Right before my wife and I went on vacation, Tim Farron resigned from the leadership of the UK's Liberal Democrats. The party had modest gains in the 8 June General Election, but saw some MPs lose their seats while others returned to Westminster.
However, Farron based his resignation on what he saw as the incompatibility of being a Christian and leader of a political party, especially a progressive one.Farron sees homosexuality as a sin, and said that he could not stop the questions about how he could support same-sex rights and be true to his faith.
In the way of full disclosure, I am a Lutheran Christian, and have been an ordained pastor for 36 years. Farron is an evangelical Christian, He and I would agree on the basics, such as the Trinity, divinity of Christ, but would likely have our points of disagreement. Were I in the UK, I would be Anglican. likely High Church.
The Lutheran doctrine of the Two Kingdoms would have helped Farron clarify his position, but I suspect he would not subscribe to it. He did say that his decision was a personal matter, and I am not about to question anyone's spiritual decision-making process even if I disagree with it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_kingdoms_doctrine
In my opinion, for what it is worth, I think he could have stayed on from a religious point of view, but the party's lackluster performance is the real reason. Vince Cable is set to succeed Farron; all well and good, but Cable is 74. At lest he will not be much older for the next General Election.
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