10 February 2021
.
.
“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] New Christian Observer Articles for February 2021
[2] Case of Christian Actress Sacked for Biblical Beliefs to be Heard at Employment Tribunal
[3] New Trinity Review Articles
[4] America Needs Religious Revival or Accept Collapse into Dustbin of History
[6] Military Coup Is Terrible News for Myanmar’s 4.4 Million “Forgotten” Christians
[7] Psychotherapist Blocked from Studying ‘Trans Regret’ at University Takes Case to Europe
—
[1] New Christian Observer Articles for February 2021
New Christian Observer (CO) articles for February 2021 include:
— Anthropopathism and God’s Desire of Salvation – by Doug Douma and Benjamin Wong – “THESIS: The doctrine of divine anthropopathism provides a sufficient though not necessary reason for denying the well-meant offer; the teaching that God desires the salvation even of the reprobate”;
— The Spirit Behind the Spirit of the Age – Exposing Satan’s Lie – by Sjirk Bajema – “Dear Reader – your life is in great danger! In fact, you must be utterly convinced of exactly how perilous your position really is! You must know the terrible power that is against you. You have to see how horrible it is, and how very cruel! But you can also be in peace, for even now you could finish this article depending that much more on the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the Saviour. You cannot manage – but he will for you! You fail – but he’s your success! You fall – but he picks you up!”;
— Learning Wisdom from God in the School of Hard Knocks – By Joe Renfro, CO Contributing Editor – “All of life is an education or should be. We can learn from our positive, good experiences as well as our negative, bad experiences. Yes, there is the school of hard knocks, and it often something with which it is hard to cope. But the sad fact is that often times we fail to learn from either type—the positive or the negative. However, the focus of this article is the education that comes from life’s difficulties, trials, and afflictions, things that in the Christian life temper us to be more able to grow mentally and spiritually in Christ.”
Plus, links to ReVision devotionals on the Fellowship of Ailbe website by CO Contributing Editor T.M. Moore.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] Case of Christian Actress Sacked for Biblical Beliefs to be Heard at Employment Tribunal
On Monday 1 February, the Employment Tribunal London began hearing the high-profile legal case of sacked Christian actress, Seyi Omooba, 26.
The West End star was removed from a lead role in a musical for a four-year-old Facebook post that cited the Bible.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Miss Omooba is suing Leicester Curve Theatre and Global Artists Agency, who refused to act for her following the controversy, for discrimination and breach of contract.
The case will expose the mechanisms of censorship at the heart of the theatre industry, and how any dissenting views against LGBT ideology, especially Christian beliefs, are currently incompatible with a theatrical career.
The theatre had attempted to avert Miss Omooba’s lawsuit by offering to pay her the full wages she would have received for playing in the performance. However, Miss Omooba rejected that offer, and requested a formal and public ruling that the theatre has acted unlawfully and discriminated against her because of her Christian beliefs.
Approximate timetable
Monday 1 February: Introductory session at 10:00; the rest of the day reserved for reading the documents
Tuesday 2 February: The evidence of Pastor Ade Omooba MBE
Tue-Wed 2-3 February: The evidence of Seyi Omooba
Thursday 4 February: The evidence of Chris Stafford, the chief executive of Leicester Curve Theatre
Friday 5 February: The evidence of Michael Garret, the director of Global Artists Agency (and of another Global Artists witness)
Monday 8 February: Closing submissions
Tue-Thu 9-11 February: Tribunal’s deliberations in private
Thursday 11 February: Judgement
Raw talent
On March 14 2019, Miss Seyi Omooba, 25, from East London, had been given a lead role as Celie in Leicester Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome’s co-production of the award-winning musical The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker’s classic American novel.
The casting was announced the same day that Miss Omooba went with her father, Pastor Ade Omooba, an eminent international Christian campaigner and Christian Concern’s co-founder, to Buckingham Palace to receive his MBE.
Miss Omooba had developed her raw talent from a young age singing gospel in church and studying performing arts at Anglia Ruskin University.
She had already built up a portfolio of performances, among them parts in Hadestown at the National Theatre, Little Shop of Horrors, Spring Awakening, and had played the role of Nettie in the Cadogan Hall production of The Color Purple.
In a review of her full debut in the West End musical, Ragtime, Miss Omooba was described as: “jaw-droppingly good, and her ferocious gospel vocals…pin you to your seat. This is her professional debut, and she’s someone to watch.” In the production of A Color Purple at Cadogan Hall, Miss Omooba’s depiction of the character of Nettie was described as capturing the “very heart of her character.”
Facebook post from 2014
After the cast was announced, however, on March 15, Miss Omooba was tagged on Twitter by another West End performer, Aaron Lee Lambert, who is not known to her. With a screenshot of a Facebook post that Miss Omooba had posted four-and-half-years ago on September 18 2014, Mr Lambert wrote:
“@seyiomooba Do you still stand by this post? Or are you happy to remain a hypocrite? Seeing as you’ve now been announced to be playing an LGBTQ character, I think you owe your LGBTQ peers an explanation. Immediately.”
In September 2014, Miss Omooba was a 20-year-old student whose acting career had not even started. She regularly posts about her faith online without any issue, and in this post had written on her personal Facebook page, in the context of the government introducing same-sex marriage legislation, that:
“Some Christians have completely misconceived the issue of Homosexuality, they have begun to twist the word of God. It is clearly evident in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 what the Bible says on this matter. I do not believe you can be born gay, and I do not believe homosexual practice is right, though the law of this land has made it legal doesn’t mean it is right. I do believe that everyone sins and falls into temptation but it’s by the asking of forgiveness, repentance and the grace of God that we overcome and live how God ordained us to. Which is that a man should leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24. God loves everyone, just because He doesn’t agree with your decisions doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you. Christians we need to step up and love but also tell the truth of God’s word. I am tired of lukewarm Christianity, be inspired to stand up for what you believe and the truth #our God is three in one #God (Father) #Jesus Christ (Son) #Holy Spirit.”
Miss Omooba received the tweet from Mr Lambert while supporting a grieving friend, and despite being deeply shocked and intimidated, refused to be drawn into an online discussion on the issue.
Called a n***** for citing the Bible
Calls for Miss Omooba to be removed from the cast followed, however, as well as online abuse which included her being called a ‘n*****.’
Miss Omooba, who visibly prays before each show and wears a ‘Not Ashamed’ of the Gospel wrist band, had accepted the lead role over Celie after originally auditioning for the character of Nettie, and disagrees with the interpretation that Celie is a lesbian character.
The character of Celie in The Color Purple has intrigued readers and critics since it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 after its publication the previous year. Set in the Deep South of the US, it’s main character, Celie, leads a life of immense struggle at the hands of men, until she briefly finds comfort and friendship with another woman. It was made into a Hollywood film in 1985 and starred Whoopi Goldberg, who described the film and the character of Celie as:
“Not really about feminism, or lesbianism, despite the fact that Celie finds out about love and tenderness from another woman….It has nothing to do with lesbianism. It has to do with, her eyes are opened, now she understands.”
Steven Spielberg, who directed the film, was pressed in 2011 on whether today he would make the ‘kiss’ scene in the film more explicit, but he said: “I wouldn’t, no. That kiss is consistent with the tonality, from beginning to end, of The Color Purple that I adapted.”
On the 15 March, Miss Omooba received a call from her agency, Global Artists, telling her that pressure was mounting for her to be removed from the show because of her views. She was told that only through retracting the comments and publicly apologising would she be able to continue under their management, which she refused to do.
Leicester Curve Theatre and the Birmingham Hippodrome then released a statement on 21 March which led to Miss Omooba’s contract being terminated. The theatres claimed in their statement that: “The play and production are seeking to promote freedom and independence and to challenge views, including the view that homosexuality is a sin.”
+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page
+ Christian Legal Centre Limited, Post Office Box 655, Hayward Heath, West Sussex RH16 9AT, England, 07712 591164, info@christianlegalcentre.com
[3] New Trinity Review Articles
The latest Trinity Review, “Thinking Biblically, Part 4: Man as the Image of God,” by John W. Robbins has been updated with the second half of the article. Also included is a brief book review by Tom Juodaitis of Stephen M. Cunha’s latest book, Exactly Backwards: A Proposed Twofold Corrective to the Calvary Chapel Distinctives.
+ The Trinity Foundation, Post Office Box 68, Unicoi, Tennessee 37692, 423-743-0199, Fax: 423-743-2005, tjtrinityfound@aol.com
[4] America Needs Religious Revival or Accept Collapse into Dustbin of History
State of America: We’re in atrocious shape. National debt = $27 trillion. 100,000 US businesses permanently finished by Covid rules. US education is mediocre. 60% of Americans are lonely, drowning in internet porn with 40% births out of wedlock, with almost a million babies aborted yearly. 38% of Americans use illicit-drugs, causing “$740 billion annually in lost workplace productivity, healthcare expenses, and crime-related costs.”
Violence soars in major cities, with overall murders up 24% in 2020; Chicago up 50% and NY City 40%. America, founded by Christian religious dissenters sees the country lapsing into mindless atheism, with 25% identifying as “no religion”. Since US avoidably closed businesses, sending workers trillions in Covid payments, do politicians bankrupt America into socialism? Now government declares war on Conservatives. We need revival!
+ Canada Free Press, 49 Elm Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1H1, 416-977-0183, letters@canadafreepress.com
Christ the King Reformed Church (CKRC) in Charlotte, Michigan was identified as a white nationalist group in an annual report released Monday 1 February 2021 by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
CKRC Pastor Bret McAtee declined to comment on the report.
In a blog post from July, McAtee wrote that, when comparing races, the white race is “without dispute superior.” He went on to describe early indigenous groups as “cannibals” and African people brought over during the Atlantic slave trade as “savage.”
[Editor’s Note: The CKRC website lists no denominational affiliation but describes themselves as an “epistemologically self-conscious confessional Reformed Church in the tradition of G. van Prinsterer, A. Kuyper, H. Bavinck, G. Vos and C. Van Til.” The Christian Reformed Church in North America announced today that CKRC was at one time in that denomination.]
+ WSYM-TV FOX 47, 600 West Saint Joseph Street Suite 47, Lansing, Michigan 48933, 517-484-7747, Fax: 517-484-5240, Contact Page
+ Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104, 334-956-8200, Contact Page
[6] Military Coup Is Terrible News for Myanmar’s 4.4 Million “Forgotten” Christians
The military coup in Myanmar is distressing news for the nation’s 4.4 million Christians, according to a spokesperson for Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors.
“In the last half-century the military junta has been systematically persecuting Christians. What happens now, remains to be seen,” says Jan Vermeer, Open Doors’ Communications Director for Asia.
“Military rule could mean reinforced power for the dominant religion,” says Open Doors local partner, Brother Lwin*. “The military government of the past has always been protective of their Buddhist culture and tradition. This may have serious implications to the Church. We are expecting restrictions upon the Church to happen once again though we are unsure of the extent and the form it will take as of yet.”
Buddhist nationalism is strong in Myanmar, driving much of the ongoing persecution of Christians as well as other religious and ethnic minorities. Myanmar’s military is strongly driven by this nationalism, and, along with much of the Buddhist population, considers Christians to be second class citizens.
It is this religious nationalism that has led to the persecution which drove millions of Rohingyas, Muslim and Christian, to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where many remain in Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp.
In the current coup, Myanmar’s military has detained the country’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi along with other key politicians in a series of dawn raids. The senior General in the army Min Aung Hlaing has declared that they will take charge of the nation for the next year.
TV channels have also been unavailable except for the military channel and banks have also been closed throughout the nation due to lack of cell service.
“As the military seizes power and detains the country’s leaders, all communication lines like phone and internet have been cut off,” says one of Open Doors’ partners in the region. “We are cut off from our contacts inside the country, but we are doing our best to monitor the situation.”
Lwin is worried that the takeover will damage their means of financial support. “The military also has the track record of devaluing the local currency. It may happen again. This will set the country’s economy to plummet. Financial support to the Church coming from outside the country will be impossible to bring in with banks being closed down.”
Myanmar is the scene of the longest civil war in the world, which began in 1948. It affects, among others, the predominantly Christian states of Kachin, Karen and Shan. Believers are vulnerable to persecution by both insurgent groups and the army.
Converts to Christianity faith also face persecution from their families and communities for leaving, or ‘betraying’, the system of belief they grew up in. Communities who aim to stay ‘Buddhist only’ make life for Christian families impossible by not allowing them to use community resources such as water.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought added challenges, with reports of many Christians being deliberately overlooked in the distribution of government aid.
“We’re at a crucial moment for the future of Myanmar,” says Julia Bicknell, analyst of Open Doors’ World Watch List. “And it is the country’s religious and ethnic minorities, including the Christians that have most to fear from the current crisis. The plight of the Rohingya people has highlighted the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Muslim population. Christians feel forgotten, we need to make sure that they aren’t.”
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, Contact Page
+ Open Doors USA, Post Office Box 27001, Santa Ana, California 92799, 949-752-6600, Fax: 949-752-6442, usa@opendoors.org
[7] Psychotherapist Blocked from Studying ‘Trans Regret’ at University Takes Case to Europe
A psychotherapist, refused permission by a university to study cases of people who have surgery to reverse gender reassignment, is taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, James Caspian, 61, a counsellor with 10 years of experience specialising in therapy for transgender people, was told that to research a non ‘politically correct’ topic for a Masters dissertation could attract criticism and was undesirable.
Since launching legal action against Bath Spa University in 2017, however, UK courts have refused to hear his case, leaving him with no alternative but to appeal to Europe.
Submitting his case to the ECHR, his lawyers will argue that Mr Caspian has exhausted domestic remedies to have his case heard, that his right of access to court has been violated, his freedom to pursue legitimate academic research has been breached, and that the basis of the decision to interfere with his academic freedom discriminated against him.
Patients were getting younger
Between 2007-2017, Mr Caspian, a registered UK psychotherapist, had worked with patients who were medically transitioning, or considering medically transitioning, their gender.
By 2013 he began to see an alarming trend that patients were getting younger and there was a surge in the numbers of young women presenting with complex mental health issues.
Furthermore, there were growing concerns about the number of patients who were regretting their transitions and surgery and wanted to detransition.
As a new and escalating phenomenon, there was little if any research on the issue of detransitioning.
Therefore, in 2014, Mr Caspian enrolled on a part time M.A. in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Bath Spa University, intent on researching this subject.
On 14 November 2015, Mr. Caspian submitted his proposed research entitled: ‘An examination of the experiences of people who have undergone Reverse Gender Re-assignment surgery.’
On 1 December 2015, the School University Ethics Sub-Committee gave permission for Mr Caspian to carry out his research proposal, commenting: “This application and accompanying research proposal has addressed the necessary ethical protocols. It has taken particular care to acknowledge the potential sensitivity of the research focus and appears to have the necessary protocols in place should any participants experience psychological harm from the interview process.”
During his preliminary research Mr Caspian discovered growing numbers of people who were saying that they regretted their treatment and had or wanted to detransition.
Mr Caspian also discovered on World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) internet forums that any discussions on detransitioning were often being aggressively censored.
Rejected
Based on his findings, he decided that he would need to slightly amend his research topic to include case studies of individuals who had reversed transition without necessarily reversing their surgery.
He advertised his research topic on the internet and informed his tutor that trans activists may criticise the project as a result.
Mr Caspian was subsequently told that he would need to re-apply to the University Ethics Sub-Committee who would need to reconsider his slightly amended research proposal. He was also asked to add a note to his proposal about the potential criticism.
‘Politically incorrect’
On 15 November 2016, Mr Caspian was informed that his revised research proposal had been rejected. His subsequent appeal was also rejected with the sub-committee stating:
‘Engaging in a potentially ‘politically incorrect’ piece of research carries a risk to the University. Attacks on social media may not be confined to the researcher but may involve the University. This needs to be assessed by the University Ethics Committee.’
Regarding the criticism the university might receive, the sub-committee stated: ‘The posting of unpleasant material on blogs or social media may be detrimental to the reputation of the University. This needs to be assessed and addressed.
‘This was further discussed with the Dean of the Institute of Education and the ethical approval form has been declined. This is a complex project and the risks are too great to the University and the researcher. Working on a less ethically complex piece of research to complete the Masters would be more appropriate.’
Apart from this superficial concern that the research was ‘politically incorrect’, no other substantive difference existed between the proposal that Mr Caspian had earlier had accepted and the re-submitted proposal which was rejected.
In January 2017, Mr Caspian requested a refund on his course fees, but this was also refused. The following month he launched legal action.
By June 2020, however, every avenue of legal proceedings had been blocked. Mr Caspian was passed from pillar to post via the High court to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) and back to the High Court.
All refused to hear the substance of his case due to overly strict legal procedures, and despite the OIA recognising that the case had merit, Mr Caspian was told his claim was out of time, leaving him no option but to turn to Europe.
Mr Caspian’s application to the ECHR states: “The procedural history of Mr Caspian’s claim fits the very definition of suffering from excessive formalism and a fundamental lack of flexibility.”
A decision by the European Court as to the admissibility of the case is likely to occur in the first half of 2021.
Academic Freedom
Mr Caspian commented: “I have been faced with no alternative but to take this case to Europe. Too much is at stake for academic freedom and for hundreds, if not thousands, of young people who are saying that they are being harmed and often silenced by a rigid view that has become a kind of transgender ideology and permits no discussion.
“My preliminary research had revealed a growing controversial schism in transgender politics and inpatient experiences which greatly concerned me and confirmed the need for this research.
“Some of the people I spoke to said they were too traumatised to speak about their experiences, which proved it was even more important to research the issue, not less.
“I was astonished therefore that a university could censor a research project on the grounds that what people ‘might’ post on social media may be detrimental to the reputation of the university.
“If a university – a place for the exchange of ideas, discussion, dissent, questioning, research and critical thinking – is unable to tolerate the risk of criticism, where then are left the most basic tenets of academic and intellectual freedom of enquiry? The implications for a democratic society of the suppression of information and discussion are deeply worrying.
“I have felt morally obliged to speak out because people are telling me that they’ve been harmed, and my profession should do no harm.
“Many people have said to me since that they have felt that they could not speak in opposition to transgender ideology, and some people have even said that they have thought they couldn’t even think it. People are self-censoring, not only speech, but their thoughts on this issue, and that is what this case has to challenge and ultimately help change.”
3,000 Per Cent Spike
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal centre, said: “Over the past decade there has been a 3,000 per cent spike in young girls and women being referred to Gender Identity Clinics. This is a phenomenon taking place in every Western nation with many regretting the life changing decisions they subsequently make. Why? That was the question James Caspian wanted to research.
“Yet in the current climate, anyone who attempts to research, explain and answer these questions is denounced and silenced. This is because the truth and the harm being done to many young people is devastating.
“The powerful voices of those living with trans regret must be heard and allowed to be properly researched. Only then can we fully understand why this is happening and prevent more young people from regretting undertaking harmful and life-changing treatment.
“This case has had a chilling effect on academic research into transgenderism. Universities have the unique role as marketplaces of ideas that foster free thinking. Rather than censoring speech and inhibiting free thinking, they should actively be promoting the right of students and scholars to think, hear, develop, research and express autonomous views of research.
“The fact that UK courts have refused to hear James Caspian’s case is a telling injustice, but by taking this ground-breaking case to Europe he will finally have the opportunity to have justice served and to set a crucial legal precedent.”
+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page
+ Christian Legal Centre Limited, Post Office Box 655, Hayward Heath, West Sussex RH16 9AT, England, 07712 591164, info@christianlegalcentre.com
Comments are closed for this Article !