March 28, 2024

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March 28, 2024

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Pastor Who Lost Job For Criticising Pride Events Has Case Heard

A Christian pastor and school caretaker, who received a death threat and was hounded out of his job for a tweet that said LGBTQ pride events should not be attended by Christians and children, is to have his legal case heard.

Following a social media witch hunt, which ultimately forced him out of his caretaker job, Pastor Keith Waters, 55, launched legal action against the Active Learning Trust with the support of the Christian Legal Centre.

[At the upcoming Employment Tribunal], his lawyers will argue that the Isle of Ely primary school interfered with his rights to freedom of religion, expression and thought.

He will claim for constructive dismissal, indirect discrimination, and breach of public sector equality duty.

Lawyers say that the tweet that led to his resignation was a manifestation of his Christian beliefs and that, following the landmark high court ruling in the case of Felix Ngole, historic Christian views on sexual ethics should not be confused with homophobia or discrimination against homosexuals.

Working part time as a caretaker

In 2016, Pastor Waters took a 60% pay cut from his role as an Estates Manager at one of Cambridge University’s largest colleges, to work part time as a caretaker at the Isle of Ely Primary School so he could pastor his local Evangelical Church, Ely New Connexions Church.

The job was taken with the agreement that he if there was a conflict with his job as a Pastor, his pastoral job would take priority.

From the outset, he said that he would “be unequivocal in publicly stating the Christian doctrine on various issues, some of which may be unpopular.”

On 1 June 2019, at the beginning of LGBTQ pride month, Pastor Waters tweeted:

“A reminder that Christians should not support or attend LGBTQ ‘Pride Month’ events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Christian faith and morals. They are especially harmful to children.”

Pastor Waters says his intention was to address and warn Christians about LGBTQ pride events across the UK as they often involve nudity, people in sadomasochistic outfits and displays of an overtly sexual nature.

He believes LGBTQ pride events are diametrically opposed to Christian beliefs on sexual ethics and therefore are harmful, especially for young children who often attend or are encouraged to attend.

Death threat

Yet the consequences of this solitary tweet for Pastor Waters were terrifying, as he and his family faced a string of coordinated threats aimed at forcing him out of his job and the town.

Within minutes of sending the post, he received a tweet from a local journalist, John Elworthy, accusing him of attacking the local LGBTQ community in Ely ahead of pride events that month.

The following morning, as Pastor Waters was preparing for a Sunday service at his church, a hostile Cambridge-based journalist tried to force him into apologising for the tweet, which he refused to do.

By Monday, he was on the front page of the Cambridge Evening News and online abuse continued to grow with local councillors and pressure groups creating a toxic atmosphere.

During this period, his wife answered the door to funeral directors who had been sent to arrange his ‘funeral’; likewise, estate agents contacted him having been told he was moving from the area ‘in a hurry’.

Pastor Waters was also nearly knocked off his bike by an angry local resident in a car who wanted to remonstrate with him.

Furthermore, false rumours were spread that he was a child molester and there were calls from local councillors for him to be investigated by police for a ‘hate incident.’

Fearing for his, his family’s, and his church members’ safety, Pastor Waters decided to delete the tweet.

Investigation

However, his caretaker role at the local primary school then came under threat as the headteacher informed him that he was being investigated for bringing the school ‘into disrepute’ after receiving a handful of complaints as part of the campaign against him.

One letter to the school claimed that Pastor Waters’ tweet called for ‘violence against people who support the Ely Pride Festival’. 

An anonymous teacher also claimed that his tweet fell ‘within the British government’s definition of extremism’ and that action must be taken against him.

Pastor Waters was then invited to an investigation meeting, which he was told was strictly confidential and must not be discussed with anyone other than his family members.

However, despite the confidentiality direction he had been placed under, it would appear that a letter detailing the investigation was leaked to members of the wider school community before Pastor Waters was himself made aware of them.

The letter also stated inaccurately that the allegations against him related to ‘recent reports of comments you have made in the public domain concerning the status and sexual identity of members of the local community.’

‘An asset to the school’

Until this point, Pastor Waters was a liked and respected member of staff, and at his final appraisal was described as ‘an asset to the school’.

Going above and beyond in his role as caretaker, he used his expertise to put in place fire safety policies, and organised gardening lessons for troubled pupils who were physically threatening teachers.

Following the complaints, however, Pastor Waters, was shunned and avoided by senior management and prevented from carrying out some of his regular duties.

After the investigation, Pastor Waters was told that his tweet was ‘highly inappropriate and offensive’, and that he had brought the school into disrepute and broken the code of conduct and he was issued with a final written warning.

Pastor Waters believed he faced no alternative but to resign as he could no longer combine his roles as a Christian pastor and caretaker at the school.

Ahead of the hearing Pastor Waters said: “The whole episode left me in emotional turmoil and has taken a lasting toll on me and my family. In 37 years of employment, I had never been treated in such an uncaring and hostile way. I was left with the choice of resigning or being silenced and unable to express my beliefs as a Christian pastor.

“I had lots of parents pulling me to the side telling me that they supported me, but they wouldn’t dare say so out of fear that the social media mob would also turn on them.

“Being given a final warning meant that I would not be able to do the things I do as a pastor, which is standing up for the truth of the Bible.

“I’m not doing this because I want to sue the school, but because I believe it’s the right thing to do. I want to ensure that other Pastors in the future that have to work part time in a secular organisation, will be free to preach the truth and not lose their job.

“I still stand by what I said, and I’ll always stand up for the truth. I believe that children’s safety is paramount.

“Anyone who attends a ‘Pride’ event risks being exposed to obscenities. That is self-evidently harmful for children and in a free, responsible and truly loving society we must be free to say that and raise concern without fear.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “What happened to Keith Waters is the latest in a long line of cases where honest, kind, normal people are subjected to harassment and intimidation for expressing moderate, mainstream Christian views on sexual ethics.

“We live in a world where even questioning the LGBTQ agenda can land you in serious trouble.

“This is another example of how far LGBTQ advocates are prepared to go to silence mainstream Christian views.

“For loving Jesus, speaking biblical truth, and caring for the welfare of children, Keith became persona non grata – his words and intentions distorted, his character assassinated.

“Our schools and churches need more community-minded people like him, not less. For sending one tweet, that raised genuine concern for children, he was vilified, threatened and hounded out of his employment.

“Despite an abundance of psychological studies concluding that children exposed to sexually explicit content at an early age are more likely to develop disorders and addictions, there are many articles online that encourage parents to bring their children to Pride parades.

“Why should a Christian pastor not be able to speak out on such concerning issues without being threatened and losing his job?

“Keith’s story is part of a cancel culture where issues, such as LGBTQ pride, cannot be questioned or critiqued without individuals being silenced, vilified or worse.

Keith Waters,Pastor Keith Waters,Biblical sexuality

HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?

Waters, in an interview with Christian Concern, stated that criticism of LGBT issues is viewed as “blaspheme” by our society.

“If a pastor can’t say the things that I’m saying in the UK today and not find themselves in in the kind of trouble I found myself in then I’m not sure who can,” he warned. “Pride has become something which is sitting on a very very big pedestal. It is set up as something almost in kind of god-like proportions. If you were to blaspheme against pride, you know to speak against pride, you are somebody who is clearly morally corrupt, to the stage where now people’s employment is a threat as a result.”

Any person that does their research on “pride events” should similarly conclude that the sexual conduct and nudity at these events, are at the very least, harmful and dangerous to children, Waters asserted.

In a separate video published by Christian Concern Waters maintained that “the ability to share our faith is at stake.”

“We’re living in a time where the public square nowadays is pretty much social media, as much as anywhere else. Therefore to be silenced… to not be able to share your faith, to not be able to live out your faith, or at least, only to be able to do it within the constraints of certain policies that somebody may put on top, it’s really important that we fight that.”

An article written last June by Answers In Genesis Founder Ken Ham underscored that the reality of what is being celebrated during “Pride Month” is not widely understood.

“Obviously, on the surface, they are celebrating sexuality identities and sexual diversity—really, what the Bible calls lust and perversion of God’s original design. But that’s not ultimately what those waving rainbow flags in a Pride parade are really celebrating. Their celebration is reveling in the sin at the root of sexual perversions and a myriad of other sins—pride,” Ham explained.

“Pride is the quintessential human sin—we think we can be our own gods (Genesis 3:5) and do whatever is right in our own eyes (Judges 21:25),” he inisted. “It doesn’t matter what our Creator—who designed us, knows what’s best for us, loves us, and died for us—says. To the proud heart, what matters is simply what we want—what sinful, fallible human beings who don’t know everything, are in rebellion against God, and have depraved minds and desires— want. Pride always leads to more sin as we arrogantly think more of ourselves and less of God and his revealed Word. It’s really people shaking their fist at God to declare they are autonomous and can do whatever they want.”

“The Bible spills much ink warning against pride. Our culture, and those ‘Christians’ who want to join in celebrating sin, would do well to heed the warnings in the Word of God,” he described.

Ham went on to cite multiple verses from the Bible that clearly condemn both the sin of pride and the proud themselves (including Proverbs 16:18, James 4:6, Proverbs 16:5, Proverbs 8:13, Obadiah 1:3, Isaiah 2:11, 1 Corinthians 13:4).

“According to James 4:6,” he wrote, “God is actively opposing those proudly waving colorful banners and chanting ‘love is love.’ That should strike fear in the hearts of those who have not repented and trusted in Christ, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ (Hebrews 10:31).”

“But James 4:6 continues, ‘[God] gives grace to the humble.’ There’s grace, freely available, for all who will humble themselves, turn from their sin, and trust in Christ alone for salvation,” he noted. “You see, Jesus died in our place, taking God’s just wrath against sin for us, and freely offers forgiveness and eternal life to proud sinners of all kinds: ‘but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8).”

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SALVATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST — CLICK HERE

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Left Media Descends Into Panic As Homeschool Mom Runs For NC Superintendent

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A Christian pastor and school caretaker, who received a death threat and was hounded out of his job for a tweet that said LGBTQ pride events should not be attended by Christians and children, is to have his legal case heard.

Following a social media witch hunt, which ultimately forced him out of his caretaker job, Pastor Keith Waters, 55, launched legal action against the Active Learning Trust with the support of the Christian Legal Centre.

[At the upcoming Employment Tribunal], his lawyers will argue that the Isle of Ely primary school interfered with his rights to freedom of religion, expression and thought.

He will claim for constructive dismissal, indirect discrimination, and breach of public sector equality duty.

Lawyers say that the tweet that led to his resignation was a manifestation of his Christian beliefs and that, following the landmark high court ruling in the case of Felix Ngole, historic Christian views on sexual ethics should not be confused with homophobia or discrimination against homosexuals.

Working part time as a caretaker

In 2016, Pastor Waters took a 60% pay cut from his role as an Estates Manager at one of Cambridge University’s largest colleges, to work part time as a caretaker at the Isle of Ely Primary School so he could pastor his local Evangelical Church, Ely New Connexions Church.

The job was taken with the agreement that he if there was a conflict with his job as a Pastor, his pastoral job would take priority.

From the outset, he said that he would “be unequivocal in publicly stating the Christian doctrine on various issues, some of which may be unpopular.”

On 1 June 2019, at the beginning of LGBTQ pride month, Pastor Waters tweeted:

“A reminder that Christians should not support or attend LGBTQ ‘Pride Month’ events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Christian faith and morals. They are especially harmful to children.”

Pastor Waters says his intention was to address and warn Christians about LGBTQ pride events across the UK as they often involve nudity, people in sadomasochistic outfits and displays of an overtly sexual nature.

He believes LGBTQ pride events are diametrically opposed to Christian beliefs on sexual ethics and therefore are harmful, especially for young children who often attend or are encouraged to attend.

Death threat

Yet the consequences of this solitary tweet for Pastor Waters were terrifying, as he and his family faced a string of coordinated threats aimed at forcing him out of his job and the town.

Within minutes of sending the post, he received a tweet from a local journalist, John Elworthy, accusing him of attacking the local LGBTQ community in Ely ahead of pride events that month.

The following morning, as Pastor Waters was preparing for a Sunday service at his church, a hostile Cambridge-based journalist tried to force him into apologising for the tweet, which he refused to do.

By Monday, he was on the front page of the Cambridge Evening News and online abuse continued to grow with local councillors and pressure groups creating a toxic atmosphere.

During this period, his wife answered the door to funeral directors who had been sent to arrange his ‘funeral’; likewise, estate agents contacted him having been told he was moving from the area ‘in a hurry’.

Pastor Waters was also nearly knocked off his bike by an angry local resident in a car who wanted to remonstrate with him.

Furthermore, false rumours were spread that he was a child molester and there were calls from local councillors for him to be investigated by police for a ‘hate incident.’

Fearing for his, his family’s, and his church members’ safety, Pastor Waters decided to delete the tweet.

Investigation

However, his caretaker role at the local primary school then came under threat as the headteacher informed him that he was being investigated for bringing the school ‘into disrepute’ after receiving a handful of complaints as part of the campaign against him.

One letter to the school claimed that Pastor Waters’ tweet called for ‘violence against people who support the Ely Pride Festival’. 

An anonymous teacher also claimed that his tweet fell ‘within the British government’s definition of extremism’ and that action must be taken against him.

Pastor Waters was then invited to an investigation meeting, which he was told was strictly confidential and must not be discussed with anyone other than his family members.

However, despite the confidentiality direction he had been placed under, it would appear that a letter detailing the investigation was leaked to members of the wider school community before Pastor Waters was himself made aware of them.

The letter also stated inaccurately that the allegations against him related to ‘recent reports of comments you have made in the public domain concerning the status and sexual identity of members of the local community.’

‘An asset to the school’

Until this point, Pastor Waters was a liked and respected member of staff, and at his final appraisal was described as ‘an asset to the school’.

Going above and beyond in his role as caretaker, he used his expertise to put in place fire safety policies, and organised gardening lessons for troubled pupils who were physically threatening teachers.

Following the complaints, however, Pastor Waters, was shunned and avoided by senior management and prevented from carrying out some of his regular duties.

After the investigation, Pastor Waters was told that his tweet was ‘highly inappropriate and offensive’, and that he had brought the school into disrepute and broken the code of conduct and he was issued with a final written warning.

Pastor Waters believed he faced no alternative but to resign as he could no longer combine his roles as a Christian pastor and caretaker at the school.

Ahead of the hearing Pastor Waters said: “The whole episode left me in emotional turmoil and has taken a lasting toll on me and my family. In 37 years of employment, I had never been treated in such an uncaring and hostile way. I was left with the choice of resigning or being silenced and unable to express my beliefs as a Christian pastor.

“I had lots of parents pulling me to the side telling me that they supported me, but they wouldn’t dare say so out of fear that the social media mob would also turn on them.

“Being given a final warning meant that I would not be able to do the things I do as a pastor, which is standing up for the truth of the Bible.

“I’m not doing this because I want to sue the school, but because I believe it’s the right thing to do. I want to ensure that other Pastors in the future that have to work part time in a secular organisation, will be free to preach the truth and not lose their job.

“I still stand by what I said, and I’ll always stand up for the truth. I believe that children’s safety is paramount.

“Anyone who attends a ‘Pride’ event risks being exposed to obscenities. That is self-evidently harmful for children and in a free, responsible and truly loving society we must be free to say that and raise concern without fear.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “What happened to Keith Waters is the latest in a long line of cases where honest, kind, normal people are subjected to harassment and intimidation for expressing moderate, mainstream Christian views on sexual ethics.

“We live in a world where even questioning the LGBTQ agenda can land you in serious trouble.

“This is another example of how far LGBTQ advocates are prepared to go to silence mainstream Christian views.

“For loving Jesus, speaking biblical truth, and caring for the welfare of children, Keith became persona non grata – his words and intentions distorted, his character assassinated.

“Our schools and churches need more community-minded people like him, not less. For sending one tweet, that raised genuine concern for children, he was vilified, threatened and hounded out of his employment.

“Despite an abundance of psychological studies concluding that children exposed to sexually explicit content at an early age are more likely to develop disorders and addictions, there are many articles online that encourage parents to bring their children to Pride parades.

“Why should a Christian pastor not be able to speak out on such concerning issues without being threatened and losing his job?

“Keith’s story is part of a cancel culture where issues, such as LGBTQ pride, cannot be questioned or critiqued without individuals being silenced, vilified or worse.

Keith Waters,Pastor Keith Waters,Biblical sexuality

HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?

Waters, in an interview with Christian Concern, stated that criticism of LGBT issues is viewed as “blaspheme” by our society.

“If a pastor can’t say the things that I’m saying in the UK today and not find themselves in in the kind of trouble I found myself in then I’m not sure who can,” he warned. “Pride has become something which is sitting on a very very big pedestal. It is set up as something almost in kind of god-like proportions. If you were to blaspheme against pride, you know to speak against pride, you are somebody who is clearly morally corrupt, to the stage where now people’s employment is a threat as a result.”

Any person that does their research on “pride events” should similarly conclude that the sexual conduct and nudity at these events, are at the very least, harmful and dangerous to children, Waters asserted.

In a separate video published by Christian Concern Waters maintained that “the ability to share our faith is at stake.”

“We’re living in a time where the public square nowadays is pretty much social media, as much as anywhere else. Therefore to be silenced… to not be able to share your faith, to not be able to live out your faith, or at least, only to be able to do it within the constraints of certain policies that somebody may put on top, it’s really important that we fight that.”

An article written last June by Answers In Genesis Founder Ken Ham underscored that the reality of what is being celebrated during “Pride Month” is not widely understood.

“Obviously, on the surface, they are celebrating sexuality identities and sexual diversity—really, what the Bible calls lust and perversion of God’s original design. But that’s not ultimately what those waving rainbow flags in a Pride parade are really celebrating. Their celebration is reveling in the sin at the root of sexual perversions and a myriad of other sins—pride,” Ham explained.

“Pride is the quintessential human sin—we think we can be our own gods (Genesis 3:5) and do whatever is right in our own eyes (Judges 21:25),” he inisted. “It doesn’t matter what our Creator—who designed us, knows what’s best for us, loves us, and died for us—says. To the proud heart, what matters is simply what we want—what sinful, fallible human beings who don’t know everything, are in rebellion against God, and have depraved minds and desires— want. Pride always leads to more sin as we arrogantly think more of ourselves and less of God and his revealed Word. It’s really people shaking their fist at God to declare they are autonomous and can do whatever they want.”

“The Bible spills much ink warning against pride. Our culture, and those ‘Christians’ who want to join in celebrating sin, would do well to heed the warnings in the Word of God,” he described.

Ham went on to cite multiple verses from the Bible that clearly condemn both the sin of pride and the proud themselves (including Proverbs 16:18, James 4:6, Proverbs 16:5, Proverbs 8:13, Obadiah 1:3, Isaiah 2:11, 1 Corinthians 13:4).

“According to James 4:6,” he wrote, “God is actively opposing those proudly waving colorful banners and chanting ‘love is love.’ That should strike fear in the hearts of those who have not repented and trusted in Christ, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ (Hebrews 10:31).”

“But James 4:6 continues, ‘[God] gives grace to the humble.’ There’s grace, freely available, for all who will humble themselves, turn from their sin, and trust in Christ alone for salvation,” he noted. “You see, Jesus died in our place, taking God’s just wrath against sin for us, and freely offers forgiveness and eternal life to proud sinners of all kinds: ‘but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8).”

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SALVATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST — CLICK HERE

Will You Help Reach People With Biblical Truth?

When you make a donation to this ministry you will be helping us reach more people with the sound and unashamed truth of God’s Word and how it speaks to our times through world news.

Are Fears Of A Global Food Crisis A Harbinger Of Things To Come?

The rider on this black horse holds a pair of scales in his hand—weighing out food on the scale. What we have here is the haunting phantom of famine along with runaway inflation. As we look around our world, we can already hear the thundering hoofbeats...

Left Media Descends Into Panic As Homeschool Mom Runs For NC Superintendent

Obviously, the establishment was not pleased with Morrow referring to public schools as “indoctrination centers” and blasting them for brainwashing children with “socialism.” Voters, however, loved her honest approach, giving her an upset victory against an establishment bigwig who was expected to win easily. 

untitled artwork 6391

Purim: Jewish Survival Isn’t Contingent On The World’s Hostility, But The Power Of God

Today, we have the same spirit of the annihilation of the Jews coming from the same part of the world. Modern Iranian leaders are obsessed with the spirit of Haman even today. We don’t need an Esther in the palace anymore. We need the prayers of the saints worldwide.

ABC's of Salvation

TV AD

worldview matters

Decision Magazine V AD

TV AD

Amir V Ad #1

Decision Magazine V AD