They Really Are Sinking to a New Low in Their Anti-christian Bigotry
A strange title, admittedly, at least to non-Australians. But those who live here probably know what I am referring to. It has to do with some wild, reckless and defamatory comments made by some officials in the Queensland Police Department, and the mainstream media.
Late last year three individuals in rural Queensland killed two police officers in a deliberate ambush. Now Deputy Police Commissioner Tracy Linford said this was religiously motivated domestic terrorism, and she tied it into a particular view of biblical eschatology. Part of an ABC online article says this:
“What we’ve been able to glean from that information is that the Train family members subscribe to what we would call a broad Christian fundamentalist belief system, known as premillennialism,” she said. Deputy Police Commissioner Linford said the trio saw police “as monsters and demons”. She said the COVID pandemic, climate change, global conflicts and social disparity contributed to their belief in their system.
“Whilst the behaviour was similar in some respect to sovereign citizens, we don’t believe this was connected to a sovereign citizen ideology, we believe it’s connected to the Christian extremist ideology,” she said. “There was a belief that Christ will return to the Earth … and provide peace and prosperity. But it will be preceded by an era, or a period of time of tribulation, widespread destruction and suffering. They started preparing for the end of days.”…
However, police are working with the FBI in the United States over people who commented on the Trains’ social media posts. She said Christian extremist ideology has been linked to other attacks in the world, such as the Waco massacre in the 1990s, but this was the first time it had occurred in Australia.
Good grief, there is so much errant nonsense and malicious slander going on here. Indeed, whenever you have the police and the media wading into the deep waters of theology, you know we are going to have a real hatchet job – and a confused and malevolent one at that.
First of all, these folks would not have a clue what premillennialism is if it bit them on the bottom. Yet here they are, throwing this term around and smearing millions of Christians in Australia and worldwide. Suggesting that it is something cultic and connected to terrorism is the height of religious bigotry and vilification. I thought we had laws against that sort of stuff.
As I just said in a radio interview, the premil understanding of the end-times is just one of several that Christians can hold to. And it is not a prerequisite for salvation, like belief in the deity of Christ is. While the return of Christ is our blessed hope and an important Christian teaching, the various views of how exactly it will transpire is really a secondary matter.
Christians can and do disagree on these things while still remaining fully biblical Christians. In that sense, these various views are optional extras and not core doctrines that must be adhered to. Many evangelicals are pre-mil, while some are post-mil or a-mil. Those who have no idea what I am talking about will find this explained more fully elsewhere, as in this two-part piece: here and here.
That some nutters and extremists can use certain teachings on the end times – or anything else for that matter – and twist them to justify actual cultic and violent beliefs and behaviours can happen anytime, anywhere. But to smear the entire Christian community over the actions of three whackos is a case of unfair anti-Christian bigotry and blatant vilification.
Multiple millions of Christians hold to the pre-mil position and they do NOT go around laying traps to kill policemen – or anyone else. It is ludicrous and evil in the extreme to even make any such connections. Given that Christ taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, Christianity is the exact opposite of what these sorts of folks were into.
And tying the Waco cult into this whole issue is more irresponsible calumny. But the media of course loves this sort of stuff. Anything to attack and condemn all Christians will do, whether using a Texas cult or one from Queensland. In fact, the glaring double standards of the media here is abhorrent.
If a devout Muslim shouting Allahu Akbar kills infidels in Australia (something that HAS happened, and more than once), the lamestream media will come up with every excuse they can find. ‘Oh, this has nothing to do with Islam. He was mentally ill. This was not religiously-motivated terrorism.’ They will always try to exonerate these folks.
But anyone with the remotest connection to Christianity will be targeted big time, and their faith (or claims to faith) will be trumpeted far and wide. But this anti-Christian bigotry has been going on for ages. Indeed, as Martyn Iles of the ACL reminds us, “In Ancient Rome, the authorities blamed Christianity for the evils of their day because they either hated it, or were totally ignorant concerning it. I guess history can repeat.”
Yep, nothing new under the sun. Anti-Christian bigots are gonna hate and tell porkies about Christianity every chance they can get. They have turned it into an art form. Real Christians of course are praying for the families of the two police officers that were killed, and are even praying for the conversion of these three.
Biblical Christianity is far, far removed from what this trio was up to. But you would never know that, judging from most of the media and some of our police officials. And just keep this in mind: if a top cop came out and said the same things, but about Muslims or some other group, they would be hounded by everyone far and wide, and likely charged under state religious vilification legislation. But don’t hold your breath waiting for any apologies from these folks.
And just wait for more attempts to classify Christianity as a whole as a terror group that needs to be closely monitored if not shut down altogether. That is in fact the end game for many of these Christophobes.
