Responding to Same-Sex Marriage
Since the Australian Parliament decided to thumb its nose at God by legalising same-sex “marriage,” I have been asked numerous times how we as Christians should respond. As I pondered this question I have found myself coming up with six ways in which I will personally respond to this embracing of darkness. 1. Be Family Focused I am convinced that family is the building block of society. If we want to see our community strengthened then we need to have strong, godly and moral families. As such, I will be seeking to love my wife as Christ loves the Church…
When #EqualityForAll does not include Christian bakers
Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, opens his doors to everyone. “People of all walks of life are always welcome in the store… I serve everybody, I just don’t make cakes for every event,” Phillips has said. Phillips is a Christian, which means he refuses to use his artistry to decorate cakes that endorse a message contrary to his faith and conviction. “There are certain messages that I don’t create,” Phillips states. “I don’t do cakes for Halloween, I don’t do cakes that would promote sexual things, or anti-American things, or things that would disparage other people, including [those] that identify as…
Once again, we told you they wanted more than marriage
Author, Pat Miller, once said, “The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.” Paula Gerber, Professor of Human Rights Law, at Monash University, has recently stated: “…once the celebrations from Australia achieving marriage equality have subsided, the fight for LGBTI people to live free from discrimination will continue.” So, what does…
Disney Introduce the First Male Princess
“It’s a state of mind… He can be a princess if he wants to!”
For we are dumb and policed
“For we are Young and Free.” What a lovely line. I think of swimming at the beach, a cheering crowd at a concert, a happy family eating Christmas lunch. Or we might think of the freedom to live where we want, to study what we want, to work where we want, and to buy what we want. Below these delightful tip-of-the-iceberg freedoms, lie the four foundational freedoms of conscience, assembly, religion, and expression. Freedom of conscience is your freedom not to be coerced to act against your convictions about what is good and what is evil. Mel Gibson’s 2016 movie Hacksaw Ridge, for…
New Attacks on our Freedom of Conscience
Last week the Federal Group denied service to a Coalition for Marriage gathering. The Plenary Hall at Wrest Point Casino was booked and paid for, and then cancelled forty-eight hours before the event. The University of Tasmania was approached. The Stanley Burbury Theatre was free, but the University also denied service. The event “did not fit within the terms of hire for university facilities.” Thankfully the Vice-Chancellor reviewed the refusal, and the evening went ahead. We could say a lot about the Federal Group’s discourteousness, cancelling very late a booking made in good faith. And we could say a lot…
What comes after same-sex marriage?
What comes after same-sex marriage? You only have to look to the countries that have already redefined the institution to get an idea. Here are twelve examples. Example #1: John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, has argued that the fight for “equality” is not over until churches abandon their faith. “We don’t want to behave like it’s all over [now that SSM is legal]… I still feel we’ll only have proper equal marriage when you can bloody well get married in a church if you want to do so, without having to fight for the equality that should…
In what sense is Safe Schools compulsory?
In what sense is Safe Schools compulsory? The Safe Schools program was designed for a “whole-school approach.” That means, when properly implemented, it ought to reach every aspect of the school and wider community. In fact, the Safe Schools Guide encourages all schools to adopt this broader approach. While the Safe Schools program may not be compulsory for all schools, the “whole-school approach” essentially makes it compulsory for all students once a school decides to participate. [poll id=”2″] The Safe Schools Guide suggests that teachers integrate LGBTQ issues into school assemblies, social media, by displaying posters and stickers celebrating homosexuality,…
Redefining marriage for 0.2% of the population
In Australia, marriage is currently defined as “the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.” Proponents of Same-Sex Marriage want this definition changed, so that marriage will no longer be exclusively limited to “the union of a man and a woman.” The redefining of marriage will allow for couples of the same gender to marry each other. Given the attention this subject has been granted of late, you’d be forgiven for thinking that same-sex couples made up a large percentage of the population. But in reality, that’s just not…