Gay couple end hotel payout claim

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is supposed to be about equal rights but, as in George Orwell's Animal Farm, some are more equal than others in this Brave New World. In the second decade of the 21st century, gay rights completely trump Christian belief in their eyes. However, even they can see that grinding a Christian's nose in the mud is taking it a bit far. The homosexual couple who successfully sued the Christian owners of a hotel who refused them a bed are withdrawing a claim for more compensation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said today. Legal director John Wadham said, "This morning we withdrew our cross appeal in this case. It was filed initially because of an error of judgment on the part of our legal team." Error, eh?

Mrs Bull, one of the hotel owners, said, "It is obviously a relief that we are not being pursued in the courts for more money. But I can't imagine this taxpayer-funded 'error of judgment' happening to anyone other than Christians." Exactly. John Wadham wouldn't dare try it on with Muslims. Or any other group. Christians are fair game for giving the other cheek a proper smacking!

Secular society raises its ugly head

It would appear that the Conservative Party is no longer the Church of England at prayer. If fact, it is no longer the party of traditional values. Just as Tony Blair jumped on a vacuous pile of cliches in order to dupe the electorate in 1997, the Tories are rummaging around in the leftovers of the pile.

It is one thing to want to be as fair as possible to competing interests. All political parties have to be coalitions. However, when it comes to the rights of people, some are more equal than others. I certainly don't want to live in a country where homosexuals are pilloried for their lifestyle. Live and let live. However, that particular lifestyle is not consistent with traditional Christian teaching.

The Conservative Party is slavishly adopting the New Labour securalist agenda. Under Harriet Harman's purge of Christian doctrine one can only be a Christian in church. Isn't it weird? People like Harman used to bleat that Christians only went to church on Sundays, implying they got up to all manner of unchristian stuff on weekdays. Now they want Christians to keep the Gospel hidden in the vestry so as not to upset the New Labour horse.

The Mayor of Antrim, Adrian Watson, has been barred from standing as joint UUP/Tory candidate because of his views on gay couples staying in his guest house. He is quite rightly upset seeing as Chris Grayling has amplified similar views.

David Cameron needs to get a grip. He is fast becoming a man, not of principle, but of expediency. Much like Blair, who masters expediency over principle to a tee. Many people are upset about all this. I have my doubts about David Cameron and I don't like doubting people if I have to. He never really explained his need to divest his house of wisteria at the taxpayers' expense. And he railed against colleagues who he saw as far worse culprits. It all smacks of a schoolboy trying to explain away a misdemeanour to the headmaster. "There are loads of boys doing things worse than me, sir!".

I wish Cameron could respect those who hold to traditional views. Mr.Watson is not advocating discrimination, just that people's homes, regardless of whether they are used for business, should be places where personal conscience is respected.

No Christian can be on an adoption panel!

Northamptonshire County Council, bowing to the New Labour doctrines, has barred a Christian doctor from an adoption panel. Dr Sheila Matthews was told that her beliefs on gay adoption were incompatible with equality legislation and council policies. The paediatrician had asked to be allowed to abstain from voting in cases involving same-sex couples. But that led to her being barred from the panel altogether.

The married mother of one said she had been "made to pay for being honest and upholding my personal integrity. I don't feel that placing children for adoption with same-sex couples is the best place for them," said the 50-year-old doctor. "As a Christian, I don't believe it's it's an appropriate lifestyle and I don't believe the outcomes for children would be as good as if they were placed with heterosexual couples."

It seems now that Christians cannot go anywhere near social policy or child welfare, even if they seek to abstain from majority opinion. As far as Northampton County Council is concerned the very mindset of a Christian is to be deplored. As I understand it, Dr.Matthews was not trying to prevent this homosexual couple from adopting, just expressing her views.

It is a sorry state we have come to when county councils are run by self-righteous apparatchiks who believe it is their way or the highway!

God-fearing to God-bashing!

There was a time when the people of England could be fined a shilling for not attending divine worship. Only the most opinionated dissenter would hold his ground and not attend. Everyone trooped into the parish church for a good dose of mattins. When I was a child our church had 500 regular churchgoers out of a surburban parish of 5000. That makes 10% of the population. Given that some were Roman Catholics and others non-conformists, each taking a slice out of the 5000, it was certainly not unusual to know regular churchgoers. Discussing religious belief was not frowned on, even by non-churchgoers.

In the 1950's it was a 500-odd congregation, in the Sixties this dropped dramatically as we went into the 300 mark. The Seventies reduced it to around 200 and it bottomed out to around 150 where it stayed. The parish, however, had doubled in size so the 150 looked decidedly low in percentage terms. Going to church seemed more like an oddity in sociey than the norm.

The 21st century has brought about the end game as far as churgoing is concerned. Only the diehard faithful it seems are attending church. We have an established church but it is only on the margins. The Establishment, now made up of Blairite type thinkers, is very much of the opinion that religion is a private matter. In fact, so private it is virtually a criminal offence to mention it at work or in any public place that has not been sanctified. We have gone from fining people for not worshipping to fining them for discussing their beliefs in front of others.

The latest person to receive the backlash of the secular state is a nurse, Anand Rao, who has been sacked for suggesting patients could become less stressed if they went to church. If he'd suggested they went into a field to meditate, he'd probably have kept his job. The NHS is now run by christophobes (I made that one up, I think!) who sniff out religious talk better than a bloodhound.

I would not like to go back to the days of forced church attendance as in the Cromwellian age of protestant patronage, but neither do I think it right for Christians to be attacked for discussing beliefs. Instead of sacking people for such talk, these NHS mandarins should take a hand in getting rid of the unclean behaviour that infects hospitals and spreads unnecessary disease.

Gay days and depressing nights

A hotel owning couple who are Christians are in trouble from a gay couple who wanted to stay at the hotel. The owners, Peter and Hazelmary Bull, have had a policy in place ever since they took over the business in 1986, and is founded on their strong Christian beliefs. Basically nobody gets in unless they are married - staying the night that is. In 1986 no-one would have batted an eyelid at this, but times change, as they say.

So a gay couple, Martyn Hall and his civil partner Steven Preddy, decided that this was just the hotel for them. However, they were shocked to hear that their lifestyle was incompatible with the hotel's policy. So a lawsuit is being lodged. They are claiming £5,000 in damages, alleging 'direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation'.

New Labour was keen to get the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 into law. However, it is one which has all the hallmarks of a "winner takes all" approach. When the act was being discussed it was claimed that homosexuals had a very wide choice of hotels where no such policy would be maintained. A single hotel run by Christians had very little choice other than to say yes or no.

I think that this act has encouraged homosexuals to target Christian establishments in order to "prove" the law. And I think that both sides have rights, as they say. However, if I were in Mr & Mrs Bull's shoes, I wouldn't bother too much. After all, they are not sinning by letting rooms to unmarried couples, for they don't know if such couples spend a night of chaste quietness or rampant indulgence. It was Basil Fawlty who had such a terrible time stamping out illicit goings on in Fawlty Towers!

Mrs.Bull is quite clear where she stands. "I have had people clearly involved in affairs and under-age people who have tried to book in here for sex, and I have refused them the same as I refused these gentlemen because I won't be a party to anything which is an affront to my faith under my roof." Well, well. I've had quite a lot that's been an "affront to my faith" and it's come from within the Church as well as without, but I don't think I should be getting too upset by it all. It's not as though Mr and Mrs Bull are involved in any sexual misconduct themselves, so they should have no problems with their consciences.

Mrs.Bull would be better off considering the "judge not lest ye be judged" text. I feel she can still have her faith, practice it and let out rooms to all and sundry.

Thought police to raid domestic fridges!

Richard Littlejohn has a fantastic article in the Daily Mail. Read it and weep! It's all about the New Labour Thought Police acting through local councils by paying inspectors £8.50 an hour, with double time on Saturdays, to visit our homes and offer ‘advice’ on what we eat and what we throw away.

I like this quote from a spokesman for the health department, who said, "By hitting people at home, rather than in supermarkets, we can get inside their lives. It’s only by knocking on doors you can find out what they are having for their tea and offer some healthy suggestions."

Do you really want these politically correct door thumpers "getting inside your life"?