Letter: Naïve evangelical response to the Supreme Court ruling missed the key point that Christians should be making at this time
A letter from Samuel Morrison:
David Smyth’s (Evangelical Alliance) letter on the Supreme Court judgment (‘The Supreme Court ruling is not the end of Christian collective worship in schools in Northern Ireland,’ November 20) is naïve, unbiblical, and misses the key point evangelicals should be making at this time.
Mr Smyth writes that “Christians should continue to have confidence in the gospel as good news as part of a more plural offering”. This is both theologically naïve and unbiblical because it assumes the gospel can sit comfortably alongside other belief systems. Scripture is clear that Christ is not one option among many — He is the only way (John 14:6).
The Bible also states plainly that it is wrong to treat the worship of the true God as simply one among several religious “offerings” (Exodus 34:14).
Furthermore, Mr Smyth overlooks the key legal issue. Article 21 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 remains the law governing how Religious Education is to be taught. The Supreme Court did not strike it down. It therefore remains the case that RE in controlled schools in Northern Ireland must be “based upon the Holy Scriptures”.
Samuel Morrison, Dromore, Co Down