Before getting into what I want to say here, it’s important to clearly state that I have no personal axe to grind.
I was brought up in a Christian family but in adulthood subscribe to no organised religion. I have friends who are Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists. I have friends who are pagans and nothing in particular – like myself.
I have gay friends, heterosexual friends and friends who have yet to make up their mind. I have friends who have undergone surgery to change their sex.
I may not agree with some of thier individual beliefs but I would defend their rights to express and live them, provided they weren’t causing harm to anyone else.
So, what is my concern?
Some months ago there was a court case in the UK. Briefly, a gay couple were denied access to a previously booked double room in a small, privately run hotel owned by a Christian couple. Separate rooms were offered to the guests but refused. The men took their case to court and it was upheld that their rights had been breached and compensation was awarded.
England was once a Christian country – the name of the established church, The Church of England, gives a clue as to the culture and heritage of the Country. Yet, despite this fact, the rights of Christians have been almost totally eroded. As a nation we have put ourselves through hoops to defend the rights of other faiths whilst ignoring those that belong to the territory.
The Christian church has done little to help itself. The Holy Bible, the credo for Christianity is ignored if its requirements don’t fit current political agendas. Perhaps I am blind, but I don’t see this happening with other religious tenets.
It is surely hard for Christians here to start claiming ‘rights’ because of their faith when their own Church chooses to ignore the teachings of The Bible, apparently to suit itself.
Of course there’s a strong argument that times change and modernisation of thoughts and beliefs is a good thing but it has to be recognised that cherry picking what you want to discard from The Bible weakens the faith it underpins.
Now, I don’t want to start a debate with anyone. I write about this as it has been niggling at me since I read about the court case. The point of this post is to articulate my personal confusion and resulting cynicism about ‘rights’ – be they individual or societal.
What right does anyone have to make another wrong over matters such as religion and sexual preference?
Have the gay couple not done to the Christian couple what was done to them in the first place? And as we know, two wrongs never make a right.
In fact, in this case, I can’t help but think that two ‘rights’ have made a wrong.
