My apologies

Apologies for a frankly disgusting ‘down time’ from this blog. I am sure you have all been waking up in cold sweats without my scribbles…

Anyway, I have spent most of the week in Cardiff visiting Alexandra and being extremely ill (bed-bedbound! I haven’t been bed-bound since I was under ten and had the chicken pox). The illness has subsided a little but I am still feeling groggy and have a tonne of work on my desk – all for this coming week (hooray).

Anyway, I was reading the University of Bristol’s student newspaper (Epigram, for those taking notes). There is an unusual amount of interesting discourse taking place regarding the equal opportunities of Christian Union societies within universities. Apparently, the Universities of Birmingham, Edinburgh, Exeter and Heriot-Watt are all planning on closing down their CUs due to the lack of compliance with equal opportunities (prejudice against homosexual groups was one issue pointed out).

The president of Bristol’s CU (who I know well enough to talk to in Theology) has hit out at such claims and stated that the Bristol CU is an open forum where everyone is welcome. He did, however, point out that members of the CU (as opposed to casual interlopers, I suppose) do have to agree and comply with the ten fundamental truths of Christianity.

One observation I have personally made of CUs is their lack of interest with the ‘opposite argument’. I have been to (albeit few) CU talks in Bristol and have noticed that EVERY one of them has agreed with the general consensus of the members. That is fine in theory, but it doesn’t exactly inspire much creative dialogue with other opinions. I was fairly interested in what the speakers had to say because they were (as I am not a Christian) speaking from a point of view that I do not hold. However, I cannot imagine anything more boring that having someone talk for 40 minutes about a subject I completely agree with – at least not all the time.

Whilst I appreciate that Christian Unions are just that – unions for Christians – I do believe that variation in the so-called debates would be helpful (and would possibly help the society as a whole). With regard to the prejudices within the groups, I cannot possibly comment. All I will say on the issue is that homosexuals are generally tolerated within Christian circles, dare I say even embraced and encouraged to join? But usually this is offered as a means of correcting their sexuality.

However, I do not believe that closing CUs is the way forward (I can imagine the anger if we were suggesting closing Islamic societies, for example). Groups of people with similar interests, and in this case beliefs, are of course entirely permitted to meet and enjoy their similarities. What should be encouraged is a mutual respect, not merely tolerance, for groups who differ from themselves. I personally have no issue with Bristol’s CU and find them not at all offensive – indeed all I have ever got from them is a free lunch in Freshers’ Week and a few soundbite talks from perspectives I could never possibly concur with.

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