Australia votes on gay marriage

Hillsong founder Brian Houston – standing up for biblical teaching on marriage
Credit: Hillsong

The results of a national ballot on same-sex marriage in Australia will be announced on 15 November.

The voluntary postal voting (a mandatory vote had been considered) runs from 23 September to 27 October. The ballot, costing $122 million, asks: “Do you support a change in the law to allow same-sex couples to marry?”  Read More

Swedish Church forced into gay marriages

Last updated on July 28th, 2017 at 11:02 am

Swedish PM Stefan Löfven is imposing state policy on the Church of Sweden

Sweden’s Prime Minister has declared that the State Church cannot refuse to marry same-sex couples.

Stefan Löfven said: “No priest in the Swedish Church can refuse to marry same-sex couples.

“If you work as a midwife you must be able to perform abortions, otherwise you have to do something else. It is the same for priests who do not want to perform same-sex marriages,” he added. Read More

BAKERS BASHED OVER ‘GAY CAKE’TAKE CASE TO SUPREME COURT

Last updated on June 5th, 2017 at 02:53 pm

PRESSURE: The McArthur family have relied on prayer support during their long legal wrangle

The Belfast bakers who refused to bake a cake saying ‘Support Gay Marriage’ are to have a hearing in the Supreme Court this October.

Ashers Baking Company has incurred an estimated £200,000 in legal bills since first being accused of discrimination by gay rights activist Gareth Lee, whose cause was taken up by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).  They are being supported by the Christian Institute, while the Equality Commission is funded by the taxpayer. Read More

News in brief June – July 2017

Last updated on June 15th, 2017 at 07:34 am

Kirk to hold gay weddings

The Church of Scotland will conduct legal research to determine how its ministers can hold same-sex weddings in churches. Its General Assembly accepted a report that claimed Scripture was framed by its cultural context. Amendments put forward by supporters of biblical marriage were defeated.

Pro-life March

Pro-life march: Despite angry pro-abortion protesters, crowds of people marched through Birmingham city centre on 20 May to voice their opposition to the Abortion Act – 50 years after it was passed. Their banners proclaimed, “Life from conception, no exception”.

Read More

N IRELAND ELECTION BAD NEWS FOR CHRISTIAN VALUES

According to Christian charity CARE, Northern Ireland’s election result has opened the door for abortion and gay marriage in the future.

Sinn Fein had its best ever return on 2 March – winning just one seat less than the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Same-sex marriage and abortion are still illegal in N Ireland, but Sinn Fein is campaigning for both. Read More

Aussie gay marriage vote scuppered

Last updated on November 26th, 2016 at 10:13 pm

Australia’s intention to hold a referendum on same-sex marriage has been thrown out by the senate – the country’s upper house of parliament.

Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, whose proposal to legalise gay marriage is having a rocky ride

The move was supported by many gay marriage activists, even though opinion polls show that most Australians support the government’s proposal to introduce same-sex marriage. But the senate has decided that parliament should make the decision. Most gay campaigners did not want the issue to be put to the public. Read More

A MILLION MEXICANS MARCH FOR MARRIAGE

A MILLION MARCH FOR MARRIAGE IN MEXICO: Over one million Mexicans across 122 cities marched in support of traditional marriage on 10 September. Same-sex marriage is permitted in Mexico City and several states but President Enrique Peña Nieto aims to … Read More

KIWI ANGLICANS STILL IN A FLAP OVER GAY MARRIAGE

The Anglican Church in New Zealand remains split into two wings on the issue of same sex weddings.

At their two-yearly meeting, or synod, in Napier in May, the Church put off the decision for another two years, citing a lack of agreement. Read More

BAKERS IN GAY CAKE CASE APPEAL AGAINST VERDICT

Last updated on June 7th, 2016 at 12:55 pm

Vilified for their Christian stance: Daniel McArthur, his wife Amy and their two children (photo: Christian Institute)

The Christian owners of a bakery who lost a discrimination case after refusing to add a pro-gay marriage slogan to a cake are appealing the decision.

Three senior judges will deliver their judgment at a later date, after a four-day hearing at the Court of Appeal in Belfast in May. Read More

CHRISTIAN STUDENT EXPELLED over views on marriage

A Christian student has been expelled from a university social work course, after he made comments in support of biblical teaching on marriage and sexual ethics in a private conversation on Facebook. Read More