Knowing where we stand

“Sometimes, in just one public argument, all the worst winds gather together as a perfect storm. Perhaps no article in recent months fits that mould more than an opinion piece that ran just days ago in The Washington Post by veteran columnist Richard Cohen. The headline of the article reads, ‘It’s Not Just Northam. Republicans Must Confront the Bigotry of the Pences Too.’ …

Cohen makes a now familiar argument – he creates a moral parallel between the question of racism and anyone who believes that LGBTQ behaviors and relationships are sinful. He equates discrimination based on skin color with the moral agenda of gay rights.”

– Once again, Albert Mohler reminds Bible-believing Christians of the challenges coming.

Bigoted Quackery?

“Let me be the first to engage in some bigoted quackery and talk conversion.

That is to quote Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who has announced plans to ban so-called ‘LGBT conversion therapy.’

Speaking on Sunday at Melbourne’s Midsumma Pride March, Andrews vigorously criticised the idea that someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed, calling it ‘a most personal form of torture, a cruel practice that perpetuates the idea that LGBTI people are in some way broken.’

‘We will drag these practices out of the dark ages and into the brightest of lights.’

Then he called it ‘bigoted quackery’ – see my opening remark.

This is at first bewildering for the average Christian reader if only because few have ever heard of something called ‘LGBT conversion therapy.’ It’s a term invented by them, not us.

So, we are left to ask what it means. …

The Human Rights Law Centre and La Trobe University … report condemns the ‘insidious practice’ of churches having a ‘welcoming but not affirming’ policy akin to the adage, ‘love the sinner but not the sin.’…”

– The Australian Christian Lobby’s Martyn Iles unpacks some of the challenges facing Christians in Victoria, and across Australia.

Pink is for Death

“Pink has become the colour of death. When a baby girl came into the world, friends gave gifts of pink shoes or a pink outfit. It may be a social convention, but does that matter? Pink was the colour for girls. Like so much else, another insidious social movement has replaced something good with the representation of evil.

Last night in Manhattan, the skyline changed to a pinkish glow, as New York State celebrated the passing of a law which will enable the killing of babies up until birth. …”

– Murray Campbell in Melbourne adds his voice to the outrage, but reminds us what Christians must not neglect.

Yesterday New York signed off on Toxic Humanity

“Forget toxic masculinity. Don’t even mention toxic femininity. Yesterday’s move by the New York legislature to enshrine abortion up to full term in New York State is a prime example of one thing: toxic humanity.

But more than that. The true toxicity is not in the signing of the legislation, but in the unadulterated celebrating of it. …”

— Stephen McAlpine writes with sadness of celebrations in New York.

Thanksgiving

“On September 28th 1863 Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States of America, asking for an Annual Day of Thanksgiving. …

I had a deep sense of sadness when I read this, reflecting on our own nation that appears so confused and divisive. We live in a nation with a myriad number of commemoration days set aside and sometimes even a whole a week to remember certain things, but do we stop as a nation to offer thanksgiving? Someone has said ‘The worst moment for the atheist is when he/she is really thankful and has no-one to thank.’…”

–  At the Diocese of Armidale website, Bishop Rick Lewers reflects on what Australia needs as we enter a new year.

Christmas: Satan’s field day?

“Now the title of this article might appear a little too shocking for the ‘merry’ Christmas season… but let me highlight some of the ways that the great deceiver tries to take our minds off Christ during the Christmas period, before suggesting some ways to respond.  …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Mike Leite encourages you to swim against the tide this Christmas.

The Derby Cathedral scandal and the alleged establishment bias of conservative evangelicals

“Derby Cathedral has given biblical orthodoxy a great boost by banning the Revd Melvin Tinker from preaching at a university Christian Union carol service.

The ban has built a tremendous platform for Mr Tinker and his supporters to demonstrate how intolerant of biblical Christianity the Church of England establishment is increasingly becoming.

But it is important to reflect on something Mr Tinker said in the course of the controversy in an interview on Anglican Unscripted. …”

– The Rev. Julian Mann writes this opinion-piece at Anglican Mainstream.

For the background, see Kevin Kallsen’s interview with Melvin Tinker at Anglican Unscripted.

Religious liberty and Australian culture

“Roughly 40% of Australians voted No to same-sex marriage and, according to a recent Newspoll, roughly 40% also reject the legitimacy of religious protections for Australians who disagree with same-sex marriage. The debates taking place in Federal parliament regarding religious liberty are culturally significant.

The cultural reformation of the 1960s has transformed social views on sex, marriage, family, and, increasingly, gender. And yet clearly not all have gone with the tide. …”

– Dr Stephen Chavura argues that ‘religious liberty and freedom of conscience is not religious privilege”.

Related:

Calls for Macquarie University to distance themselves from Christian Academic (March 2017).

Is It Discrimination for Christian Groups to Require Christian Leaders? – Patheos.

Some thoughts on the New Zealand response to the proposal from Sydney

“On 13 November Archbishop Donald Tamihere and Archbishop Philip Richardson replied to Archbishop Davies on behalf of the General Synod Standing Committee of ACANZP.

In their reply they note that Anglicanism in New Zealand has been shaped by a specific two hundred year history and that:

‘To be Anglican in this land requires that we, led by our Lord Jesus Christ, face into this shared history so that we can help shape a common future for all people based on peace and justice and righteousness.’ …

As they see it, it would be impossible to recognise as Anglican a body that was not bound by the ‘laws and promises and solemn commitments’ of the current ACANZP.

On this basis they say they are unable to accept Archbishop Davies’ proposal. To an outside observer, however, it is not clear why this should be the case. …”

– Anglican theologian Martin Davie devises a simple test to help understand why Archbishop Davies’ proposal (PDF) was not acceptable.

“White” on the new black-list

“A popular wedding magazine called ‘White’ has announced today that it is closing down. The reason? The Christian publishers had been asked to carry articles featuring same sex weddings, and had politely declined to do so.

The backlash on social media led to a number of advertisers withdrawing their custom, and some customers refusing to buy the magazine any more. In this post I want to comment on the legal issues around this incident, and another episode highlighted in the press today.

A report in The Australian today notes the close of White magazine, and also the other episode involving someone in the ‘wedding industry’:

Christian wedding photographer Jason Tey was taken to the West Australian Equal Opportunity Commission after he agreed to photograph the children of a same-sex couple but disclosed a conflict of belief, in case they felt more comfortable hiring someone else. …”

– Associate Professor Neil Foster comments on a story in today’s The Weekend Australian.

Real freedoms will end the broken chain of exemptions

“Bad legislation is made in a rush. But when it comes to religious freedom we already have bad legislation and there seems to be no urgency to fix it properly – just a rush to create more. …

Let’s be very clear, before you read any further. Anglican schools in Sydney do not expel students for being gay and do not sack teachers for being gay. It is an absurd proposition and it strikes at the very heart of our faith, that all people are created in God’s image and valued in his sight and in our schools.”

– SydneyAnglicans.net has published the full text of Archbishop Glenn Davies’ open letter in The Australian of 6th November 2018.

Do take the time to read it – and share it widely.

Why the Church doesn’t need any more coffee bars

“When I walk into church I am not paying attention to the décor. I don’t want to smell freshly brewed coffee in the lobby. I don’t want to see a trendy pastor on the platform. I don’t care about the graphics or the props on the platform. I am hurting in a way that is almost indescribable.

Since my husband died, my days are spent working full time. My nights are spent homeschooling and taking care of two young children. I don’t have shared duties with a spouse anymore so everything is on my plate. When I go to church I desperately want to hear the Word of God. …”

– This article, by Kimberli Lira, published by Premier Christianity last year, is a sharp reminder of what’s most important, but so easily forgotten. (link via Gary Ware.)

Schools would be pushed into an impossible corner

“Faith-based schools are places of education and learning, but they are also communities that educate in a context in which the spiritual life of the child is nurtured and the convictions and beliefs of that faith community are upheld. This particularly means that the staff of the school – the people who most substantially represent and carry forward that school’s culture and ethos – need to wholly support those convictions. It also means a school must have the freedom to shape its community life according to those beliefs. That is why the school exists and parents have the option of choosing that particular perspective.

This is like the freedom that is afforded to political parties. Political parties become a nonsense if they are forced to employ people who fundamentally disagree with their philosophy and who expound contrary views even if only in their private life. …”

– from an opinion piece by Annette Pereira, Executive Officer of the Australian Association of Christian Schools, in The Sydney Morning Herald.

See also: Freedom of Religion policy-making debacle — SMH.

Why Millennials ARE coming to church

“There have been plenty of articles about why Millennials – those twenty somethings – are not coming to church. Plenty of time and attention towards what would bring them back.

Well, in our church at the moment plenty of Millennials ARE coming. It’s been noted by the older crowd that they’re starting to get outnumbered by that particular cohort this year. …”

– Here’s an encouraging article by Stephen McAlpine.

The Slow Killing of Congregational Singing

“Here is a great historical irony.

Fifty years ago choirs ruled the church. Usually, they were supported by a very loud organ. To be frank, many choir members were performers, and when the choir was large they drowned out the singing of the congregation. So, sadly, the very people appointed to help the congregation sing actually smothered congregational singing. Bit by bit, choirs disappeared. I think most churches didn’t mourn the loss.

Here’s the irony: we then replaced the choirs with song leaders (or, what we inaccurately call ‘worship leaders’). Over time the number of song leaders grew and grew until they became as big as a choir. Then …”

– There is both challenge and encouragement in this Gospel Coalition Australia post by Mike Raiter.

(Photo courtesy GAFCON.)

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