If you think the attacks on free speech are bad here in the US, let’s take a short visit to the UK.
Two years ago, a Christian student in the UK was daring enough to post his views on homosexuality on Facebook. Like so many Christians around the world, 39-year-old Felix Ngole, a graduate at Sheffield University, didn’t publicly berate a gay person, he didn’t bash anyone in the street, and he certainly didn’t throw anyone off a building.
He simply wrote his personal, faith-based views on sexuality on his personal Facebook page. But according to his university, he had no right to do so.
The University acknowledged that Ngole “was fully entitled to his religious beliefs, and had acted with honesty and integrity,” but that his decision to make his views public were far too dangerous, as they may have “may have cause offense to some individuals.”
Even more outrageous, when Ngole legally challenged his former university, a court sided with them, saying that his comments “could be accessed and read by people who would perceive them as judgmental, incompatible with service ethos, or suggestive of discriminatory intent.”
“That was a problem in its own right,” the court ruled. “But whatever the actual intention was, it was the perception of the posting that would cause the damage. It was reasonable to be concerned about that perception.”
To say this is absolutely insane would be a gross understatement. It is illegal now to make statements that might potentially offend someone?! Where else in British society is this logic applied? (Wait–don’t answer that)
“To me it sends a chilling message that if you are a Christian and you hold traditional Christian views you should be careful not to express them because you might end up losing your job,” Ngole said of the ruling.
“I am very disappointed by this ruling which supports the university’s decision to bar me from my chosen career because of my Biblical views on sexual ethics,” he added, “I intend to appeal this decision which clearly intends to restrict me from expressing my Christian faith in public.”
Andrea Williams, of the Christian Legal Centre, who represented Ngole, echoed his sentiments in a statement:
The court has ruled that though Mr Ngole is entitled to hold his Biblical views on sexual ethics, he is not entitled to express them. But freedom to believe without freedom of expression is no freedom at all.
Many views are frequently expressed by students on social media and in other contexts. It is the expression of Biblical morality that has been singled out for sanction by the university.
This ruling will have a chilling effect on Christian students up and down the country who will now understand that their personal social media posts may be investigated for political correctness.
She added that “Rulings like this show that society is becoming increasingly intolerant of Christian moral values. Christians are being told to shut up and keep quiet about their moral views or face a bar from employment.”
The UK was once the center of Western Civilization, but now it is host to disturbing indicators that this once great society is crumbling.
If we don’t act now, it will be gone before we know it! The more they censor our expression of God’s Word, the more we ought to stand up to them! Let’s stand behind brother Ngole as he fights for his rights to share the Truth!
