Co-Op Bank Bars Christian Group

SP: tulipe is never comin gour of my mouth ... only flowers and sweet stuff comes out of that hole

I know the co-op group is very much pro-Israel

Is that why they sold their head office to an Arab Consortium?

Well Sandy, yet again you open your mouth and spout tulipe!

Oh could you imagine the situation

Someone reads this board and notices racist language or homophobic rantings from a poster and asks them to close their account.

Ridiculous!

well -- I know the co-op group is very much pro-Israel, it even closes on Jewish Holidays... hmmm makes you wonder.. pro Israel, but anti Christian .. hmmmm

Much as I hate to admit it, I think Christian Voice have a right to feel a bit pissed-off. They might be an obnoxious and unpleasant group, but is it really the place of the Co-op Bank to be making moral judgements about them?

I've never heard of a bank asking a convicted criminal to take their business elsewhere (though it may happen, I suppose).

Much more likely that its a commercial decision based on a fear of a potential "pink" boycott or some such.

Ok I can confirm it was not myself - I only picked up this story half an hour ago on the beeb website.

Listened to the 'debate' this morning on't wireless!

The guy from Christian Voice just had to be Chico...

Co-op bank bars Christian group

The Co-operative Bank has asked an evangelical Christian group to close its account because of its anti-homosexual views.
The bank said the opinions of Christian Voice were incompatible with its support for diversity.

Christian Voice said the Co-operative Bank was discriminating against it on the grounds of religion.

It is now waiting for other religious groups with similar opinions to be asked to close accounts, it added.

Christian Voice has held an account with the Co-operative Bank for about three years.

But now the bank has decided the group's stance on homosexuality is so extreme, it has asked members to look for a new bank.

"It has come to the bank's attention that Christian Voice is engaged in discriminatory pronouncements based on the grounds of sexual orientation," a spokesman for the bank said.

"This public stance is incompatible with the position of the Co-operative Bank, which publicly supports diversity and dignity in all its forms for our staff, customers and other stakeholders."

Controversial musical

The decision was based "purely on the issue of diversity" and not "on the grounds of religion", the spokesman added.

The evangelical organisation says it now expects the bank to inform other Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups that they will not be able to bank there on the grounds that they all share the same view on homosexuality.

National director Stephen Green said: "The Co-op bank, for all its fine words, is discriminating against us on the grounds of conscience and religion."

Christian Voice first came under the spotlight earlier this year when it took on the BBC over its the decision to screen controversial musical Jerry Springer - The Opera.

Christian Voice complained the show was blasphemous and portrayed Jesus as a "sexual deviant".