Did Israel Folau actually misquote the Bible? Nope!
An article recently published by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age makes the claim that Israel Folau’s “controversial” Instagram post was a “misquote of the Bible.” The piece attempts to prove this point by suggesting Folau’s post was a citation of Galatians 5:19-21, a passage which makes no mention of “homosexuality” or even “hell” for that matter. “Note however, that Galatians 5:19-21 does not, in any translation, mention homosexuals,” the author said. “Folau and whoever wrote the original post have projected homosexuality into the promiscuous category. That is their bias.” “You will notice that there is nothing in the…
If You Use This App, You’re Being Watched
There’s no question that China is a nation of rampant government surveillance. However, what you may not be aware of is that you are currently being watched if you are a WeChat user. In an era of countless social media applications, it’s normal to download whatever application is popular for communication without considering the ‘Terms and Conditions.’ So what’s the big deal with WeChat? It’s important to understand the history of WeChat in order to understand how it got to where it is today. Here’s a brief history of the company: January 2011 — Chinese company, ‘Tencent,’ debuts the messaging…
Two Brands of Christianity?
An article in the Spectator Australia by Terry Barnes applauded Scott Morrison’s squishy love Gospel and harpooned Israel Folau’s fierce “fire and brimstone” Gospel. It juxtaposed the two Pentecostals as altogether different brands of Christianity: one of unforgiveness and damnation, the other of forgiveness and love. Naturally, having carefully crafted such a context for comment, Terry praised Morrison’s interesting as it is an ambiguous exhortation, “Wherever you are, be who God made you.” Barnes inferred from this a divine endorsement on the entire list of Scripturally prohibited behaviours which Folau quoted, contrasting the “heartless” footballer’s meme and the Prime Minister’s positivity.…
Christianity Is the Only Reliable Force Restraining Those Who Seek Absolute Power
In his book The Rage Against God, Peter Hitchens claims the current intellectual assault on God in the West is not necessarily a war on all religion, but a specific and targeted attack on Christianity, the true religion. This is highlighted by the fact that the Left is currently hostile towards Christianity while sympathetic with Islam. This is because Christianity is the religion of their homeland, Hitchens explains. Furthermore, Christianity is the form in which they have encountered the power of God in their own lives—and generally disliked and resented. To the Left, Islam is an exotic, distant creed which…
“Love is love” is a lie, here’s why
“Love is love” is a slogan that assuages all sexual sin. If “love is love” is the new moral standard, then adultery, promiscuity, bestiality, and a number of other sexual sins are not only justifiable, they are permissible. This is because “love is love” falsely elevates sexual sin to a morally superior position, where anyone who stands opposed to the assumed “love is love” standard, is belittled as “unloving and immoral”. Heterosexuals who spout “love is love” know that in the current climate, “love is love” covers a multitude of sexual sin, so why not jump on the bandwagon? Especially…
Insults and Sarcasm in the Bible
To criticise and insult people is a somewhat precarious activity. In fact, for one sinner to have the temerity to criticise another seems particularly galling, and liable to do more harm than good. Therefore, it is not altogether surprising that one should hear praise, especially at funerals, that a certain person ‘never said a bad word about anyone’. It reflects a sentiment which is not without truth, but there is also truth in Richard Baxter’s barbed comment, cited by J. C. Ryle in discussing the parable of the talents (Matt.25:14-30), ‘To do no harm is the praise of a stone,…
Did Jesus reserve his harshest criticism for the religious?
Often we hear like-for-like comparisons made between church leaders and the Pharisees. People might say something such as, ‘Jesus reserved his harshest criticisms for the religious leaders.’ A famous passage where Jesus seemingly does this is Matthew 23:2-4, 17, 27, 33, where he refers to the Pharisees as lazy, hypocritical, whitewashed tombs, snakes vipers, and children of hell. I could give a rundown of the modern-day equivalents of these insults, but I want to keep my job as a pastor. Suffice to say, Jesus hammered the Pharisees with enough invective that we can fairly accurately declare that he didn’t like…
How Porn Reshapes A Nation
Last month was Pride Month, so it’s a fitting time to reflect on the last decade and what made it such a revolutionary period in Australia’s history. Consider just a few of the radical things that have happened… 2016-17 — The Safe-Schools fiasco 2017 — Same-sex marriage is legalised 2019 — The Australian Human Rights Commission releases its ‘Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people’ When you look back, it is unthinkable that same-sex marriage would have been legalised even ten years ago! In fact, just read this 2010 statement from Labor Party’s Penny Wong: The party’s…
Eric Abetz’s historical stand against those who sacrifice freedom in the name of ‘progress’
Eric Abetz gave one of the most important short speeches in Australian political history this week. Yet few Australians would know he even spoke a word, let alone know who Abetz is or what he stands for. Eric Abetz was born in Germany in 1958 and came with his family to Australia in 1961. In the 1980s, Abetz worked his way through ‘University as a part-time taxi driver, and farmhand. Once completing his law degree, he went on to practice law in Hobart’s northern suburbs’. He joined the Liberal Party in 1976 and was appointed to the Senate in February…
The Good News You Are Rarely, If Ever, Told
There is an aspect of the gospel that you don’t hear about very often anymore. If you speak to any Christian they will tell you that the gospel is good news, indeed Gospel means good news. Many Christians will be able to tell you what the good news contains – that it is the message that God has saved sinners. Paul tells us this very clearly in 1 Corinthians 15 for example. Romans 10 also expresses a similar thought, as do many other passages. The good news that people recognize is that Jesus died on the cross, paid the penalty…
Green is the colour of envy, not good economic policy
Wayne Swan is the former federal treasurer who promised a budget surplus over and over and over again but never delivered a single one. He retweeted this tweet in response to the Government’s new tax rates. That the office cleaner and the company executive will pay the same rate of tax while one takes home two or three or five times as much as the other, does not just entrench inequality, it masquerades the powerful’s exploitation of the powerless as “economic policy”#auspol“ This is either idiocy or willful ignorance. It’s simplistic propaganda to sell socialism, using sneaky and manipulative language…
Political Posting Mumma forced to pay $100,000 to LGBT activist for comments other people wrote on her Facebook page
Under current defamation law, social media users can be held legally responsible for third-party content on any post they make. The guiding rule seems to be: You posted it. You incited it. Ergo, you’re responsible for it. In other words, anything someone posts on my timeline or writes in the comments section, that is deemed offensive, defamatory or “hate speech” could end in a lawsuit. For those who only have a private Facebook account, there is currently no mechanic to prevent this from happening. The only real preventative measure is to keep an eye on comments or keep your friends…
There were two people in the temple, a journalist and a footballer
A response to Claire Harvey, deputy editor of the Sunday Telegraph: “I’m more of a Christian than Israel Folau is. I’m more of a Christian than anyone at the Australian Christian Lobby – and I don’t even go to church.” There were two people in the temple – a journalist and a footballer. The journalist could hardly be bothered going in because she was superior to all those inside. But on this occasion, she deigned to stoop down and enter. ‘I thank you, God, that I am not brainless like all those who worship you as this footballer does. I…
Justice and Truth in the Public Square
It is fearful how often the condition of ancient Israel resembles that of the modern world. One example of this is found in Isaiah 59: ‘Justice is turned back, and righteousness is far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey’ (Isa.59:14-15a). A modern journalist could have written these words, assuming there is a modern journalist with some understanding of these things. Because Dietrich Bonhoeffer became involved in the conspiracy against Hitler, he had to be unnaturally guarded in all relationships, and…
Google allegedly calls conservatives Prager, Peterson and Shapiro ‘Nazis’, US Senator fires back: ‘You are inciting violence’
An alleged Google email leaked to investigative journalist organization Project Veritas, claims to show Google employee, Liam Hopkins, labelling PragerU, Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro among others, as Nazis. The Washington Times reported that the message was part of an ‘apparent chain to the company’s transparency and ethics group’. The alleged email from within Google states: Today it is often 1 or 2 steps to nazis, if we understand that PragerU, Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro et al are nazis using the dog whistles you mention in step 1 […] I can receive these recommendations regardless of what I’m looking at, and…
Five Ways You Can Support Israel Folau
It’s clear that Israel Folau is the latest target of media elites, intellectuals, and woke corporate executives. Just take a look at Mark Powell’s recent post and you’ll get a glimpse of how far their attacks have gone. While many support Folau’s right to express his convictions, what’s not clear is how we are supposed to go about doing this. Here are five practical ways you can be supporting Folau and his family at this time: 1. Pray for Israel, his family, and those who are persecuting him We ought to be praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ;…
Madonna and Elton John slam Christians, claim Jesus would be pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQ
Madonna’s promoters are firing back at the New York Post for allegedly lying about poor ticket sales for the artist. At the beginning of June, the New York Post’s Richard Morgan reported that ticket sales for Madonna concerts promoting her latest album, ‘Madame X’, were lagging and had ‘tarnished’ the tour. Morgan went on to compare previous ticket sales in much larger venues with current ticket sales the smaller venues chosen for the concerts, suggesting that the comparison indicated ‘Madonna was struggling to sell them’. Chris Willman from Variety magazine cautiously came to Madonna’s defence, citing promoter, Arthur Fogel, (Live…
The Toxic Tolerance of Sweet Liz Ellis
In a nation that worships our sport and our sporting elites, Liz Ellis is a beloved Australian sporting hero. Liz played 122 netball games representing Australia, four years of which were as captain. Her personality displayed in the media is down to earth, her relative modesty and unassuming humour make it easy to like her. She seems like she should be a voice of moderation. But yesterday Liz Ellis effectively accused Maria Folau of supporting or endorsing homophobia in a comment on Twitter. There are serious problems with Liz’s comments, problems which reveal a toxic practice of intolerance and bigotry against…
Government bans advert that says ‘a heart beats at four weeks’ after Facebook user is offended by the fact
An Emily’s Voice promotional which featured the words, “a heart beats at four weeks”, on four Newcastle buses has been removed. The action was taken after an outraged Newcastle resident accused the pro-life promotional material of being “dangerous propaganda; a guilt driven directive on what [a woman should] do with their body.” The complaint was posted on Facebook to the NSW Transport Minister’s page and “action was immediately taken” to tear the material down. Emily’s Voice is an organization that seeks to encourage people to consider alternatives to abortion. Their mission is to “help Australians fall in love with the…
Diversity Does Work, Our Leaders Successfully Use It To Divide Us
“…our leaders have been gaslighting us, and most of us don’t realize it…”
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