Sacked from a Bible College for Teaching the Bible
Dr Aaron Edwards | Executive Committee Member | Theologian & Lecturer
The Situation
Dr Aaron Edwards worked as a programme leader and lecturer at Cliff College — an evangelical Bible college in Derbyshire — for seven years. He had an established academic career spanning over a decade, with numerous publications in internationally respected journals and a long track record of excellent student feedback.
In February 2023, the Church of England was in the midst of a national debate over whether to permit same-sex blessings in its churches. As a theologian who had long engaged seriously with the implications of these questions for the evangelical faith, Aaron believed the moment demanded clarity — not silence.
On 19 February 2023, he posted a tweet which went viral: expressing the view that the acceptance of homosexuality as not sinful represented a doctrinal challenge to the Church, and that if sin is no longer sin, we no longer need a Saviour.
He was not speaking to the public at large. He was speaking to fellow evangelicals — calling them to hold the line on what he believed was a Gospel issue. What followed would cost him everything.
The Challenge
Cliff College contacted Aaron and asked him to take the tweet down, citing their social media policy. He refused — not out of defiance, but out of conscience. Removing it, he believed, would be an admission that he had intended to cause harm, when the tweet was an expression of a deeply held and necessary belief.
The college’s response was swift and severe.
Aaron was suspended while an investigation was opened. At a subsequent disciplinary hearing, it was revealed that the college was considering referring him to Prevent — the government’s counter-terrorism watchdog. He was also interrogated on how he would pray for same-sex attracted students who came to him — a line of questioning that appeared to accuse him of so-called “conversion therapy.”
After seven years at Cliff College without any disciplinary issues or warnings, Dr Edwards was sacked for misconduct, specifically for “bringing the college into disrepute.”
The consequences were profound. He and his wife and their then five young children had to leave their home. He was hospitalised with cardiac symptoms caused by the stress. He resorted to crowdfunding to cover his family’s living costs. And to this day, he has been unable to find full-time academic employment.
A man with a decade of research, teaching, and leadership — silenced by a Bible college for teaching what the Bible says.
Our Support
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre — the organisation from which NCTU was born — Aaron was not left to face this alone. He received sustained advocacy and representation through every stage of a long and complex process: from the initial disciplinary proceedings, through the employment tribunal, and now into the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
But the support was more than procedural. In his own words, Aaron has spoken of his gratitude for an organisation that stood with him when others would not — and of the particular significance of being supported by people who understood not just the legal dimensions of his case, but its theological and human weight.
The Outcome
The Employment Tribunal ruled against Aaron in August 2024, with Judge Jim Shepherd concluding it was “reasonable” for Cliff College to dismiss him. In a deeply troubling conclusion for Christian freedoms, the judge determined that the college was justified in restricting Aaron’s rights to freedom of belief, religion, and expression in order to protect its “brand” and “reputation.”
The tribunal also revealed that Aaron’s internal appeal had been heard by a senior Methodist minister who was a leading founder of a global LGBT activist commission — someone who described herself as “independent.”
Aaron’s response was clear and immediate. He would appeal.
In January 2026, at the Employment Appeal Tribunal, his legal team successfully persuaded the judge that Aaron should be permitted to pursue additional grounds of appeal — meaning more arguments can now be made in his favour. The case continues.
In his own words: “When the twitterstorm was raging, I knew my career might be the price to pay for standing for truth. But despite all the stress and disruption the dismissal has caused for my family and I, I do not regret a single word of my tweet. There are times in a Christian’s life when the need of the hour is to speak the truth that needs speaking, when it needs speaking, how it needs speaking.”
Why It Matters
Aaron’s case raises one of the most serious questions facing the Church in Britain today: if a theology lecturer at an evangelical Bible college is not free to articulate orthodox Christian teaching on sin and sexuality — where, exactly, is a Christian free to speak?
The tribunal’s reasoning was stark: that a belief expressed by a Christian could legitimately lead to dismissal if enough people reacted severely to it. On that basis, any sincerely held conviction becomes a liability the moment it provokes opposition.
This is the world NCTU exists to push back against.
Aaron joined the Executive Committee because he has lived this. He knows the isolation of a disciplinary hearing where the outcome feels predetermined. He knows the weight of standing firm when every institution around you is capitulating. And he knows what it means — practically, pastorally, and spiritually — to have people in your corner who refuse to let you face it alone.
“It seems that holding the view that homosexuality is sinful is only welcome if it remains unexpressed. Anyone concerned about academic freedom, Christian freedoms and free speech should be deeply concerned by what has happened to me.”— Dr Aaron Edwards
“Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” — Jeremiah 23:29
We are here to break down barriers and walk with you through whatever you face — with strength, with conviction, and with faith that truth will prevail.
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