Dr. Aaron Edwards, theology lecturer at Cliff College in the United Kingdom, recently stirred controversy with a tweet voicing his concern with the LGBTQ+ movement within the church.
The controversy rose to such a level that Edwards was dismissed from his position as lecturer.
Dr. Aaron Edwards: ‘Homosexuality Is Invading the Church’
For nearly seven years, Edwards taught theology at Cliff College in Hope Valley, United Kingdom.
Edwards’ career also includes writing and preaching. He and his family rented a home within walking distance of the school to “welcome students into our home for meals, prayer, and fellowship.”
Edwards has always spoken “boldly and clearly on Christian belief within contemporary post-Christian society.” In 2022, he tweeted, “Christians need to become less embarrassed by the content of their Bibles.”
However, his most recent tweet centering on homosexuality incurred life-changing consequences. The offending tweet stated, “Homosexuality is invading the Church.”
“Evangelicals no longer see the severity of this b/c they’re busy apologising for their apparently barbaric homophobia, whether or not it’s true,” Edwards continued. “This *is* a ‘Gospel issue,’ by the way. If sin is no longer sin, we no longer need a Saviour.”
Homosexuality is invading the Church.
Evangelicals no longer see the severity of this b/c they’re busy apologising for their apparently barbaric homophobia, whether or not it’s true.
This *is* a “Gospel issue”, by the way. If sin is no longer sin, we no longer need a Saviour.
— Aaron Edwards (@aaron_p_edwards) February 19, 2023
Edwards has since commented on his own Tweet with some “Clarifications: – The Tweet below is not homophobic. – It is addressed to Evangelicals who agree but feel they can’t say so for fear of backlash. – My expression of the view is not representative of Cliff College. – The response to the Tweet illustrates the problem it addressed.”
The tweet has gone viral, with now more than 300,000 views. While some offer support and affirmation, others attack Edwards and his approach.
One commenter offered encouragement, saying, “Thank you for speaking truth! Few have the courage to resist the wave of sin and speak out about it! God bless you!!”
On the other hand, another questioned Edwards, “And what makes you so high and mighty? Are you not a sinner? … You bloody well are a sinner. And if you can go to our lord’s church and be part of it, then gays can too. Your sin is no lesser than theirs. And also who the hell are you to dictate who can come to the lord?”
At the time of this article, Edwards continues to monitor this post, replying to many of the comments. He has also added links to news stories, as well as pictures of the story running in his local newspaper.
Cliff College took disciplinary action against Edwards and ended up firing him from his lecturer position with the school. A week after his dismissal from the college, Edwards and his family received an eviction notice from their landlord.
Edwards has since created his own Crowdfunder, with a goal of £200,000 (the equivalent of $246,000). Edwards shared that these funds would “support myself and my family for at least two years as I seek to write, network, and speak into the deeper issues which underlie the silencing of Christian free speech in an increasingly anti-Christian society.”
