums of money into these

groups in order to help them propagate their doctrines. It pays Stonewall and others to exaggerate the extent of bullying.

Under that guise they are now seeking to impose, with the full blessing of the Government, a philosophy that is not only anti-Christian but is harmful to all children. It’s a form of child abuse to tell children that they can choose their own gender. One seven-year-old girl from my church came home to her parents in tears – ‘Mummy, am I a boy or a girl? Because the teacher says I can choose’. Another 14-year-old boy was told by his guidance teacher that he might be suffering from depression because he was a girl trapped in the wrong body. This is nothing but State-sponsored child abuse.

Rights and responsibilities

The UK Government’s proposed RSE programme is a form of child grooming. It prepares children for early sexual experimentation, normalises it and in so doing opens the door for sexual predators. The removal of parental authority and control also facilitates that. Remember that the new RSE is compulsory, with no parental opt outs allowed.

Christian parents need to follow the example of our Muslim fellow citizens. Article 26 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – ‘Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.’

European law states the same principle: ‘In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching is in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions’ (First Protocol, Article 2).

Not only for the sake of our own children, but for the love of others (especially the poor who are the ones most affected by this sexual experimentation and indoctrination), we must take a stand in the State schools. And if that does not work we need to ask what we are doing in sending our children to be schooled and indoctrinated with anti-Christian teaching, and return to Knox’s principle of ‘where you have a church, there you have a school’. It’s not just about human rights – it’s about our God-given responsibilities. It’s the same question that faced the first-century Christians – who will we obey, Caesar or the Lord?