Bigoted lecturer ‘very surprised’ after losing a discrimination case supported by religious hate group Christian Concern

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IN a fresh blow to the anti-LGBT+ group, Dr Aaron Edwards—a father of six—has lost a discrimination case he brought against Cliff College, a Methodist training centre in Derbyshire.

An Emploment Tribunal unanimously dismissed all claims made by Edwards, a Christian theology lecturer.

In a statement released by Christian Concern, he said: 

I am very surprised at the judgment. I believe ours was an extremely strong case and was very well supported by the Christian Legal Centre.

Image via YouTube

The CLC is wing of Christian Concern, headed by the swivel-eyed Andrea Minichiello Williams, above.

Edwards and the CLC launched legal action in 2023 after he was sacked by the college for tweeting his “Biblical perspective” on homosexuality.

Last year I reported that the college sacked Edwards for a homophoblic tweet that “brought it into into disrepute.” He wrote “Homosexuality is invading the Church … blah, blah, blah.”

Edwards told Premier Christianity Magazine that he wrote the tweet during a time that “the Church of England was having discussions around blessing same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage”.

In a statement on their website, Cliff College wrote:

We are pleased with the Tribunal’s unanimous judgment that has dismissed all of the claims made by Dr. Edwards … Throughout this process, we have chosen not to engage publicly with the many claims that have been made and broadcast in public media. These claims have now been shown to be unfounded, and the College, by contrast, has been judged reasonable and proportionate in its actions.

In closing, the College reiterated its ongoing commitment to fostering a safe and open environment for both staff and students.

We strive for Cliff College to be a place where everyone feels safe, everyone feels heard, and everyone feels able to share their convictions in an open, appropriate, and respectful manner, always mindful of how we communicate with each other and how our comments might be received.

Edwards has said that he will appeal the ruling.

This judgment is a real shame upon our society. If upheld, it will have significant negative implications for Christian free speech in future years. Knowing of the many faithful Christians who have come through that college for well over a hundred years, I don’t mind saying that this convictional decline is genuinely disgraceful and the leaders should be ashamed of themselves for continuing to call themselves an evangelical college in light of what has happened. 

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4 responses to “Bigoted lecturer ‘very surprised’ after losing a discrimination case supported by religious hate group Christian Concern”

  1. The CLC (Christian Lunatic’s Centre) will eventually get the message that British courts will no longer support their dark-age raison d’etre.

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  2. As youth leaders in our church 80 miles from Cliff, hubs and I took many parties of teens there for camps in the 70s and 80s. Fundy ourselves, and slightly distrustful of Methodists in general, we knew Cliff to be very evangelical, so it was safe to take our teen groups to. Good to hear they’ve become part of the movement that’s splitting Methodism, viz, the LGBTQTIA+ issue – on the inclusive side. As Cliff is situated in such a beautiful National Park, it was always a popular venue for church gatherings, conferences, retreats etc. Cynical old me wonders if they’ve had to announce their inclusivity as most x-tian conference centres, retreat houses etc that I know of are struggling to stay afloat, with so many fewer churches/x-tian groups being viable enough to take groups there.

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  3. Hubs and I hired Cliff College’s conference facilities for groups of teens from our church youth group for weekends regularly during the 70s and 80s. As Baptists, Methodists were considered dodgy, except for Cliff College which was very fundy back then, so we felt able to expose our teens to it. I think they’d have be on dear Andrea’s side back then. I know there’s a big split among Methodists over the LGBTQTIA issue, at least they’ve come down on the side of inclusion. Cynic that I am, I wonder if this position may possibly have something to do with the declining need for x-tian retreat houses/conference venues/holidays in secular Britain. I know of at least 3 other such places struggling to stay afloat financially in the UK.

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  4. I was sent to a methodist Sunday school until I was expelled age 8 or 9, about 20 years later when I returned to Guernsey, the chapel had been demolished; I wrote to the methodists congratulating them on, at long last, realising the perfect use for the chapel – building rubble; they didn’t reply!

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