In this 200th anniversary year of the end of the slave-trade, some Christians are still using the same kind of arguments to justify their demands for the right to disempower, dispossess and discriminate against a significant section of the human family.
Some Christians back in the 18th and 19th centuries argued that they had the backing of Biblical tradition itself for the institution of slavery.
Today some Christians argue that the teaching of the Church (based on the Bible) prevent them from allowing people in same-sex relationships from adopting a child.
Cormac Murphy-O’Connor writes in a letter to the
“to oblige our agencies in law to consider adoption applications from homosexual couples as potential adoptive parents would require them to act against the principles of Catholic teaching”.
Some Christians back in the 18th and 19th centuries argued that slaves of African descent were inferior in moral character and incapable of rising to the level of the rest of us.
In the opinion of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the leader of
Some Christians back in the 18th and 19th centuries argued that slaves of African descent were wilfully sinful, and the rest of society must have protection in law from their wickedness.
The
Colin Hart, of Anglican Mainstream, urges Christians to pray that:
“Members of the Government and the Civil Service will act to protect religious liberties from the extraordinary demands of gay rights groups.”
Some Christians back in the 18th and 19th centuries threatened that giving slaves the same freedoms everyone else enjoyed would be detrimental to the well-being of the rest of society.
English Catholic bishops, in their submission to the consultation process before the Sexual Orientation Regulations come into force, threatened that:
"The impact of these regulations could mean that, in the worst case scenario, Catholic adoption and fostering agencies would close."
In the days before the abolition of the slave-trade, Christians were seriously divided on the issue. So today it is still a cause for shame that I and many of my brothers and sisters in Christ cannot agree a common stand in favour of the freedoms that a significant section of the human family are struggling for.
O God, give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions.
(Prayer for the Unity of the Church, from the Church of England’s Daily Prayer Book)
Links related to the Catholic Church’s plea for exemption from the
Catholic church rebels over gay adoption rights in the Sunday Times
Sex equality law 'threatens Catholic adoption agencies' in the Daily Telegraph
Catholic Cardinal threatens to close adoption agencies over equalities law in ekklesia
My previous post Change in the Church is always a long time a-coming
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