Britain's Christians are being 'Vilified' Christians 'fear arrest'

Britain's Christians are being vilified, warns Lord Carey

Christians are being “persecuted” by courts and “driven underground” in the same way that homosexuals once were, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

 He said there was a "drive to remove Judeo-Christian values from the public square" and argued UK courts have "consistently applied equality law to discriminate against Christians" as they show a "crude" misunderstanding of the faith by treating some worshippers as "bigots".

Lord Carey says worshippers are being “vilified” by the state, treated as “bigots” and sacked simply for expressing their beliefs.

The attack is part of a direct appeal to the European Court of Human Rights before a landmark case on religious freedom.

In a written submission seen by The Daily Telegraph, the former leader of more than 70 million Anglicans warns that the outward expression of traditional conservative Christian values has effectively been “banned” in Britain under a new “secular conformity of belief and conduct”.

His comments represent one of the strongest attacks on the impartiality of Britain’s judiciary from a religious leader.

He says Christians will face a “religious bar” to employment if rulings against wearing crosses and expressing their beliefs are not reversed.

Christians are being "persecuted" and "driven underground" while the courts fail to protect their religious values, a formerArchbishop of Canterbury has claimed.

Lord Carey said Christians were excluded from many sectors of employment because of their beliefs, "vilified by state bodies" and feared arrest for expressing their views.

The former archbishop's claims are part of a written submission to the European Court of Human Rights, seen by the Daily Telegraph, ahead of a landmark case on religious freedom.

The hearing will deal with the case of two workers forced out of their jobs after visibly wearing crosses, the case of a Relate therapist sacked for saying he may not be comfortable giving sex counselling to homosexual couples, and a Christian registrar who wishes not to conduct civil partnership ceremonies.

In the submission, Lord Carey said the outward expression of traditional conservative Christian values has effectively been "banned" under a new "secular conformity of belief and conduct".

The former archbishop argued that in "case after case" British courts have failed to protect Christian values and urged European judges to correct the balance. He said there was a "drive to removeJudeo-Christian values from the public square" and argued UK courts have "consistently applied equality law to discriminate against Christians" as they show a "crude" misunderstanding of the faith by treating some worshippers as "bigots".

In his submission, Lord Carey, who was archbishop from 1991 to 2002, wrote: "In a country where Christians can be sacked for manifesting their faith, are vilified by state bodies, are in fear of reprisal or even arrest for expressing their views on sexual ethics, something is very wrong. It affects the moral and ethical compass of the United Kingdom. Christians are excluded from many sectors of employment simply because of their beliefs; beliefs which are not contrary to the public good."

He added: "It is now Christians who are persecuted; often sought out and framed by homosexual activists. Christians are driven underground. There appears to be a clear animus to the Christian faith and to Judaeo-Christian values. Clearly the courts of the United Kingdom need guidance."

He argued British judges have used a strict reading of the equality law to strip the legal right to freedom of religion of "any substantive effect."

Keith Porteous-Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, told the Telegraph: "The idea that there is any kind of suppression of religion in Britain is ridiculous. Even in the European Court of Human Rights, the right to religious freedom is not absolute - it is not a licence to trample on the rights of others. That seems to be what Lord Carey wants to do." source:

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As the topic for this Bible study, I have chosen Midah KeNeged Midah, which means “measure for measure.” A longer version of this Mishnaic Hebrew idiom is במידה שאדם מודד בה מודדין לו (Bamidah sheadam moded ba, modedin lo; m. Sotah 1:7, Codex Kaufmann), which may be translated “by the measure that a man measures, they measure to him.” In Jewish literature the rabbis often referred to this principle simply as מידה כנגד מידה (Midah KeNeged Midah). In English people say, “What goes around comes around,” or “He reaped what he sowed.” These two pithy sayings express the same idea. Moreover, most of us have witnessed circumstances where the principle seems to have operated perfectly. Consequently, even today Midah KeNeged Midah remains part of modern western thinking.