UK fifty pence coin gay pride

It is interesting what can come out of a Bible study …

“In what may be a world first, Britain’s Royal Mint has unveiled a commemorative 50 pence LGBTQ+ coin celebrating 50 years of the Pride movement in the UK. The coin marks the first time Britain’s LGBTQ+ community has been celebrated on official UK coinage. The Royal Mint said its release reflects its commitment to diversity and inclusion”.

A little while back, I participated in a Bible study that considered the above verses, which arguably is linked back to Paul rebuking the Corinthian church, at the start of chapter 5, for allowing in their midst someone who was openly committing a sexual sin and doing nothing. Instead this should have been a church discipline matter, putting the offender out of fellowship until he repented (noting that this has been a recurring theme in the church down the millennia, in all sorts of contexts and reasons, with all sorts of consequences).

From our text, it is quite clear – “flee fornication” for sexual immorality is a big deal. Of course, there are other things we out to do / not do, given we are reminded in the next verse that our “bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit”, and in the verse after that “we are brought with a price” and we need to “glorify God in our bodies”.

It was during the study that I learned about the plans for a commemorative 50 pence coin to celebrate 50 years of the Pride movement in the UK. One participant expressed his discomfort at the news that as a country we were being asked to celebrate something that should not be celebrated because it was sinful.

Mindful of friends who actively participate in and even organise gay pride events, and one main reason for doing so is because of the discrimination gay (or should I use LGBTQ) folk have had to endure over the years because of their sexual orientation / identity, I made the point there are many things that get me more riled than this and to remember that we are merely strangers living in a foreign land that knows not God and we are just a passing through.

If I was to get upset about anything, it might be the move to forcibly jab us against Covid-19 and, since what the injections contains is harmful, we should decline since our body and spirit belong to God.