The new Social Issues Bulletin is published today

The Bulletin is published three times a year by Affinity’s Social Issues Team to keep evangelical churches and individual Christians informed of the implications of legislation and public policy on social issues in the UK.

The whole issue may be downloaded, or individual articles:

The Bulletin – July 2016

The July 2016 issue contains a main article on the subject of transgenderism, alongside a review of the recent movie ‘The Danish Girl’ which focuses on one person’s experience of transgenderism in 1920s Denmark.

Two articles taking different sides in the lead-up to the UK referendum (previously published on our website before the vote took place) come next.

We also have a piece on Freedom of Expression, a notion which is under fire in the UK today.

Then there is a review of a book on the church and culture, plus all the usual updates on life issues and current legal cases of interest. Click here to download the Bulletin in full or select individual articles below

Are we all ‘omnigender’ now?

Eighty state schools (forty of them primary) now have gender neutral uniform policies. The President of the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) has advised against addressing girls as girls. The assumption behind all this ‘gender awareness’ is that objective physical reality (biological sex) is irrelevant. ‘Gender’ is all in the mind. We can define ourselves.

The campaign to recognise the ‘right’ to ‘change gender’ is not just about creating choice for some. It is destroying our shared understanding of what ‘man’ means and what ‘woman’ means.

This article paints the background to where this thinking has come from. Sharon James describes how gender theory has gained acceptance so rapidly, and how it is promoted in schools. She explains how health professionals and the law have accommodated this shift in thinking. Finally she points to a biblical response. Click here to download the article

Review of ‘The Danish Girl’

A recent film accurately portrays the deep emotional and psychological problems that transgender people experience, but it fails to address the reality of life after sex-reassignment surgery and the need to treat comorbid psychological disorders. Click here to download the article

Review of ‘Counter Culture’

Review of “Counter Culture” a new book by David Platt seeking to challenge our limited horizons when it come to social action. Click here to download the article

Life issues

 A comprehensive summary of current issues in bio-ethics by Dr John Ling. Click here to download the article

Freedom of expression

Rod Baddams writes about the dramatic change in society and the succession of serious attacks on freedom of expression covering a wide range of contexts. Click here to download the article

Why vote ‘In’? Faithfulness v self-interest (Remain)

Christian Brexit (Leave)