Why the Adoption act should not be changed
“A private members bill introduced by the Hon Clover Moore to allow same-sex couples to adopt children will go before the Lower House of the NSW Parliament this week.
The NSW Premier, Kristina Keneally has allowed a conscience vote by Government MPs and the Opposition Leader, Barry O’Farrell has allowed the same for Opposition MPs.
The bill has been amended to exempt faith-based organisations from having to facilitate adoptions for same-sex couples.
Although Anglicare Sydney welcomes this exemption, it still opposes the bill in principle and urges all MPs to vote against the bill because it diminishes children’s rights.
The Adoption Act makes it clear no adult presently has the right to adopt a child. The Act is based on what is in the best interest of the child. Introducing a right to adopt is contrary to the whole adoption regime.
And allowing same-sex couples to adopt children is not a test of civil rights – upholding the rights of children to have a father and mother when they have no say in the matter is.
Anglicare’s 12 reasons for opposing the Bill were sent to all State MPs. You can view them here.
With this issue now upon us, I strongly urge you to write to or email your local MP and request them to vote against Ms Moore’s Bill, with reference to ANGLICARE’s reasons.
Children’s rights are precious – they should never be a political football for others.”
– Peter Kell, CEO of Anglicare Sydney writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.
The Wind of Change: All Africa Bishops Conference, Uganda
“In February 1960, British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan delivered his historic ‘wind of change’ speech in Cape Town, heralding the end of Great Britain’s colonial presence in Africa. Fifty years on, there is a spiritual ‘wind of change’ blowing in Africa which promises to end the predominance of London based institutions in the leadership of the Anglican Communion and the current All Africa Bishops Conference in Entebbe convened by CAPA (the Council of the Anglican Provinces of Africa) provides the clearest evidence yet of this change in the spiritual weather.
It must have seemed to Lambeth strategists that the Archbishop of Canterbury’s presence at this high profile African conference with an agenda dominated by uncontroversial humanitarian issues would be a golden opportunity to portray the Anglican Communion as back to ‘business as usual’ after Rowan Williams’ decision to invite the consecrators of Gene Robinson to the 2008 Lambeth Conference led to the principled absence of some 230 mainly African bishops.
If so, they badly misjudged the mind of the conference. After the first day, the public relations dream is threatening to turn into a nightmare and Dr Williams may well by now be wishing that he had stuck to being a merely virtual presence by video as at April’s South to South Encounter in Singapore.…”
‘The heresy of Oakeshott’s hero’
“Your story says Peter Cameron was found guilty of heresy for supporting the ordination of women (”Uncompromising heretic caught in the national spotlight”, August 24). This is untrue.
I quote from the press release at the time… ‘The matters at issue in the judicial process have related to Dr Cameron’s view of the Bible and its authority…’”
– In today’s Sydney Morning Herald, two letters respond to yesterday’s story about the independent MP Rob Oakeshott. On the Letters page – near the bottom.
(Photo: Rob Oakeshott.)
Why aren’t ‘Emerging Adults’ emerging as Adults?
Albert Mohler writes about a significant shift in US culture (it’s also happening in Australia).
Related: The Spirituality of Emerging Adults.
Trivia served up for the twittering classes
“Saturday night will be the first election in 33 years that I won’t be behind a microphone for an election coverage. For the first time, I’ll experience an election party and probably turn to the internet for updates…”
– Russell Powell has some reflections on the coverage of the election campaign in his weekly roundup at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Also, don’t forget the resources for comparing policy statements at Australia Votes from the Australian Christian Lobby.
A call for missionary-minded churches
“If the gospel is to challenge the public life of our society, if Christians are to occupy the “high ground” which they vacated in the noon time of “modernity,” it will not be by forming a Christian political party, or by aggressive propaganda campaigns. Once again it has to be said that there can be no going back to the “Constantinian” era. It will only be by movements that begin with the local congregation in which the reality of the new creation is present, known, and experienced, and from which men and women will go into every sector of public life to claim it for Christ…”
– Tullian Tchividijian shares these challenging words from Lesslie Newbigin. Read it all here.
The Inerrancy of Scripture: The Fifty Years’ War… and counting
“Back in 1990, theologian J. I. Packer recounted what he called a ‘Thirty Years’ War’ over the inerrancy of the Bible. He traced his involvement in this war in its American context back to a conference held in Wenham, Massachusetts in 1966, when he confronted some professors from evangelical institutions who ‘now declined to affirm the full truth of Scripture.’ That was nearly fifty years ago, and the war over the truthfulness of the Bible is still not over — not by a long shot…”
While it’s never been quite the issue in Australia as it has been in the US, the implications of questioning the trustworthiness of Scripture are clear in this piece by Albert Mohler.
To Serve is to Suffer
“In a world where physical health, appearance, and convenience have gained almost idolatrous prominence, God may be calling Christians to demonstrate the glory of the gospel by being joyful and content while enduring pain and hardship. People who are unfulfilled after pursuing things that do not satisfy may be astonished to see Christians who are joyful and content after depriving themselves for the gospel. This may be a new way to demonstrate the glory of the gospel to this hedonistic culture.”
– Christianity Today has published this challenging essay by Ajith Fernando, national director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka.