In Depth:  Christian Today

Edinburgh Council will have to pay £25,000 in damages to a Scottish church after cancelling its conference because of the traditional Christian beliefs about sexuality of one of its speakers.

The local authority had effectively banned the three-day conference planned by Destiny Church for the Usher Hall in summer last year because it objected to preacher Larry Stockhill who was due to address the event.

Glasgow’s Destiny church launched a fundraising campaign in March to take legal action against Edinburgh City Council over the cancellation of its conference booking due to the church’s views on marriage.

Destiny Church had planned to hold its SURGE conference at the Usher Hall in June, with the Evangelical Alliance’s Gavin Calver and US preacher Larry Stockstill among the speakers. But the booking was cancelled by the city council after complaints were made about Stockstill’s views on same-sex relationships.

Baptists from the Baptist Union (BU) are finding themselves facing controversy over homosexuality, as one of the regional associations has dissented from the denomination’s declared position, citing it as unbibli-cal and has attempted to outlaw its churches from conducting same sex marriages, it was reported on 24 April.

The West of England Baptist Association (WEBA) – one of 13 BU regional associations – has effectively challenged guidance issued by the BU which says each minister can make up its own mind on the issue of same sex marriage.