Since 2018 a small annual conference has been held in Brisbane which claims to be “arming Christians to influence culture”. Going largely under the radar and unheard of, the “Church And State Summit” has welcomed senior right-wing personalities to the stage as credible as former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, as popular as Senator Nampijinpa Price, and as polarising as the late Cardinal George Pell who was sensationally convicted of historical sex crimes before being unanimously acquitted by Australia’s highest court.
The messages being preached from the Church And State platform to the modest audiences in attendance can be described by progressives, moderates and secularists as “Christian fundamentalism”. They’re on a not well-hidden mission to wind back the clock of landmark social progress such as marriage equality, gender theory, reproductive choice, completely decriminalised sex work and legalised voluntary assisted dying.
They are critical of “over-government”, regularly platforming speakers who rebuked science and health experts and bureaucrats for “violating human rights and natural freedoms” with border closures, lockdowns and vaccine mandates.
The founder, Dave Pellowe, has form with civil disobedience prior to Covid. A little-known Christian blogger, Pellowe publicly dared Victoria Police to take him to court to force him to pay an invoice for over $67,000. He claimed it would be “immoral” to pay for the riot police response needed when Antifa protestors disrupted an event he’d organised in Melbourne, claiming they had misinterpreted their own legislation, and it was their duty to protect the peace and law-abiding residents. The Labor Police Minister later conceded in Parliament question time that Pellowe was right and could not be forced to pay.
But Pellowe is serious when he says the Christian Way was never meant to be inclusive or tolerant. He sensationally claims it’s the attempt to make the Gospel popular and easy that is to blame for modern epidemics in poor mental health outcomes, especially in adolescents.
“Affirming things we know are not true about a person in order to spare ourselves the discomfort of offending them, or avoid the scorn of social media, is not love,” says Pellowe. “It’s selfish, it’s cowardly – it’s the real hate. It’s the Truth which will set them free.”
“Jesus was not tolerant or inclusive, and yet was always good. He preached that the way to God is not easy but difficult, and the gate is narrow. Jesus said the path which leads to destruction is wide (inclusive and tolerant) and popular. The Good News, the Gospel, is that hearing and doing the teachings of Jesus is the single, narrow way out of the destruction and condemnation everybody is otherwise headed for.”
University-tenured professors of religion, philosophy and fringe political movements such as the “religious right” in America have described Christian political activism as a potential threat to the advances in social justice. They describe Biblical Christianity with terms such as “Theocracy”, “Dominionism” or “Seven Mountains”, a reference to the Christian doctrine of full social integration with the intention of influencing the spheres or institutions they find normal careers in, especially education, science, health, media and politics – pretty much everywhere.
Dave Pellowe smiles quietly to himself when this is put to him. When asked what’s funny about theocracy he explains, “It’s amusing how the people who claim to be champions of diversity have pejorative labels for people who have opposite social values to them and pose a threat to their vision of society or quest for control. They claim to champion liberal democracy but resent and vilify a valid, voting constituency, like Christians, who want to organise and participate as fully and vocally as they do in politics and various industries.
“Where was the leftist outrage when Max Horkheimer said, “We will gradually infiltrate their educational institutions and their political offices, transforming them slowly into Marxist entities”?” There was none, for two reasons. One, he wasn’t proposing anything illegal or undemocratic; and two, he didn’t want something different to those who today have completed his vision and now themselves dominate education, politics, media and more.
“What’s funny is the people criticising the Church And State Summit and similar Christian political education or advocacy are much more aware of the potential threat to the Marxist choke hold on the future of nations than many sleeping Christians are, but who instead are actively hiding their light from the public square with rationalised disinterest and inaction.”
The seventh Church And State Summit is set to be held on Friday and Saturday, 8 & 9 March, at an undisclosed location south of Brisbane. The parade of deplorables taking the platform includes the many times cancelled Fr Calvin Robinson from London, outspoken Senator Ralph Babet, far-right journalist Avi Yemeni, and frequent speaker at freedom rallies, historian Dr Stephen Chavura.
In fact, one has to just read the program of the weekend’s topics and speakers to see for oneself just how deep the Christian Right plan to take over cultural institutions including government goes. They plan on reforming education, no doubt believing parents are better leaders in their children’s lives than government. Not only are they offering free tickets for the Friday night session, Church And State’s entire 2023 content is freely published and available for anyone to watch live or streaming on demand, so sure are they that no one will raise the alarm about their plans to “save” Australia from woke agendas and pride.
Ominously for secularists, Church And State is not being contained to ultra-conservative South East Queensland, but is already advertising conferences soon in Albury, Hobart, Launceston, Perth and Adelaide, and open for invitations to go further.
But the conspiracy to make Australian politicians humble under the blessing of Almighty God is finally being exposed. Tell everyone who cares enough to not leave the decision about our current culture and national future to less virtuous people, and God save Australia!
Learn more by visiting the Church and State website. Use the promo code ‘CP20’ to get 20% off General Admission / single day tickets.
