Homosexual Rights

"Homosexual Rights" Campaigners Claim Symbolic Victory at Southwark.

By Simon Calvert

©1997 The Christian Institute

Contents

Introduction

"Thought For The Day"

The Christian Institute Responds

A "Christian" Movement?

LGCM Deny Blasphemy

Reform Campaign

"Gay Marriage" Bishop

Celebrating Sin

References

Introduction

On Saturday 16th November over a thousand people attended a service at Southwark Cathedral in London for a "celebration" of twenty years of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. Because of the furore surrounding the event, TV camera crews were present and all the main channels gave it a slot in their nightly bulletin. Channel 4 allowed both the LGCM and its opponents to give their views of the event, making for a balanced report. The Christian Institute's own David Holloway appeared on behalf of Evangelical Anglican group Reform. Sunday night's Everyman programme was similarly objective in presenting comment from many sides of the argument.

However, the BBC's Saturday evening news coverage gave the event something of the status of a royal wedding, referring gleefully to "Gay Christians" celebrating their sexuality. The only time given to opposing views was footage of sombre-looking protesters outside the cathedral shouting and holding black placards - hardly representative of the general tone of opposition.

The Southwark service focused within the Church of England a battle that is being fought in the country at large. This is a battle between the proponents of homosexuality and those who hold to the traditional belief that it is morally wrong.

The LGCM talk of seeking "rights" and "equality" for homosexuals. They refer to homosexuals as "downtrodden"(1) and compare their opponents to the bigoted hate-mongers of the American deep south during the black civil rights campaigns.

Christians represented by groups such as Reform and Anglo-Catholic group Cost of Conscience, feel bound to the Bible's clear injunction against homosexual practice and also to the doctrine of the Church of England itself. Not only has the Church historically always been opposed to homosexual acts. As recently as 1987 the General Synod voted in favour of a motion proposed by Reverend Tony Higton, affirming that homosexual sex is a sin and should be repented of.

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"Thought For The Day"

The Southwark celebration hit the headlines as a result of the now widely-publicised "Thought for the Day" broadcast on Radio 4 by vicar's wife Anne Atkins.

Her piece on 10th October infuriated "gay rights" campaigners by re-stating the Church's traditional view on sexual morality. While affirming the need to avoid hatred of homosexuals, she argued that if the Church continues to fail to speak out against the obvious sin of homosexual practice, then we will lose our way entirely. She pointed out that if we accept a homosexual "Christian" movement, there is no reason why we should not also have an adulterer's Christian fellowship and a sex-before marriage Christian fellowship.

Within a few hours of the broadcast some 60 calls of complaint had been received by Radio 4. This was a virtually unprecedented number, presumably the result of a gay campaign group prompting a network of activists to jam the lines.

Later, at seven'o'clock that evening, before the press deadline but after most Christian campaign groups finish for the day, the Church of England Communications Director, Eric Shegog, issued a statement attacking the broadcast. This was the first time the Church of England had ever publicly attacked the content of "Thought for the Day". This is ironic given that Christians have for years been dismayed at the liberal views generally expressed on the programme. A conspicuous example was the occasion when a Rabbi openly discussed the benefits of his own homosexuality. There was no public complaint from the Church of England press office on that occasion.

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The Christian Institute Responds

The Christian Institute issued a press release in response to Reverend Shegog's statement. We backed the views expressed by Anne Atkins and attacked the Church of England's Press Office for undermining orthodox Christianity. A small war ensued in the media with several other Christians and Christian organisations reported as affirming Anne Atkins' stance while the LGCM and Church of England officials overtly or implicitly accused her and her supporters of homophobia.

The Daily Mail and several other newspapers seemed sympathetic towards Mrs Atkins' views, some to the extent of inviting her to write for them and advertising the release of her new book! Anne Atkins herself was deluged with letters of support and, overall, public sympathy appeared to lie with the clear moral stance of the evangelicals more than with the typical politically-correct waffle of the liberals.

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A "Christian" Movement?

The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement has long been associated with controversy. It is known for condoning promiscuity through its literature and book sales. Advertised in LGCM mailing lists (2) are such titles as "The A-Z of Gay Sex" which, amongst other things, extols the virtues of group sex. Further, in 1986 Richard Kirker, Secretary of the movement, displayed copies of "The Joy of Gay Sex" which had been seized from the LGCM by Customs and Excise officials because of pornographic content but were returned on a technicality of European law (3).

Then there is "The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name", a poem by Professor James Kirkup. It is one of only two pieces of literature this century to have been adjudged "blasphemous" by a UK court. It is a savage and gruesome pornographic attack on Jesus Christ. In the first person singular it portrays the Centurion guarding the tomb of Christ indulging in sexual acts with His dead body. It also attributes homosexual promiscuity to Christ himself, alleging that during His lifetime He had sexual intercourse with, among others, John the Baptist, Saul of Tarsus and Judas Iscariot. To an atheist it is at best a tasteless necrophiliac fantasy. To a believer it is as abominable a piece of literature as one could ever imagine.

In 1976 the poem was published by Gay News. As a result of failure to take action by the authorities, Mary Whitehouse brought a private prosecution against Gay News and against its editor Dennis Lemon. The prosecutions were successful and both defendants were convicted and fined for blasphemous libel (4).

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LGCM Deny Blasphemy

Incredibly, with blatant disregard for the judgment of the court and for the sensibilities of the public, the Kirkup poem was made available again last year by the LGCM on their Internet site (see inset). The title page of the site included the poem in its list of contents, presenting it as, "a poem of particular significance for UK Christian lesgays".

After complaints the police were called in to investigate. We have spoken to people who were interviewed by the Vice Squad after lodging complaints. They were appalled that the public were able to see the poem via the LGCM website and to download a copy of it. (We ourselves have a printout of the downloaded poem.) Unfortunately, no prosecution has ensued. Reform wrote to the Attorney General, Sir Nicholas Lyell, asking what action was being taken. In an interview with PA News about the matter Richard Kirker stated, "We unreservedly deny the allegation. The police have not taken any action." (5)

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Reform Campaign

Reform, concerned at the Church of England's acceptance and tacit approval of the LGCM, began to draw attention to the Southwark service several months ago. Reform Southwark helped organise prayer meetings and encouraged Anglican churches to protest at this misuse of Church property by withholding payment of their quota from the Diocese.

On 12 November they urged the Archbishop of Canterbury to ban the service, pointing out the profound disagreement of many within the Anglican church and the contradiction LGCM presented to the Church's own beliefs. His response was to state that allowing the service to go ahead in the cathedral did not necessarily imply official approval for homosexuality (6). This was despite the fact that this was exactly the reason the LGCM chose this location in the first place. Further Reform comment to the press that this thinking was "confused" met with silence from Lambeth Palace.

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"Gay Marriage" Bishop

This confusion in official attitudes within the Church of England is exemplified in the treatment of Bishop Derek Rawcliffe.

Bishop Rawcliffe was sacked as a Bishop earlier this year for blessing "gay marriages". He is infamous for his pro-gay views, not least for advocating the reduction of the age of consent for homosexuals to 14 years. The Christian Institute welcomed his de-commissioning by the Bishop of Ripon but called for the natural next step to de-frock him altogether. But apparently what is not good for a Bishop is still good for the rest of the clergy and he remains a licensed Clergyman.

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Celebrating Sin

The Southwark service went ahead and over the weekend of the 16th of November the press fascination continued. The LGCM hailed the service as a step towards "equality" while orthodox Christians lamented such extravagant official endorsement of gay sex. Bishop John Gladwin, an erstwhile evangelical, preached at the event. During his sermon, in an attempt, perhaps, to assuage his critics, he stated that cohabitation and same-sex "marriage" were less than the Christian ideal. However, his very presence and his otherwise affirming message pleased the congregation and he received prolonged applause as he returned to his seat.

At every stage of the debate Archbishop Carey and the hierarchy in general, together with the Church of England press office, seemed to be legitimising the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement and, if anything, opposing their critics. The final insult came on the evening of 24 November when Dr Carey addressed Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge. Mentioning the Southwark debacle as an aside, he referred to "bullying, loud mouthed controversialists" who "make a mockery of our own faith". While he talked of "pressure groups on both sides" (7), it seemed clear to all his listeners that he had aimed his comments directly at opponents to the service. Replies are no doubt winging their way to Lambeth Palace as this article goes to print.

One thing seems clear from all of this: the gay lobbies will not give up their attempts to force the Church and society to approve of their behaviour. Let us hope that Reform and Christians in general will be similarly committed to opposing them. This is an issue that will not go away. Richard Kirker boasted that the LGCM's next celebration will be in an even bigger Cathedral and that the Archbishop of Canterbury himself might well be preaching. If Christians don't stand firm, Kirker's prediction may well come true.

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References

1 Richard Kirker, Secretary of the LGCM, quoted in the New Christian Herald, 23 November 1996, page 3
2 The Church of England Newspaper, 22 November 1996, page 8
3 Fulcrum (magazine of Action for Biblical Witness to our Nation), No 1 Summer 1996 and also Sexuality and the Church, ABWON, 1987. Edited by Tony Higton, page 9
4 Whitehouse -v- Lemon [1979] AC 617, HL
5 PA News 15 Nov. 96 12.00 GMT S0884
6 New Christian Herald, 16 Nov. 1996, PA News 12 November, 10.47 GMT S3567
7 See Transcript of Sermon and The Daily Mail, 25 November 1996

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