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17 December 2015

Land Reform: A Christian Ethical Response

Christians from across Scotland gathered in the Highlands on St Andrew's Day to discuss a Christian Ethical Response to the Scottish Government's Land Reform Bill that is being debated for the first time in the Holyrood chamber this week.

The event, Land Reform: A Christian Ethical Response, held in partnership with Highland Theological College saw Christian MSPs, theologians, farmers, planners, lawyers, historians, writers and others come together to consider not only the current bill but also a wider ethical framework to consider land issues in light of scripture and the day to day lived experiences of life on the land.  We were privileged to have not only some superb up front presenters but also a genuinely expert and interactive audience to ensure different perspectives were heard and considered.

Overall the event provided a real model for political engagement with thoughtful biblical theology connecting with a current political issue and also with day to day working life.  Often as Christians we don't take the time to consider our approach to political or working issues with scripture as the starting point and then have the opportunity to discuss them in a community before coming to firm conclusions on our views.  It is clear that this combination was a real help to those engaging with this issue so it is a model we will look to follow again in the future.

The talks and panels can now be watched online here:

https://www.htc.uhi.ac.uk/resources/audio-resources/land-reform-a-christian-ethical-response

The Stage 1 Committee report has now been published into the Bill and it can be found here:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/94538.aspx

Please do consider contacting MSPs about this bill as it is debated over the coming weeks.  The Evangelical Alliance Scotland and Highland Theological College joint submission to the Scottish Parliament on this bill can be found here:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_RuralAffairsClimateChangeandEnvironmentCommittee/General%20Documents/(140)_Evangelical_Alliance_Scotland_and_Highland_Theological_College.pdf



  Image Credit- British Embassy under CC license