I was delighted that the Courier gave this letter such prominence and even put the following as their box quote on the next page –
The Scotsman carried more of the full text of the letter (for which see below)….Neither of the headlines were mine but they are interesting and accurate. It may be a lonely battle (although I am thankful for the Catholics and others who stand with us on this) but I will continue to speak up for the Christian view of marriage and to challenge both politicians and those who profess to be Christians (as Ruth does) not to throw out Christ’s teaching on this. She is a far better political leader than she is theologian! (Can I add because I critique her on this there is no need for others to take that as an excuse to be rude about her). And of course I continue to pray for Ruth Davidson, that she may recognise as a servant of the Lord (Romans 13:4) that she should should humbly submit to His word.
(This was the original I sent).
Dear Editor,
Ruth Davidson (Courier 1st July) is now putting pressure on the DUP and personally lobbying Arlene Foster so that Same Sex Marriage can be imposed upon Northern Ireland. In this she is joined unsurprisingly by the other leaders of Scotlands political parties. The SNP’s Christina McKelvie, convenor of the Scottish Parliaments Equalities and Human Rights Committee calls the DUP ‘dinosaurs’. Does she realise that there are politicians in her own party who do not support SSM? Is Ruth Davidson saying that the many Tories who don’t support SSM are no longer welcome in the Tory party? I wonder if McKelvie and Davidson regard the leader of the free world (Merkel not Trump – who ironically on this issue would agree with our ‘progressives’) as a ‘dinosaur’ because she voted this week against SSM and declared that marriage is between a man and a woman?
When SSM was passed we were all categorically assured that this was something permissive and would not be enforced upon others. At the time the late Gordon Wilson and I warned that this was being passed hastily without due thought and consideration and would quickly lead to the marginalisation and demonisation of those who held to a traditional Christian view of marriage. Although we were laughed at, called extremists and told this would never happen, it appears that within a couple of years we have been proved right. In the words of one BBC journalist this week “disagreeing with Same Sex Marriage is not in line with acceptable opinion”.
Ruth Davidson likes to play the ‘Christian card’ when discussing this. “I am a practicing Christian’ she writes – as though this were somehow a justification for imposing her social/sexual views on the rest of us. I’m not exactly sure what she means. Does it mean that she is a follower of Jesus Christ who taught that marriage was between a man and a woman? Does she think Jesus was a ‘dinosaur’? Meanwhile those of us who follow his teaching will continue to do so – even when our elites tell us it is ‘not acceptable opinion’ and threaten us. Is Ruth Davidson really telling us that the Christian church throughout the ages, the Catholic Church in Scotland today, the growing evangelical churches and up until this year, her own church, have got it all wrong? I realise that our political leaders are prone to hubris but even they should beware of claiming to know better than Jesus!
Yours etc.