CHRISTIAN GROUPS SLAM CHURCH RULING
Two Christian groups have slammed last week’s court ruling which found a church guilty of discrimination for sacking a gay music lecturer.
On Thursday, the Moreleta Park NG Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) was ordered to apologise and pay damages to Johan Strydom after firing him from its arts academy because of his sexuality.
In response, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) said it was disappointed by the ruling and that a church should have the right to hire or fire people based on its religious convictions.
The Reverend Kenneth Meshoe, MP and President of the ACDP, said in a statement that “the right to equality should not trump the right to religious freedom and the right to freedom of association.”
“We trust that the Moreleta Park DRC will appeal the ruling because of the far-reaching implications for other churches in the country,” said Meshoe. “This particularly so in view of the statement by the Editor of the gay newspaper, ‘Exit’ who said that they ‘regarded the judgment as a victory for gay rights which would open the door for many others in similar situations’.”
The ACDP concluded the statement by commending the Moreleta Park NG Kerk “for their commitment to biblical teaching and for loving the sinner, but not the sin.”
The Apostolic Faith Mission Church also rejected the court’s ruling, with its president, Dr Isak Burger, describing it as a serious threat to religious freedom.
….. According to Meshoe he stated that “the right to equality should not trump the right to religious freedom …” so that means if you become a member of the church you are then allowed to discriminate and persecute under the term “religious freedom.” What nonsense!! They can stamp their feet all they want. Justice won in the end. The church and its members should not be exempt from the same constitution that protects every single citizen in this country. And how is this a threat to religious freedom? One person has stood up for his rights to be treated equally and fairly, and won. If the church “loved the sinner” then why was he fired? You cannot base it on the fact that he is involved in a loving, committed relationship. If he”d gone celibate for the church – wait for it, here”s the cold truth – HE”D STILL BE GAY! Not having sex with men doesn”t make you any less gay. I hope this was a wake-up call for the church and its members. You cannot – and will not – discriminate against anybody who does not fit into your clan. How many children have been abused by priests? How many divorced men and women are there in the church (yes, it is considered sinful to divorce and remarry)? How many adulterer”s? How many murderer”s? How many thieves? How many liars, hypocrites, spouse abuser”s, and rapists are hidden amongst the so-called christian society? The church should look to its leaders and members for they are their own greatest threat to ”religious freedom.”
….. Interesting points, Jason! I take it you”re not a Christian?
The point many people seem to miss regarding Christianity – and with that I mean TRUE Christianity and not the very real so-called Christian people Jason describe in his post – is that it”s not all about doom and condemnation.
Jesus Christ died on the cross for sinners. He spent his time on earth with the very people described in Jason”s post – not with the holier-than-thou churchgoers whose words and deed differ like night and day. That”s the very essense of grace.
Each to his own. Live and let live.
Religious Freedom. Religious freedom is guaranteed in the Constitution but at the same time, the rights we have under the constitution can not be trampled on in the name of religious freedom.
hi vanhan .kenneth. well i do think that we as gay people must fight for our right so we are known as we are gay and its about time that you hetersexuls dam get a life and leave us gays alone coz i know a hell a lot of people from other countrys so i think we should stand together all of us gays and send a mesege .
kenneth
lol. Kenneth Meshoe really is a right idiot. Always has been. What about sexual freedom…the freedom to be who you are…the right to a job…the right to survival etc etc etc…i suppose none of those matter when they don”t serve the purposes of the church. Bullshit.
lol. The constitution protects your right to sexual freedom and the right to be who you are. The constitution however also protects and guarantees the right to religious freedom, and as such, I agree that churches – whether they believe in God or faeries – should have the right to choose their employees based on shared beliefs (dare I say moral values?). The “right to a job” and “the right to survival” is irrelevant – why would you want to work at a place when you know that your beliefs are incompatible?
….. Every organisation in south africa is bound by the laws of the Constitution and to treat its employees with dignity and respect. Why should the church be any different? The church is a business (most of its leaders are driven by greed and power) and the laws strictly apply.
If the church can openly discriminate then what stops other organisations from doing the same thing and claiming it was “based on shared beliefs.”
We don”t know the reasons why he applied for the job. Maybe he thought the church was a loving, safe environment in which he could work while still practising his faith. His sexuality was never in question until a coward in the congregation sent an anonymous email (church members just love to gossip) alerting the head of the church to the nature of his relationship. If this person was a true christian why did they not confront him and discuss the issue openly. Instead they found it more tantalising and sinister to persecute a fellow member from a distance rather than face to face.
Will the church now go digging into the private lives of its leaders and members to root out those who are having any sort of relationship deemed immoral by the church? If they did that they would soon find themselves crushed under the weight of their own hypocrisy.
It is with sadness that the “churches
” feel so strongly about this, why don”t they practise what they preach, as the scripture says let ye not judge unless you want to be judged and i do beleive that if i was made by God he had a reason in making me gay, DON”T tell me that it is a choice as no one will choose persecution in their lives.
Churches Response. I wish the Moreleta Park DRC take the advice from other Churches and appeal the ruling so they can waste more of their congregation’s money to try and defend the indefensible.
They must take it all the way to the Constitutional Court so that we do not have to have this unnecessary debate again.
The cornerstone of the Constitution is EQUALITY for the citizen.
Equal treatment for the individual will and should always outweigh any other individual or group right, even if that right is enshrined in the constitution.
The only temporary exception, provided for in the Constitution, is in the application of steps, like AA and BEE, to address the injustices of the past.
Through this protection the Constitution guarantees that there will never be any form of discrimination against any citizen of this country.
Christians must realise that they are only entitled to treatment that are equal to the treatment that Satanists, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Pagans or any other religious group out there are entitled to.
The days that Christians could bargain on preferential treatment are long gone. Covering anything under a Christian gravy is not going to justify it any longer whether it is set in stone in their scriptures or not.