From Times Online
January 21, 2008
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'Gay' activists rip UK Christian official
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Gays reject equality promoter, Dr Joel Edwards

Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

Gay activists will tomorrow condemn the appointment of openly-Christian
leader in the UK to the country's main equality commission and demand
his resignation.

In a ten-page dossier to be published on its website, the Lesbian and
Gay Christian Movement calls for the head of the Evangelical Alliance,
Dr Joel Edwards, to stand down as a member of the Equality and Human
Rights Commission.

The commission, chaired by Trevor Phillips, was set up last October
under the Equality Act 2006. Dr Edwards was appointed one of 14 members
in November as having "exceptional experience in the field of equality
and human rights." The commission's role is to achieve "a fairer, more
inclusive Britain" by promoting equality and human rights across society
and providing back-up for discrimination legislation. The commission
will also investigate the root causes of inequality in our society.

The movement's main concern outlined in the dossier, which is based on
material taken from the Alliance's own website, is that he should never
have been appointed in the first place. The dossier cites Dr Edwards'
stance on the Sexual Orientation Regulations and on civil partnerships.
The dossier also refers to some of the lobbying the EA has done behind
the scenes on such issues, and reflects concern in the gay community
that as an insider, Dr Edwardds might be able to use his position on the
Commission to lobby further.

Its publication comes just a few hours before Dr Williams' launches the
Lambeth Conference at Lambeth Palace tomorrow and gives an indication of
how irreconcilable the separate evangelical and homosexual camps have
become. Dr Williams will unveil an agenda for the 600-plus bishops
expected at Kent University in Canterbury in July which is concentrated
primarily on prayer, mission and discussion.

His attempt to keep sexuality low on the agenda, and to avoid a vote on
the issue that is splitting the Church, has already backfired however.

Conservative evangelicals in the Anglican Communion have organised a
rival conference, the Global Anglican Futures Conference, or Gafcon, to
be held in Israel in June. Many are unlikely to turn up to the
"official" Lambeth Conference, a boycott that will represent the start
of formal schism in the Communion.

Dr Edwards' organisation is not part of the Anglican Communion but it is
the largest evangelical umbrella group in the country and many of the
Alliance's member churches are also in the Church of England. One recent
survey estimated that there are about two million evangelical Christians
in the UK.

Although his stance has been moderate compared to that of some Christian
groups, Dr Edwards has consistently stood up for what he regards as
Bible-based Christian values in responding to new developments in
legislation. In one letter to Alliance church leaders in response to
last year's Sexual Orientation Regulations, which outlaw discrimination
against gays by businesses, Dr Edwards warned: "The erosion of Christian
values increasingly reflected in our legislation is an indication that
Britain has lost its Christian soul."

The dossier also cites Dr Edwards' concerns on civil partnerships as a
further reason against his membership of the equality body.

Dr Edwards said he was "saddened" by the campaign against him. He said:
"I welcome and support the presence of lesbian and gay people as part of
this diverse commission. I therefore find it a shame that the LGCM
considers my belief system less equal than others and a barrier to my
serving the British public.'

He continued: "The faith community is actively working for equality and
justice in many different areas, and I would be disappointed if my
contribution to this commission is only seen in the light of issues
around sexuality."

The Alliance noted also that the commission does not just deal with
issues of sexuality, but represents numerous issues and groups,
including religion and belief, disability, racial equality, age and
gender. The Alliance said: "Joel Edwards is the only representative of a
religious organisation on the commission. He has a strong background in
the Christian community on areas of race equality and also campaigns
against poverty."