A Christian lecturer was in court this week to appeal a tribunal decision that upheld his dismissal from a Bible college for a social media post expressing traditional evangelical views on sexuality.
Dr Aaron Edwards argues that the ruling by the Sheffield Tribunal upholding his dismissal unlawfully undermined his freedom of religion and expression.
The Christian theologian was sacked by Cliff College in Derbyshire after tweeting comments defending the biblical view of sexuality in response to a debate in the Church of England in February 2023 to allow same-sex blessings.
In his tweet, Dr Edwards said, “Homosexuality is invading the Church. Evangelicals no longer see the severity of this b/c they’re busy apologising for their apparently barbaric homophobia, whether or not it’s true. This is a ‘Gospel issue’, by the way. If sin is no longer sin, we no longer need a Saviour.”
His comments prompted widespread comment and reaction on social media, with some critics accusing him of homophobia. In subsequent tweets, he defended his comments as reflecting "the conservative view" on these issues, and insisted it was "not homophobic to declare homosexuality sinful".
He refused requests from Cliff College to remove his posts and was later investigated by the college, before being sacked for misconduct for “bringing the college into disrepute”.
He already received limited permission to appeal his sacking and appeared before the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London on Thursday seeking to expand the grounds of his appeal, which the judge agreed to.
Speaking ahead of the hearing, Dr Edwards said he was praying for "justice".
"My legal case is essentially about challenging compromise. Cliff College seems to think you can still brand yourself 'evangelical' while thinking or saying nothing about the threat to the Gospel posed by the radical incursions of LGBT ideology into previously faithful denominations, churches, and colleges today. They fail to see that compromise is 'a gospel issue'," he said.
He added, "I hope and pray for justice this week."
Dr Edwards is being supported in his case by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which says he has been unable to work as a Bible college lecturer since his dismissal and has suffered financial hardship and serious stress-related health issues.
Commenting on his case, CLC chief executive Andrea Williams said that "reputational concern" was "not a legitimate basis for penalising protected Christian expression".
“Dr Edwards was dismissed for expressing an entirely mainstream Christian belief grounded in biblical morality. This is not a marginal or extremist view, but one protected under UK equality and human rights law," she said.
She went on, "This case raises serious questions about freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and the lawful limits of institutional authority.
"If Christian academics cannot express orthodox Christian convictions in so-called Christian institutions without fear of sanction, then the legal protections afforded to religious belief are being hollowed out. We will stand with Aaron until justice is done."
