Archbishop Davies interviewed on 2GB about Israel Folau and freedom of speech

Archbishop Glenn Davies spoke with Ben Fordham on 2GB about Israel Folau and freedom of speech today.

Worth hearing – Listen at the link.

Statement on Israel Folau — Archbishop Glenn Davies — 9 April 2018

Here is a Media Statement from Archbishop Glenn Davies –

“The way Israel Folau is treated will be a test of Australian Rugby’s ‘inclusion’ policy.

Israel Folau should be free to hold and express traditional, Biblical views on marriage and sexuality without being penalized – just as other players have spoken out with their differing views.

Rugby Australia has said ‘rugby is a game for all, regardless of sexuality, race, religion or gender’ and it would be hypocritical for administrators to censure a player for expressing views which spring from his own faith and conscience.

Dr Glenn Davies
Archbishop of Sydney
9 April 2018.”

– Background, from MailOnline:

”Israel Folau defiant ahead of D-day meeting with Rugby bosses”

“Wallabies star Israel Folau has received the support of some of Australia’s top religious figures for his outspoken views on homosexuality.

Folau, a devout Christian, has been under fire for social media comments saying gay people would go to ‘hell unless they repent of their sins and turn to God’.

The comments have left Rugby Australia in a tough situation as major sponsors prepare to walk away if he continues to post in such a matter.

But the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, told The Australian it was a matter of free speech, and Folau should be allowed to have an individual view…”

Same sex marriage implications for Christian health professionals

Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia, writes:

“I am presenting a paper on this topic this evening to a group of Christian health professionals in Newcastle. The paper may be downloaded here: Same Sex Marriage and Christian Health Professionals. [PDF file.]”

‘CEO Activism clashes with Religious Freedom’

“Reports today that Qantas is considering withdrawing its sponsorship for the Wallabies because of Israel Folau’s recent comments about homosexuality are the latest example of the national carrier’s attempts to marginalise Christians.

Australian Christian Lobby Managing Director Martyn Iles expressed concern at the reports, “It’s not enough for Qantas to preach tolerance, they have to demonstrate it.

“This is just the latest attempt by big corporates to try to silence Christians and marginalise them for their beliefs.

“The threat to withdraw sponsorship for an athlete sharing his personal belief should send a chill down the spine of the millions of Australians who voted ‘No’ last year, and every politician who promised that gay marriage would not affect religious freedom …”

– see the full media release from the Australian Christian Lobby.

David Ould has some background to the controversy.

Pastoral Anglican euthanising

“I remember a time when for a church to be ‘prophetic’ it had to stand against the tide of the culture, against the immorality of the state, against the prevailing delusions that beguile our impressionable egos.

Not so today. Because same-sex marriage is legal, the church has embraced it and has assigned committees loaded with waffling liberal clergy to contort Scripture to their collective will. It is much the same for abortion. And now euthanasia.…”

– from Anglican Samizdat.

Heatbreaking background from The Globe and Mail includes:

“The Brickendens are at the vanguard of patients and families who are creating new rituals around dying in Canada – the kind of rituals that are only possible when death comes at a previously appointed hour. …

Dean [of St. James’ Anglican Cathedral, Toronto, Andrew] Asbil prayed, while Mozart, Bach and Scottish folk songs wafted through the room.”

Related:

A message from Archbishop Colin Johnson [of Toronto] on medically assisted death.

Freedom18 Conference – The Limits of Religious Freedom

Freedom for Faith is holding their 2018 Conference –

“Join with lawyers, politicians, academics and faith leaders at the NSW Parliament for Freedom18.  Our conference theme is ‘the limits of religious freedom’.

The debates around marriage highlighted tensions between claims of religious freedom and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation – should religious freedom be curtailed by other claims to dignity and rights? How does freedom relate to security in our secular liberal democracy? Do we live in over-regulated times that are going too far in constraining civic freedoms?

Freedom18 is a unique opportunity to network with some of Australia’s leading thinkers and practitioners. In the contested intersection of culture, public theology, and law, we want to offer a platform for the best possible conversations. …”

– Read more about the Freedom for Faith conference to be held on Wednesday May 23 at NSW Parliament House.

FCANZ response to Motion 29 Working Group Final Report

“This is the formal response to the Motion 29 Working Group Final Report and Recommendations. The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans New Zealand (FCANZ) is thankful for the opportunities the Working Group has provided the Province to offer feedback, and to some extent shape the final recommendations included within the report. …

The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans has engaged fully and in good faith throughout the Motion 29 Working Group process. But, we repeat, if General Synod adopts recommendations allowing authorized services which contradict our existing doctrine and practice, many Anglicans will have been abandoned by their denomination and will have no alternative but to seek other ways of remaining authentically Anglican. …”

– The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans New Zealand has released their response (PDF file) to Motion 29 Working Group Final Report.

When Facebook falls out of Like with your blog

“Sorry Facebook, it’s not me baby, it’s you.

Lots of people have fallen out of like with Facebook over the years, but when it’s the other way around, it stings a little.

So, Facebook, I’m starting to fall out of like with you – fast falling out of like with you actually – because you’ve fallen out of like with me.

Or more to the point, you’ve fallen out of like with my blog. You’ve gone all silent on me.  Don’t even talk about me to anyone anymore. It’s as if you’re ashamed of me. …”

– Stephen McAlpine in Perth has come to a realisation about Facebook.

Anglican cleric disciplined for entering same sex marriage

“The recent decision of the England and Wales Court of Appeal in Pemberton v Inwood [2018] EWCA Civ 564 (22 March 2018) upholds what was in effect disciplinary action taken against a Church of England clergyman, the Reverend Canon Jeremy Pemberton, on account of his entering into a same-sex marriage.

The decision is a sensible one which upholds the religious freedom of the Anglican church to operate in accordance with its fundamental religious beliefs. …

Since Australia now recognises same-sex marriage, there is now the potential for a similar case to arise in this country. …”

– Associate Professor Neil Foster comments on a development last week in the Church of England, and the possibility of similar cases in Australia.

J John’s Letter to the BBC

“Dear BBC,

I mix with many people in many different church circles and there is a consensus that the BBC has a problem with Christianity, to the extent that it is taken for granted that there is an ‘anti-Christian bias’.

I realise there are problems with this phrase, not least because it implies a deliberate and organised discriminatory policy which I’m not sure is actually the situation. Nevertheless, for convenience I will let it stand. …”

– Evangelist Canon J. John has written this Open Letter to the BBC, arguing that the BBC’s portrayal of Christianity is unfair and inadequate. (via Anglican Mainstream.)

UK Police allegedly investigate woman for tweets critical of transgenderism

“I’ve written often in this space that the trans movement will countenance no dissent in their attempts to remake our culture and implement their agenda in schools, universities, and beyond – but even I was stunned when the Christian Post broke the story of a stay-at-home mother of four being contacted by the police for making comments critical of transgender ideology on Twitter …”

– Story from LifeSiteNews. (Link via Anglican Mainstream.)

Sydney university lecturer cancels class in church for fear of LGBTQI offence

“University of Technology Sydney communications lecturer Dr Timothy Laurie emailed his students two days before lectures were due to begin saying class was cancelled due to ‘the suitability of a church as a venue’.

St Barnabas Anglican Church in Ultimo, inner-city Sydney, was a temporary venue the university turned to during planned construction. …”

– Story from Mail Online.

“Irrational and illogical” to believe that sexual orientation can never change: Federal judge

“A judge of the Federal Court of Australia, Justice Jagot, handed down a decision recently in which her Honour said that a Tribunal’s reasoning, based on the assumption that a person could never change their sexual orientation, was “affected by illogicality of the kind required to constitute jurisdictional error” …

The decision … was a sharp reminder that bureaucratic decisions must be based on evidence and not pre-conceived policy stances. The comments may have wider implications for arguments that are often unthinkingly presented about the possibility of someone changing their sexual orientation. …”

– Assoc Professor Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia.

Two Churches Struggling with (Gender) Identity

“… the Free Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland have both responded to the Scottish government’s proposals to allow people to self-identify as whatever gender they wish – without medical or psychological help and without having to have lived as the gender they wish to be for a couple of years. …

The Church of Scotland have… produced a 30 page ‘pastoral advice’  booklet which they have sent to every congregation. …

The trouble with this booklet is that it is government propaganda, promoting Queer Theory, with the blessing and backing of the State church.”

– Read all of David Robertson’s post at The Wee Flea.

‘Intersectionality, the Dangerous Faith’

“The demise of religion among American youth is greatly exaggerated. It turns out that America isn’t raising a new generation of unbelievers.

Instead, rising in the heart of deep-blue America are the zealots of a new religious faith. They’re the intersectionals, they’re fully woke, and the heretics don’t stand a chance. …”

– David French in The National Review.

Related:

Student mob smashes window in protest against Jordan Peterson – LifeSite. (Language warning in associated video.)

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