The meaning of “sex” – in the UK and Australia

“A high profile decision from the UK Supreme Court this week, For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 (16 April 2025) (‘FWS’), holds that the word ‘sex’ as used in the UK anti-discrimination legislation the Equality Act 2010 (UK) (‘the EA 2010’), means biological sex, and that the term does not change its meaning in relation to those who have obtained a gender recognition certificate (‘GRC’) under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (UK) (‘the GRA 2004’).

In the circumstances of this case, this meant that where a ‘quota’ had been established for certain governance roles requiring 50% of non-executive members to be women, that quota could not be met by including those with an ‘acquired gender’ of female due to their holding a GRC.

But the ramifications of the decision go far beyond the specific quota legislation. …”

– Associate Professor in Law Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia.

Obeying God or the Government? NSW Conversion Practices Law with Neil Foster, Michael Stead & Simon Swadling

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“New South Wales’ Conversion Practices Ban Act has just come into effect — along with guidelines from Anti-Discrimination NSW that many Christian leaders believe overstep the legal boundaries and impact ordinary pastoral ministry.

We are joined by legal expert Associate Professor Neil Foster, South Sydney Bishop Michael Stead, and Summer Hill Anglican Assistant Minister Simon Swadling.

Together, we unpack the implications of the new law for Christian preaching, prayer, counselling, and discipleship — especially in matters of sexuality, marriage, and gender.

We discuss:

– Watch or listen here. Quite extraordinary. Important viewing.

UK: The casual tyranny of banning silent prayer

“Pro-life activist Livia Tossici-Bolt was convicted earlier this month for standing outside an abortion clinic with a sign reading: ‘Here to talk, if you want.’ She was fined £20,000 for twice breaching the clinic’s ‘buffer zone’. …

Her arrest and conviction was a result of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs). These are powers that allow councils to restrict just about any activity of their choosing. …

Freedom cannot be protected with tyranny. Once the state is given the power to police our thoughts, that knife will fall on us all – whatever our views on abortion.”

– Civil-liberties campaigner Josie Appleton writes at Spiked Online. (Link thanks to Anglican Mainstream.)

Photo: ADF International, where there is more background.

Conversion Act protest needs to be targeted carefully

“NSW has now joined Victoria in having a Conversion Act come into operation that bans some forms of Christian ministry. The Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 No 19 aims to “aims to “ban practices directed to changing or suppressing the sexual orientation or gender identity of individuals”,” and created a civil penalties scheme.

Victoria’s act goes further than the NSW one. Despite the NSW Premier Minn’s promise not to ban prayer, certain types of prayer are now against the law in NSW following Victoria. The Other Cheek reported the then-opposition-leader’s promise: “Labor’s Chris Minns promises no ban on preaching, prayer in conversion therapy bill.“

But the prayer promise was not kept. Prayer with an LGBTQIA individual with the aim for them to be celibate or change orientation is clearly defined as illegal in the NSW Act. In the case of sustained prayer, definitely so. …”

– John Sandeman at The Other Cheek adds more on the ‘Conversion Act’ in NSW.

The NSW Conversion Practices law, religious freedom and Government “guidance”

From Associate Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:

“The Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 (NSW) (“the Act”) is now in force, having commenced operation on 4 April 2025. I have previously posted a paper expressing concerns about the operation of the Act in relation to religious freedom. In this post I want to re-iterate briefly some of those concerns, and comment on “guidance” on the operation of the Act provided by NSW government officials.

I commend the previous paper to readers for more details. But the following are some extracts which may help to set the scene for my comments on the NSW government guidance. Below I will be referring to the “Frequently Asked Questions” (“FAQ”) page produced by “Anti-Discrimination NSW” (ADNSW)- the version I am commenting on was dated 7 April 2025. (ADNSW is the “online identity” of the body formally known as the “Anti-Discrimination Board” established under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW); the President of the Board receives initial complaints under the Act- see s 14- and the Board has a number of other functions under the Act.) …”

– Read it all here.

Do note his comments about the guidance published by Anti-Discrimination NSW.

“Folded and complied” — Conversion Laws Dilemma For Melbourne Anglicans

“Melbourne Anglicans face a dilemma. They must decide whether to obey state laws or the teachings of the Bible.

Their diocese demands that members sign a Code of Conduct that among many other rules, agrees not to seek to change or suppress a child’s gender — as dictated by Victoria’s conversion laws under the Change Or Suppression (Conversion) Practises Prohibition Act 2021.

Those who don’t sign the Code are banned from serving in the church or attending synods.

They include religious liberty analyst Elizabeth Kendal who laments that many church members have folded and complied with the code of conduct, ignoring Biblical teachings on gender and sexuality. …”

– Report from Vision Radio.

See also:

A Canary In The Anglican Coalmine – Mark Durie.

(Photo: St. Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne is the backdrop for an evangelist’s sign on Princes Bridge.)

Alternative Spiritual Oversight – An Invitation – CEEC

From the Church of England Evangelical Council.

And a reminder to pray for our brothers and sisters in England who are seeking to stand for the faith ‘once for all delivered to the saints’.

 

The Lioness, the Witch and the Wardrobe

“If Narnia was only fiction, I suspect many would muttter but put up with screwing up a great story. But as we know, C.S. Lewis was doing something more with these books; Narnia is a work of allegory. Narnia is theology through story…”

– Murray Campbell responds to reports that Netflix is in discussions with Meryl Streep about playing the role of Aslan in The Magician’s Nephew.

Bishop Martyn Snow responds to “What kind of future awaits the faithful?”

“I am grateful to Anglican Futures for reviewing my booklet, ‘Can we Imagine a Future Together? Intercultural Lessons for Living in Love and Faith’. The review is thoughtful and constructive, and they are kind enough to offer words of personal encouragement to me – I have indeed spent many hours on Living in Love and Faith (LLF) and heard much pain and anger!

And yet the opening analysis is that the booklet ‘offers little hope’ for faithful Anglicans.

Unsurprisingly, I take issue with this … Obviously, it all depends on what you regard as a good outcome to the LLF process! …”

– Anglican Futures has published this response by Bishop Martyn Snow to their review of his booklet ‘Can we Imagine a Future Together?’.

Bishop Snow is the lead bishop for the ‘Living and Love and Faith’ process in the Church of England. Doubtless, there will be responses to Bishop Snow’s response.

Image: Bishop Snow at the 2024 Church of England General Synod.

Can we remain silent? — a ‘Must Read’ post

From SydneyAnglicans.net, writing about a proposed bill coming before NSW Parliament,

“As the NSW Parliament considers widening access to abortion and forcing doctors to facilitate it – regardless of their conscience – two medical professionals urge Christians to speak out.”

‘I’ve been a doctor for 15 years and I love my work – I just love it. In general practice I’m in the privileged position of doing something I love, helping people and caring for them through all stages of life. …

if the Bill being considered by the NSW Parliament passes unamended … Christian GPs will be faced with the alternative of compromising either their faith and beliefs or their medical qualifications, and that’s a fairly nasty position to put people in.’

– Do read the whole thing.

And this would be very good for congregations to know about / pray about this weekend. Image: SydneyAnglicans.net. Bold added.

See also:

Statement on Abortion Law Reform proposals – Media release from the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, 20 March 2025.

Doctors’ conscience protection under threat

An important alert from SydneyAnglicans.net:

The New South Wales Parliament is considering a bill to force medical practitioners to facilitate abortions, against their conscience.

At present, doctors can object and not take part in referring patients for abortion. But the Greens party has put forward a bill that would scrap that protection for doctors and force them to refer women for abortion in violation of their conscience.

The bill is designed to expand access to abortions, especially in rural and regional areas.

Christians are being urged to voice their concerns about the bill to MPs, with the Archbishop of Sydney and the Social Issues Committee of the Diocese (SIC), expressing strong objections to Premier Chris Minns and the Opposition leader, Mark Speakman.

The letter from the SIC, signed by its chairman Dean Sandy Grant, said many will find the measures ‘morally compromising’.

“Should these amendments be passed into law, many Christian health practitioners, services, organisations and hospitals may feel forced either to break the law, or to act against their Christian convictions, or else to leave their job to avoid both of those two alternatives,” the letter says.

“No government should put any of its citizens in a position where they are required to make such a decision. Furthermore, the proposed expansion of the categories of people eligible to perform abortions up to twenty two weeks to include nurses and midwives will increase the number of individuals likely to be faced with such an unjust moral dilemma.”

The bill is in the NSW Upper House with the option for MLCs to make amendments there, and if passed it will go to the Lower House, so there is opportunity for Christians to contact MPs of both houses to express their oppiosition.

Please share and check sydneyanglicans.net regularly for updates.

– Source. (Emphasis added.)

Image: Anglican Media Sydney.

A Canary in the Anglican Coalmine

“At a recent meeting in Germany, religious freedom experts from around the world warned of a climate of ‘increasing intolerance’ towards people of faith in Western nations. Anja Hoffmann, Executive Director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, who was one of the organisers of the event, said:

It is very worrying that the peaceful expression of personal religious beliefs on matters relating to marriage and family has become the potential end of a political career or employment, or even the beginning of a court case … This is a serious threat to religious freedom and leads to widespread self-censorship among traditional believers in the West.

Australia is not immune from this slide into intolerance. …”

– Mark Durie, Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne School of Theology, has republished this important essay on his website.

Written for Quadrant, and first published in the March 2025 issue, it’s a wakeup call for Christians and churches across the country. Essential reading.

CEEC stands with the Evangelical Alliance in calling for a ‘national day of prayer’ against proposals to legalise assisted suicide

“The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has commended the Evangelical Alliance’s call for a ‘national day of prayer’ on Tuesday 25 March, against proposals to legalise assisted suicide in the UK.

CEEC joins with the Evangelical Alliance, CARE, the Christian Medical Fellowship, Affinity and the Christian Institute, in asking people to call on the Lord’s mercy and protection for those who will be deeply impacted should the law pass in Holyrood and Westminster. …”

– from The Church of England Evangelical Council.

J. D. Vance on Scotland – Some Lessons for Australia

“The US vice-president, JD Vance, recently caused quite a stir in the circles of the European and UK elites. His explosive speech in Munich may well turn out to be one of the most significant political speeches for decades. He has been accused of everything from being a fascist to a Trump stooge, but his speech deserves much more careful consideration, other than name calling and partisan abuse.

I want to fact check one claim he made in the speech concerning my native country, Scotland. This is also relevant to Australia because the same tactics used in Scotland are being used here – to undermine the pro-life stance and portray those who are opposed to abortion as extremists. …”

– At AP, the Presbyterian journal, ‘Scot-in-exile’ David Robertson fact checks the fact checkers.

Rob Smith: The body and the gendered self

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“As pastors we’re expressing leadership in our churches on gender and sexuality. We want to help our people think biblically – and yet with the culture moving so fast – it is an area that we feel ill equipped.

On today’s Pastor’s Heart we benefit from the hard work of Sydney Missionary and Bible College Theology and Ethics lecturer Rob Smith who has just published a reworked version of his PhD under the title ‘The body God gives’.

As transgender visibility reaches new heights, we explore its historical and philosophical roots, noting the pivotal cultural shifts since the ‘Transgender Tipping Point’ in 2013.

We outline the biblical stance on the sex and gender binary while engaging with contemporary philosophical debates.

We dissect the relationship between second-wave feminism and the transgender movement.

Our discussion ventures into the diverse theories surrounding sex and gender, distinguishing between non-trans, soft trans, hard trans, and queer perspectives.”

“Rob has done us a great service with this book.” – Dominic Steele.

– Watch or listen here.

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