I felt I was being picked on and bullied on a daily basis and that there was no respect whatsoever for my religious beliefs.

With all the column inches and TV coverage given to the abortion debate in the Commons this week, this nearly slipped me by.

Lillian Ladele, 47, a marriage registrar for Islington Council, was threatened with the sack after refusing to preside over gay marriages on the grounds of her Christian faith.

"I am a Christian and I hold the orthodox Christian view that marriage is the union of one man and one woman for life to the exclusion of all others and that this is the God-ordained place for sexual relations.

"A civil partnership is marriage in all but name. Regardless of my feelings for the participants, I feel unable to directly facilitate the formation of a union that I sincerely believe is contrary to God's law.

"My beliefs do not mean I wish people who are homosexual to receive detrimental treatment. My God does not love anyone any less because of their sexual orientation.

"But the Bible explains that sin cannot be ignored, and it creates a problem for any Christian if they are expected to do or to condone something that they see as sinful.

"I cannot reconcile my faith with taking an active part enabling same sex unions to be formed as I believe this is contrary to God's instruction that sexual relations belong exclusively between a man and a woman within marriage."

"The council knows that if I am required to choose between my conscience and their desire that all registrars must undertake civil partnership duties, then I will have to honour my faith and face unemployment."

The Daily Mail gives it some treatment here. It seems to me that this could be seen as an example of my last post; no doubt there have been much accusations thrown at Ms Ladele of gay-bashing, despite her seeming to explain her position clearly.

But more than that, it's surely the denial of a Christian's right to hold beliefs that actually affect their life. Doctors not being able to refuse to take abortions and nurses forced to practice euthanasia are two other examples that have probably come up or will come up. But aside from the debate about whether you can hold a job in which your beliefs greatly affect your capacity to complete the job, this does seem to highlight the de-Christianizing of our society, and specifically what it will look like for a Christian involved in that society.

Because people still die for Jesus...

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God...
(2 Tim 1.8)

"This is to let you know the sad news that David Mohamed Ali, a Somali Christian evangelist and a long-standing member of St Matthew's, was shot dead last week by two Islamist terrorists in Badoia, Somalia, because of his Christian faith. He had been sent to Badoia by Ethiopian and Somali border police, for reasons that are not clear.
David was an intelligent and gifted evangelist who thought deeply about hisfaith. For a while he ran a website for Christian Somalis. I had recently given him a reference to do a Degree in Theology at ETC (EvangelicalTheological College), Addis Ababa. He was single man, aged about 35, who was based in Addis Ababa but travelled widely sharing his faith.
We thank God for his life and courageous witness, and pray for his mother,sister and other members of his family. We also pray for the SomaliChristian community, that they may be comforted and strengthened at this time when Christians are under great pressure in Somalia.
David's death comes just two weeks after four Christian teachers (2 BritishSomalis and 2 Kenyans) were killed in Beledwayne, Somalia."

HT: Michael Jensen

'They become identified with that instrument of shame and death which they have found to be life-giving...'

I've just been reading through an edition of 'barnabas aid', the magazine of barnabas fund, an organization focused on 'hope and aid for the persecuted Church'. A friend was handing out backdated editions that had been gathering dust on his bookshelf in the hope of raising awareness as to what some of our brothers and sisters are going through around the world.

As I turn the pages there is story after story from across the globe about followers of the Lord Jesus under immense pressure in situations where life is incredibly difficult, whether that be because of violent persecution, famine, or the the plight of the 'invisible Christians' in Iraq who are ignored and neglected by all authority in their country.

Yesterday evening a friend and I were reading Colossians 1. One of the most striking things, as Paul prays for the Christians in Colossae, is his request that they may be 'strengthened with all power, according to [God's] glorious might...'. Why is this so striking? Because of the manner in which Paul sees this power taking shape: '...for all endurance and patience with joy...' (Col 1.11).

This may sound like a dull and drab characteristic of the Christian life, but for Paul it is of immense importance, and I have no doubt that our brothers and sisters featured in the eye-opening articles I read this morning would affirm the priority 'endurance and patience' must hold. Indeed it is nothing less than a gift from God. In my comparatively 'comfy' Western context, do I see the need, do I have the same desperate necessity, for endurance and patience? If not, am I viewing 'walking in Him' in a distorted manner?