Sunday 14 January 2007

Christian Unions vs. Student Unions

This BBC news article highlights something that has been going on for quite a long time.

"The former Archbishop of Canterbury has given his support to the University of Exeter Christian Union.

The union is seeking a judicial review at the High Court, after it was suspended by the university's students' guild and had a bank account frozen.

The guild took action after students joining the union were required to sign a statement of religious beliefs."

In the mind of the Christian Union, this is seen as a restriction of practice which they feel is illegal under the Human Rights Act.

This UCCF says that all christian unions that it's affiliated with have to sign a doctrinal statement. That might not be a problem for some people as they may believe what is in that document. This is what's in the contents:

  • There is one god in three persons, The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit.
  • God is sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgement.
  • The Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.
  • Since the fall, the whole of humankind is sinful and guilty, so that everyone is subject to God's wrath and condemnation.
  • The Lord Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, is fully God; he was born of a virgin; his humanity is real and sinless; he died on the cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.
  • Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.
  • Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God's sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God's act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in him and not by their own efforts.
  • The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.
  • The Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christlike in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness in the world.
  • The one holy universal church is the Body of Christ, to which all true believers belong.
  • The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.

However, student unions have equal opportunities policies. That means that any member of the union should be allowed to join any club or society. So, theoretically that could mean a Jewish person would be allowed to be a member of the Christian Union. That situation is highly unlikely though, so there is no need for a doctrinal statement. If you don't do or believe in something - you won't join a society relating to it. I don't watch Neighbours, so why would I waste my money and join the Neighbours Society?

The constitution, bye laws, policies and regulations of students unions are all legally binding, so you would think the action of the student union is perfectly fine - the society contravened something which is legal.

Ekklesia, a think tank, seems to agree with me:

"antagonistic legal action could lead to widening an 'us' and 'them' mentality on campuses". It continued: "This does not help with friendly dialogue between the diverse cultures and views that can be found within the UK's educational institutions."

NUS simply wants mediation between the two sides of the argument and, like Ekklesia, doesn't believe legal action is the best thing to do.

Do you agree with me, or do you believe the Christian Union at Exeter would have a chance in court?

These are two more articles about the issue:

Christian Union takes legal action over suspension

Christian unions warned against legal action

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