It was always going to be an interesting election but Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to stand down as First Minister has opened a can of worms over the way we respect diversity in 21st century Britain.

The airwaves have been awash with what one well known interviewer on Radio 4 described as Kate Forbes’ ‘controversial views’. That was an interesting adjective because many of us would suggest that the word ‘traditional’ is much more appropriate.

Forbes has been forced to defend her Christian views about homosexuality and same-sex marriage after launching her campaign to become next leader of the SNP. The Scottish Finance Secretary belongs to the Free Church of Scotland, which is known for its traditionalist stance on these issues.

Forbes is on record as saying that she wants to be “a servant of democracy” and “would defend to the hilt” someone’s legal right to enter into a same-sex marriage but she has dared to say that she should be treated in the same way and be allowed to follow her conscience in the light of her strong Christian beliefs. Reflecting on the Scottish government’s decision to legalise same sex marriage she said: “I would have voted in line with my conscience on a position which is actually echoed across most major faiths in terms of Islam, Judaism and so on”. “As a practising Christian, I can tell you what I practise, which is that marriage is between a man and a woman.”

She has rightly pointed out too that the reaction to her views raised a “a fascinating question at the heart of Scottish political discourse, which is what does liberalism mean?” “Have we become so illiberal that we cannot have these discussions or some people are beyond the pale?” she said. “If some people are beyond the pale, then those are dark and dangerous days for Scotland.”

I would suggest that given the kind of media coverage we get today, her very honest statements raise questions for the whole of Britain and not just for Scotland. As I see things, it’s becoming increasingly common to be labelled ‘homophobic’ when you stand up for what have been long-standing Christian values, which is why I was so pleased to read that the Free Church of Scotland has voiced its disquiet in very strong terms.

In a statement it said “The issues raised by Kate Forbes’ intention to run as SNP leader have displayed a level of intolerance that we believe is uncharacteristic of the wider ordinary Scottish population, and indeed does not represent authentic Scottish identity which is historically grounded on hard work, common sense, respect, truthfulness and the family. “It is lamentable that Kate’s honest adherence to simple traditional values would, for some, disqualify her from contributing to the public good of Scotland”.

The pressure to bow down and accept the new orthodoxy is very real and it isn’t simply coming from the media. The Archbishop of Canterbury discovered that recently when the Church of England was engaged in its latest attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable. Speaking at the Anglican Consultative Meeting in Ghana, Justin Welby told over 110 Anglican leaders “I was summoned twice to Parliament and threatened with parliamentary action to force same-sex marriage on us.”

We need to reinstate tolerance as a virtue. We need to remember that we can and often will disagree, but we can do so amicably, and we ought to have enough humility enough to accept that none of us is the ‘fount of all wisdom’. It’s for this reason we would all be better off if we were to let God shape our thinking rather than the latest so called progressive idea.

Given what she is doing then, I reckon Kate Forbes is proving more than a politician, she is emerging as a prophet. The question is: how many of us will listen to her?