FIRST THE GOOD NEWS, THEN . . .

Thankfully there have been a few roadblocks recently placed on the pathway of the seemingly inevitable progress of woke culture. Two in particular this past week have brought cheer to those who stubbornly cling to common sense.

Transitioning

A decision on Tuesday in the High Court in London will have immediate impact on the lives of confused young people. It was ruled that children under the age of 16 were unlikely to be mature enough to give informed consent to being prescribed puberty-blocking medication. The judges also ruled that even in cases involving teenagers under 18, doctors may need to consult the courts for authorisation. As a result of the judgment the Tavistock clinic immediately suspended new referrals for such drugs for under-16s.

Keira Bell

AGREE WITH US OR WE’LL CALL THE POLICE

As Scotland presses ahead with hate speech legislation which could lead to prosecution for things said at home England is not be outdone. Sadly, the latest egregious attempt to silence critics of the progressive cultural steamroller comes from within the church.

The Revd Alex Clare-Young was registered as female at birth but now identifies as a man. He and his wife Jo are ministers in the United Reformed Church. The couple were among the transgender, gay and intersex Christians who featured in a video clip of the contentious Living in Love and Faith (LLF) project promoting greater LGBTQ participation within the Church of England. The clip included a message from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby.

SCOTS – YOUR HOME IS NOT YOUR CASTLE

An Englishman’s home is his castle. In 1763 prime minister Pitt the Elder stated, ‘The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail – its roof may shake – the wind may blow through it – the storm may enter – the rain may enter – but the King of England cannot enter.’ Not so for the Scotsman of today if the separatist SNP have their way.

Humza Yousaf, Justice Secretary in Scotland

Humza Yousaf, Justice Secretary in Scotland’s increasingly authoritarian SNP government, intends to clamp down on hate speech within the confines of private homes under his sinister proposed legislation, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill. In ‘hate’ legislation elsewhere in the UK there can be a ‘dwelling defence’ which protects speech within the home from police intervention. Not so for Scotland if  Yousaf has his way.

A CULTURAL PANDEMIC

A pandemic is sweeping the West. Research has shown that a significant proportion of people in the UK, more than 25 per cent, are likely to have been infected already by the Covid-19 virus. Thankfully only a tiny proportion have shown serious symptoms and even fewer have died. Nevertheless, in its wake the pandemic is leaving economic and social chaos.

The authors of Moralitis: A Cultural Virus argue that another virus is gripping the West, one that already has a tight grip on society and is creating cultural chaos. Sweeping all before it, it has infected and taken over our media outlets, our education system from primary school to university, our politicians and our police. Such is its hold that it is impossible to escape from its influence.

EVANGELICALS AND POLITICS

An editorial in the latest issue of the Monthly Record, the magazine of the Free Church of Scotland, takes American evangelicals severely to task. The editorial is of the opinion that Trump’s is a minority rule and within that rule evangelicals are a ‘privileged minority’ who exercise undue influence and by supporting Trump are guilty of ‘fragmenting’ evangelical opinion.

That Trump was elected with a minority of the popular vote is irrelevant: four previous presidents won with a minority vote. The USA is a republic, not a popular democracy, and the president is chosen by the electoral college. That is how the system has worked since the first presidential election in 1789, and every candidate wins or loses under the same rules.

THEY JUST DON’T GET CHRISTIANS

What kind of Christian is loathed by the progressive Left? The kind who take their faith seriously. The convulsions America is undergoing due to Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the vacant seat on the US Supreme Court demonstrate this clearly.

Judge Amy Coney Barratt

Judge Barrett has an impressive CV. She studied law at Notre Dame Law School on a full-tuition scholarship, graduating first in her class with a Juris Doctor summa cum laude. She was an executive editor of the Notre Dame Law Review. Prior to entering private practice she was law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court.

UNCONSCIOUS BIAS – YOU JUST CAN’T WIN

According to Richard Dawkins, biblical Christians have an ‘unhealthy preoccupation’ with sin. He is of the opinion that this is the centre of the Christian life: ‘The Christian focus is overwhelmingly on sin sin sin sin sin sin sin. What a nasty little preoccupation to have dominating your life.’

Progressives should learn the old adage about people in glass houses throwing stones. At the heart of the progressive view of humanity is the belief that every single one of us is  culpable and in need of drastic re-education. In progressive terms we are all sinners.

ETHICS BY GASLIGHT

Guest post by Jenny Gratwick

‘Gaslighting’ is the term popularly applied to a process of psychological manipulation, aimed at making someone doubt his or her own sanity or judgment.

Whole societies can also be gaslighted; the method is the same as that by which they may be induced to prefer particular brands of consumer goods, or disapprove of smoking, or see the EU as their salvation – a constant drip, drip of suggestion. But when the matter thrown into doubt is the knowledge of good and evil, that individual or society is in deep trouble. We are moral agents, answerable for our actions, and as moral agents we need to know the truth about what is right and what is wrong. Skilful gaslighting can leave us duped into believing good is evil, or evil is good.

‘CUTIES’ AND THE DEFENCE OF THE INDEFENSIBLE

There has been considerable comment, particularly on social media, about the Netflix film Cuties, understandably so. The promo material describes it as ‘Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.’ 

The intent of the film is to highlight the problem of the hyper-sexualisation of pre-adolescent girls. To do this the film involves a great deal of suggestive dancing, scenes of the girls grabbing each other, and lingering shots of groins.

THE SNP’S HATE CRIME THREAT TO CHRISTIANS

A guest post by Niall McCrae

A Christian preacher has a stall at the corner of George Square in Glasgow. This is brave, or perhaps foolhardy, because it’s the occasion of a Gay Pride rally. He must have expected some hostility. In the video I watched from the safety of home, he remains admirably calm and pleasantly-mannered as he is berated by a young man who seems to think that no Christian has a right to be there. Showing a sadly typical lack of insight, this woke warrior accuses the preacher of bigotry and intolerance.

Confidence in the Gospel truth is no insurance against the ‘Red Guards’ of progressive ideology. The exchange between Pride-goer and pastor was not on fair terms. Should the latter have said anything that the former perceived as offensive, the police would have taken the side of the LGBT fanatic. Indeed, police officers on duty at Pride rallies openly support the cause.