Ruling that Book of Genesis ‘is incompatible with human dignity’ sparks deep concern from NI Christian quarters

The ruling was made late last year in the case of a Christian doctor called David Mackereth, who found himself out of a job after voicing disagreement with transgender ideology.

The Birmingham-based tribunal ruled against the doctor, and this was reported at the time – but there is a potentially-explosive snippet contained in the text of the ruling which has gone largely unremarked-upon in the UK mainstream media.

The News Letter only came across it earlier this month by chance, while reviewing the details of the tribunal case.

Paragraph 197 of the ruling handed down by judge David Alan Perry states that “... belief in Genesis 1:27, lack of belief in transgenderism and conscientious objection to transgenderism in our judgment are incompatible with human dignity and conflict with the fundamental rights of others, specifically here, transgender individuals” (News Letter’s emphasis).

Genesis 1.27 says (NIV): “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

This part of the ruling was put to the Presbyterian Church, which responded: “There are on occasions statements made in public, and across these islands, which may cause concern for people of faith and indeed many others in wider society.

“In this case the rather negative comments about Genesis 1:27, part of Scripture held dear by many Christians, were not only deeply unfortunate but in our view, unwarranted.”

And David Smyth, the head of Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland said: “The scope and scale of some of the comments in this judgement are deeply concerning...

“Genesis 1:27 actually states that God created humanity ‘in his own image, male and female he created them’ and the irony is that for many Christians this very scripture is foundational to our understanding of human dignity.”

He said “belief in Genesis 1:27 is neither fundamentalist nor fringe” and added that “we hope that these comments will be clarified or overruled to give them no further legal weight”.

The concerns of the Presbyterian Church and Mr Smyth were put to the office of the judiciary in England.

It responded simply that judges do not comment on their decisions, beyond anything that was stated in court.

The News Letter also made extensive efforts to obtain a comment from the Catholic Church, both via its Irish and UK headquarters, as well as the Church of Ireland and the Church of England.

None offered any comment about the matter.