More than 1,500 church leaders and ministers across the United Kingdom say they will continue to proclaim “the Lordship of Jesus Christ” and call “people to find life in Him”, even if it means they will go to prison.
According to Christian Concern, 1,531 pastors have signed a petition asking the government to strike down a proposal that would ban so-called conversion therapy.
If passed, the measure could prevent ministers from helping those with unwanted same-sex attraction and could even prevent them from sharing the Gospel.
“It should not be a criminal offense for us to instruct our children that God made them male and female, in his image, and has reserved sex for the marriage of one man and one woman. Yet this seems to be the likely outcome of the proposed legislation,” the petition reads.
The UK government is currently accepting proposals on how to legislate the ban. As CBN News has reported, the Evangelical Alliance believes an “expansive definition” of conversion therapy could restrict religious freedoms and “place church leaders at risk of prosecution.”
“The term ‘conversion therapy’ is ill-defined, and the proposals appear to be driven by an ideological agenda rather than real concern and clear thinking,” Dr. Ian Paul, member of the General Synod of the Church of England, said. “There is a real risk that pastoral ministry will be criminalized and that human rights, including the right to religious belief, will be trampled on.”
Conversion therapy is a pejorative phrase used by LGBTQ advocates who say Christian counseling or therapy is harmful to LGBTQ individuals and could lead someone to hurt themselves or commit suicide.
“Those who are campaigning for the law, their stated aim is that prayers or any kind of encouragement to do what we would say the Bible is teaching in terms of sexual ethics, should be prohibited,” said Rev. Graham Nicholls, Director of Affinity, a coalition of UK churches.
Nicholls said he is prepared to go to prison if it means defending his Christian beliefs.
“We don’t know how the law will work out, but I think if those demands were met, then really any conversation with your family or if your child asks a question about their sexuality or their gender and you give them some advice, potentially, that could fall foul of the law,” he explained.
Rev. Dr. Matthew Roberts sees the therapy ban as a threat to religious freedom and the church’s commission to share the Gospel.
‘”Conversion’, as Christians understand it, is an amazing thing… realizing that life is not all about focusing on ourselves but on the God who made us. It is deeply wrong that this proposed legislation implies that being converted to Jesus Christ is akin to violence or abuse,” he said.
The coalition of church leaders who have signed the petition said they will continue to share the truth no matter the outcome.
“We therefore very much hope (and pray) that these proposals will be dropped in their current form,” it reads. “We have no desire to become criminals, and place a high value on submitting to and supporting our government.”
“Yet, we think it important you are aware that if it were to come about that the loving, compassionate exercise of orthodox Christian ministry, including the teaching of the Christian understanding of sex and marriage, is effectively made a criminal offense, we would with deep sadness continue to do our duty to God in this matter,” it continues.
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
Ken Ham, in his article, “Conversion Therapy Bans Are a ‘Trojan Horse’,” explained that so-called “conversion therapy bans” are a direct assault on the religious freedom of Christians and their ability to speak Biblical truth:
“Conversion therapy bans” have been popping up throughout the West. Those pushing these bills claim they’re trying to protect people, often specifically children and teens who identify as LGBT, from supposed abusive practices (which do sometimes make up certain so-called “conversion therapies”). But what are these bans really all about?
Well, for years, conservative politicians and Christian commentators (including me) have been saying these “conversion therapy bans” are “Trojan horses” that pave the way for the bridling of free speech and the criminalization of those who believe and act on biblical principles. You see, LGBT activists claim that if you don’t fully embrace, support, and celebrate an LGBT lifestyle or identity, then that’s hate speech and harming someone because that person is more likely to commit suicide since you did not affirm them. In their minds and by their flawed logic, those who hold to the biblical belief that an LGBT identity and lifestyle are sinful are hurting other people and driving them to suicide; therefore such people (Christians specifically) don’t deserve to be able to speak their views. Many politicians are viewing this matter now as a civil rights issue—but it’s not. It’s a moral issue.
The warning that these bans are Trojan horses isn’t a fallacious slippery slope argument. As an opinion piece by Jonathon Van Maren on LifeSite news points out, LGBT activists are starting to publicly make that argument in the UK. He notes that several leaders from “post-Christian churches” are urging the Prime Minister of the UK to take proposed “conversion therapy bans” one step further:
Whilst we recognise and applaud your overall aim to “end conversion therapy” we would caution you that this will not be possible until our religions have done more theological thinking on these matters – which we and others are committed to helping them do. [In other words—until other churches have abandoned God’s Word like these churches have in favor of a message that is not the gospel and therefore doesn’t save!]
We urge you to make it clear that the UK will not tolerate those who practice conversion therapy in any form, whether consensual or not, and that those who practice it will be prosecuted. This will have the impact of causing religious leaders to think twice, as they will be loathe to risk having a criminal record that would stop them from following their vocation.
Religious leaders—those who would preach, teach, and counsel from God’s Word—are called out here as being part of these “conversion therapies” and that legislation should make them “think twice” before speaking the truth from God’s Word on sexual issues. It’s an outright assault on freedom of religion and speech and, above all, on biblical truth and the gospel of Jesus Christ (the only message that truly delivers someone from their slavery to a sinful identity, if they will repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ).
As believers, we must be prepared to continue sharing biblical truth regardless of what the culture around us says or threatens. Teaching God’s Word is not abusive or dangerous—the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). It is the gospel and the truth of God’s Word, with the power of the Holy Spirit, that free us from our slavery to sin (Romans 6:6) and makes us a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The time is coming when speaking biblical truth regarding sexuality will be illegal. But we must love people enough to continue to contend for the faith (Jude 1:3), making disciples (Matthew 28:19), as we do the King’s business until he returns (Luke 19:13). Are we courageous enough to boldly state as Peter and the apostles did: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)?
Read the UK Pastors Petition In Full Below:
Dear Secretary of State,
We are Christian ministers and pastoral workers from a broad range of churches, who have in common that we hold to orthodox, historic Christian teaching on sexual ethics. We are writing in response to the consultation on ‘Banning “Conversion Therapy”’ presented by you to Parliament on 29th October 2021.
In our churches we welcome and show love to many people who have different experience and views, including same-sex attraction and forms of gender transition. We always seek to act in love, with gentleness and respect, for the good of all, and never with any form of coercion or control.
We are grateful to the government for having made clear in the consultation that it does not intend this legislation to impact the normal practice of religion. Nevertheless, we are deeply concerned that the legislative approach outlined would do exactly this. We see in these proposals a clear possibility that our duty as ministers, of proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and calling people to find life in him, which includes living by his laws, will be criminalised. We also believe it could be used against Christian parents who could equally be criminalised for loving advice and teaching given to their own children.
The category of ‘Conversion Therapy’ is one which is so broad as to be essentially meaningless. It has the effect of implying an equivalence between calling people to conversion to Christ, which is our duty as Christian ministers, and evil and disreputable past practices which are already illegal and which Christians are the first to condemn. Legislating against such a bizarrely broad category is clearly not viable and strongly risks criminalising us as we fulfil our compassionate duties as Christian ministers and pastors. This would be a clear breach of our legal right to manifest our religion.
Christianity has always held that God created humanity with the lifelong marriage of one man and one woman as a gracious gift to humanity and a central part of his design for human society. To violate that pattern, by sexual activity outside marriage or denial of our created sex, is sin. As such it is not only morally wrong but carries with it deep and tragic consequences for individuals, families and society. It is a central part of our calling to bring Christ’s compassion to a broken world, that we call people to live according to God’s gift and pattern of marriage and offer them pastoral support to help them do so. This has nothing to do with therapy; it has everything to do with what it means to be a Christian.
To urge and assist people to live in this way, far from being harmful, is a kind and merciful act, and of benefit to all. What is plainly and terribly harmful is when anyone, especially the young, believes that their identity is found purely in their feelings and that happiness is to be found in misusing and harming their healthy bodies. Yet the proposals would apparently criminalise us for seeking to care for people and seeking to dissuade them from this kind of harm.
Furthermore, it is our duty to call people to be converted to Christ; that is, to turn from believing that we are identified and best guided by self, to knowing that we are identified and best guided by God. Christian Conversion inevitably means giving up on lifestyles incompatible with being a Christian, of which sexual sins are just one. It should not be a criminal offence for us as Christian ministers to persuade, to teach and to help people of every age to become, and to live as, orthodox Christians. It should not be a criminal offence for us to instruct our children that God made them male and female, in his image, and has reserved sex for the marriage of one man and one woman. Yet this seems to be the likely outcome of the proposed legislation.
We therefore very much hope (and pray) that these proposals will be dropped in their current form. We have no desire to become criminals, and place a high value on submitting to and supporting our government. Yet we think it important you are aware that if it were to come about that the loving, compassionate exercise of orthodox Christian ministry, including the teaching of the Christian understanding of sex and marriage, is effectively made a criminal offence, we would with deep sadness continue to do our duty to God in this matter.
Nevertheless, we are confident that this outcome is not what your department intends by these proposals, and for that we are most grateful. However, this will require the adoption of an entirely different approach.
We write to you as faithful subjects of Her Majesty the Queen, Defender of the Faith, in the hope that this will assist her Majesty’s government to avoid unwittingly legislating against the very faith of which she has been appointed defender. We add this to the prayers that we constantly make for the government’s essential and God-given task of ruling our nation.
Yours faithfully,
