A Christian theologian dismissed from a Bible college over a tweet defending traditional Evangelical teaching on sexuality returned to court this week, arguing that his firing unlawfully undermined his rights to freedom of religion and expression. Aaron Edwards, a former lecturer at Cliff College in Derbyshire, is seeking to overturn a ruling by the Sheffield Tribunal that upheld his dismissal last year.

The controversy began in February 2023 when the Church of England voted to allow same-sex blessings, prompting heated debate within the denomination and the wider Evangelical community. Edwards responded by posting on social media that, in his view, biblical teaching was being compromised. “Homosexuality is invading the Church,” he wrote. “Evangelicals no longer see the severity of this b/c they’re busy apologizing 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.” The comment drew sharp pushback online, with some accusing him of homophobia. Edwards later defended the tweet as reflecting “the conservative view” on sexuality and insisted it was “not homophobic to declare homosexuality sinful.”

Cliff College asked Edwards to remove the posts, which he refused. He was later investigated and dismissed for misconduct on the grounds that his actions had “brought the college into disrepute.” Edwards maintains he did nothing unlawful and that his dismissal represents a dangerous precedent. Speaking ahead of Thursday’s hearing before the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London, he said he was praying for “justice,” adding that his case was fundamentally about doctrinal compromise. “Cliff College seems to think you can still brand yourself ‘Evangelical’ while thinking or saying nothing about the threat to the Gospel posed by the radical incursions of LGBT ideology,” he said. “They fail to see that compromise is ‘a Gospel issue.’ I hope and pray for justice this week.”

Edwards is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, which says he has been unable to secure work as a lecturer since his firing and has suffered both financial hardship and stress-related health problems. CLC chief executive Andrea Williams said the case raises major questions about what Christians are permitted to say in public. “Edwards was dismissed for expressing an entirely mainstream Christian belief grounded in biblical morality,” she said. “If Christian academics cannot express orthodox Christian convictions in so-called Christian institutions without fear of sanction, then the legal protections afforded to religious belief are being hollowed out.”