Dr. Aaron Edwards was told his tweet caused ‘distress’ among members of Britain’s Methodist Church
A Methodist Bible college in the U.K. fired a Christian theologian and threatened to report him as a terrorist because of his tweets in opposition to homosexuality, his attorneys claimed.
Dr. Aaron Edwards, who taught theology at Cliff College in Derbyshire, England, was dismissed from the school after being accused of “bringing the college into disrepute” on social media last month.
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.
— Aaron Edwards (@aaron_p_edwards) February 19, 2023
In a series of now-deleted tweets, Edwards had criticized the Church of England’s stance on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. He also accused the church of “promoting perversion.”
Edwards’ attorneys said he was called into a meeting with Cliff College officials on Nov. 27 and told that his tweets had caused “distress” among members of Britain’s Methodist Church, of which the college is a part.
He was then given two options: resign or be fired immediately.
When Edwards refused to resign, he was escorted off campus and told never to return. He was also warned that if he ever stepped foot on campus again, he would be reported as a terrorist under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
“The decision to summarily dismiss Dr. Edwards and ban him from campus is an outrageous attack on academic freedom and free speech,” Edwards’ attorneys said in a statement released Tuesday.
“This case also raises serious questions about whether Cliff College has acted unlawfully by discriminating against Dr. Edwards on grounds of his religion or belief.”
The statement continued: “We have advised Dr. Edwards to lodge formal complaints with both the police and the Equality Commission.”
A spokesperson for Cliff College denied that Edwards had been discriminated against, telling Fox News in an email Thursday that while they could not comment on individual personnel matters, they took any such allegations “very seriously.”