With the intervention of the Christian Legal Centre in the United Kingdom, a Christian chaplain stood his ground after he was accused of "being a terrorist," which led to his dismissal, for preaching a sermon about religious freedom inside the Trent College campus.
According to WND, Rev. Dr Bernard Randall, 48, preached that religious convictions are protected by law and that students are not required to follow the LGBTQ "ideology."
"I never thought a sermon would lead to me being reported as a terrorist," the Reverend told Christian Concern.
He has since filed a lawsuit against the school for "discrimination, harassment, victimization and unfair dismissal." His trial is scheduled to begin on June 14 at the East Midlands Employment Tribunal.
Randall clarified in a college sermon that no protected standard is more protected than another after being barred from a campus debate about whether to pursue an LGBT-promoting policy, which school officials did, since he could "disagree."
According to the Legal Centre, the Reverend said that "for Christians, where there is disagreement, it is vital to love their neighbor, leaving no room for personal attack or abusive language towards anyone."
He has also merely defined the biblical stance of the Church of England on marriage and human nature, only adding that students at the school were not forced to "accept an ideology they disagree with."
Consequently, the school's "Designated Safeguarding Lead" began identifying Dr. Randall as a possibly dangerous religious extremist to the government's counter-terrorism watchdog, "Prevent."
The crisis arose as a result of school officials' adoption of a controversial policy introduced by LGBT activist Elly Barnes, of the "Educate and Celebrate" initiative, which aims to "embed gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation" into the school. The school, WND noted, was once characterized as having a "Protestant and Evangelical" Church in England ethos.
Barnes described her goal as about "smash(ing) heteronormativity."
Randall's work description called for him to be "the particular voice and embodiment of... Christian values." Naturally, he was disturbed by the school's proposal, which had him reportedly shut out of all evaluation and decision-making processes.
Speaking on behalf of the chaplain, the Legal Center revealed that during an aggressive interview, Dr. Randall was told that his views were irrelevant and unnecessary and that his sermon had wounded other people's feelings and compromised the school's LGBT agenda.
School officials also started labeling him as a suspected terrorist.
In his defense, Randall said he preached the sermon after a student asked if he might respond to a concern where the student said, "How come we are told we have to accept all this LGBT stuff in a Christian school."
According to Derbyshire police officer Richard Barker's investigation, the Reverend's sermon posed no counter-terrorism threat.
Randall was dismissed, but the school's governors reversed it, imposing a series of 20 demands, including the requirement that he no longer voice "any opinion" that might "offend" others.
They also required that any sermon be censored by the school administration.
Because of COVID-19 lockdowns, he was later fired again.
How Randal Sees What Just Happened To Him
"Being reported as a potential terrorist, extremist and a danger to children are arguably the worst crimes you could be accused of," reflected Randall. "When I found out that they had reported me without telling me, my mind was blown trying to comprehend it."
"I had gone to such lengths in the sermon to stress that we must respect one another no matter what, even people we disagree with," he continued. "I am not ashamed to say that I cried with relief when I was told that the report to 'Prevent' was not going to be taken further."
He sadly noted, however, that he was ordered to "support everybody else's beliefs, no matter what," while his Christian beliefs, those of the Church of England, were "blatantly censored."
"My story sends a message to other Christians that you are not free to talk about your faith," he pointed out. "It seems it is no longer enough to just 'tolerate' LGBT ideology. You must accept it without question and no debate is allowed without serious consequences. Someone else will decide what is and what isn't acceptable, and suddenly you can become an outcast, possibly for the rest of your life."
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said that "when an ordained Church of England minister can't give a simple sermon in a Church of England school without being reported as an extremist and hounded out of his job then who is safe?"
She argued that Rev. Randall, inspired by his passion for God and others, has served in education for several years and that it's an insult to all of humanity that someone like him is prosecuted and punished.
"It's time to stand up and speak up for these freedoms," she declared.
