You have heard the old sayings about the fox being in charge of the hen house and the inmates running the mental asylum. That's the way life is getting to be in what were once known as "liberal democracies." Now they are liberal, in the worst sense of the word but they are becoming more and more dictatorial than democratic.
Consider what recently happened to the Bishop of Hereford in the United Kingdom. He and his diocesan leaders were interviewing candidates for a position in the employment of their church. A 42 year old applicant seemed to have the qualifications they were looking for until the bishop began to putting some personal questions to him. It transpired that he was a practicing homosexual and he took great exception to being asked about such matters. Poor thing, he felt traumatized and suffered deep emotional hurt. On the way home he even cried. And then to cap matters, when the bishop telephoned some days later he learned that he had not got the job.
Clearly the Bishop and his diocesan leaders felt that it was not appropriate for them to employ a practicing homosexual. So the rejected homosexual sued them. And he won. In fact, he was awarded $100,000 in compensation and the Bishop was ordered to undergo "equal opportunity" training. The compensation includes $50,000 for future loss of wages, $16,000 for future pension loss, $14,000 damages for psychiatric injury, $12,000 for injury to feelings, $2,640 for counseling and $50 for costs incurred seeking work.
The case was brought under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003. Under that legislation, it is illegal to discriminate against people as a result of their sexual orientation, but the law does contain an exemption for organized religion. In his evidence, the Bishop said he had made it clear to the applicant that a person in a sexual relationship outside marriage, whether they were heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender, would be turned down for the post. He said that the behaviour of the man they had rejected for the post was contrary to official Church teaching and had "the potential to impact on the spiritual, moral and ethical leadership within the diocese."
Clearly, it is the legal right of a church to exercise its religious liberty to refuse employment or membership to anyone who beliefs or practices are contrary to those of the church. Despite this, the tribunal ruled that the Bishop had acted unlawfully and had discriminated against the offended homosexual applicant on the grounds of sexual orientation. So to defend the "rights" of a homosexual the tribunal determined a Church of England bishop's testimony to be a lie, for he testified that the rule by which he and his colleagues judged the merits of the applications before them were the same for heterosexuals and homosexuals alike. Not so, said the tribunal in effect, you discriminated against a homosexual. You are guilty and it will cost your diocese $100,000 plus as much again in legal costs.
Remember this has taken place despite the promised protection of churches against discrimination charges for applying their religious principles to the working of their organization. The sodomite lobby has gained such a stranglehold that even the law must be bent to accommodate homosexuals. If religious liberty is not yet dead in Britain, it's on life support and the plug will soon be pulled. Just ask the Bishop of Hereford.
