Assisted suicide opposed
“Anglicans in New South Wales and Victoria have been urged to contact their MPs to oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation.
The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia, which met in Queensland, passed a motion opposing the legalisation of ‘assisted dying’. …”
– Report from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Related:
Dr Megan Best’s Synod speech on the Euthanasia motion – from Sydney Synod 2010.
Albert Mohler’s The Briefing, 08 September 2017, from 9’40”.
What’s changed in Britain since same-sex marriage?
“Four years ago, amid much uncertainty, 400 British members of parliament voted to redefine marriage in the United Kingdom.
Then prime minister David Cameron announced that, despite having made no mention of the issue in his party’s pre-election manifesto, it would be MP’s who decided the fate of marriage.
Now, it’s Australia’s turn to choose. There’s one key difference. Unlike in Britain, it will be the people who decide.
Everyone agrees, whether they admit it or not. This is a decision of enormous significance. …
In retrospect, the silent majority in Britain remained silent for too long.”
– This is an important article from Spectator Australia and many would benefit from reading it.
High Court rules on Plebiscite
“The Coalition for Marriage welcomed today’s decision by the High Court to allow the voice of the Australian people to be heard through the same-sex marriage postal vote.
‘We reiterate our support for a people’s vote as the most appropriate way to allow Australians to have their say on proposed changes to the definition of marriage,’ said the Most Reverend Dr Glenn Davies, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. ‘Australians deserve to have a say on a change to the foundational unit of our society.‘…”
– from The Coalition for Marriage.
General Synod news – 7 September 2017
Stories from SydneyAnglicans.net –
Domestic violence ‘first priority’
“The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia has condemned domestic and family violence in all its forms, saying churches are committed to being safe places for all people, especially children and vulnerable adults.
In a motion moved by Melbourne’s Bishop Stephen Hale and seconded by Sydney’s Archdeacon Kara Hartley, Synod described domestic violence as sin, saying Scripture should never be twisted to justify or excuse any abuse. …”
Scots ‘impair’ communion with Australia
“The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia has acknowledged that relationship with the Scottish Episcopal Church has been impaired by the SEC removing gender from its marriage canon.
In June, the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church voted in favour of altering the church’s Canon on Marriage to remove the definition that marriage is between a man and a woman allow same-sex couples to marry in church.…”
On the vote concerning the Scottish Episcopal Church:
Read Dean Raffel’s speech (PDF file):
“Across the Anglican communion churches are trying to work out how best to love people of diverse sexual orientation.
This is important because all people are made in God’s image; and God hates nothing that he has made.
It is important because all people are to be valued honoured and loved not only because they are created in God’s image but because of Christ’s costly redeeming love for them.
It is important because Christians have often failed to love same sex attracted people, making it difficult or impossible for them to hear and experience the welcome and power of Jesus in their lives.
And it is important because same sex attracted people are our friends, our family members, our colleagues, members of our churches, and we might assume, members of this Synod. …”
Bishop Richard Condie’s speech (via David Ould).
“We want to express a deep welcome to homosexual people in our church. We should treat all people with love and respect. We shun actions and words that demean and marginalise; we reject discrimination, and especially grieve the way people who identify as homosexual have been treated in our society and churches.
While the SEC’s action is ostensibly about the inclusion of homosexual people in the church, it actually undermines the Biblical witness to the ultimate trajectory of salvation, our union with Christ. We must not fall for the world’s view that holding to the teaching of Christ on marriage means we can’t be welcoming to homosexual people in the church. …”
Calls for WordPress to remove rainbow banner from hosted sites
“Christian bloggers are among those calling for hosting organisation WordPress to remove a rainbow banner from the top of its Australian hosted pages, saying that it makes an unwanted political statement on their sites.
The banner, which was spotted on sites over the weekend, appears at the top of sites when users are logged in. …”
– from Sight Magazine.
‘An expression of love for same-sex attracted people’
“This past week I was part of an effort that put America’s theological and moral fault lines fully in view. I was a signer of something called the Nashville Statement, a document adopted by a group of evangelical Christians seeking to reaffirm traditional Christian values on sexuality.
Within hours, the vitriol in response to our document showed why such clarification is necessary. …”
— The Washington Post has published this opinion piece by Albert Mohler.
Related:
The Bee Explains: What Is The Nashville Statement? — The Babylon Bee (Satire.)
Campaign to deregister doctor in ‘No’ TV ad
“Supporters of the Yes campaign for same-sex marriage have launched a bid to deregister a doctor who appeared in the first television advertisement for the No case in a move that threatens other practitioners.
Since appearing as one of three mothers in the Marriage Coalition advertisement, Pansy Lai, a GP in northern Sydney, has been subject to a petition organised by GetUp! seeking her deregistration…”
– Report from The Australian (subscription), via the Herald-Sun.
(Image courtesy Michael Smith News, who also has details of the petition.)
Update: Petition removed — ABC News.
Fathers’ Day ad pulled: Too ‘political’
“Here’s the militant new world forced on us by activists against the traditional definition of marriage – where even the word “dad” is a political statement.
More will come, of course, as traditional marriage is deemed by law to be oppressively restrictive …”
– Story from The Herald-Sun.
“Why I will vote No.” — Rev Neil Chambers
“… These are all the reasons why I will vote, and why I will vote no to same sex marriage. In the end, I do not believe it is love of neighbour to endorse and normalize a practice [same sex sexual activity] God calls sin.
But these reasons will not be the substance of my conversations. The root problem is idolatry, in this case the idolatrous claim to be able to remake humanity in our own wisdom while we reject the Creator, the worship of our autonomy. The conversation I want to have is about Jesus – that He is Lord, that He loves us and can be trusted to tell us what is best for us, and that He will be our judge at the last day.
So, when you are talking to others don’t get lost in having arguments about the consequences of the change, or about the fears you may have about the change. Be honest – tell them that you think Jesus can be trusted and the life of human flourishing is found in following Him.
Our goal is not to win an argument, but to commend a Saviour. And He will be Lord whatever way the vote goes, in the plebiscite and in parliament.”
– These are the concluding paragraphs of a pastoral article written by the Rev Neil Chambers to his congregation in Melbourne.
Be sure to read it all.
Neil Foster on the Media release from the Wilberforce Foundation
“In the ongoing debates about same sex marriage in Australia (shortly to be the subject of a voluntary postal survey conducted by the Australia Bureau of Statistics, if it survives a High Court challenge), a number of professional organisations have decided to weigh in, in support of the ‘Yes’ vote.
The most recent such statement was issued by a combination of lawyers and doctors (see a press report of August 19 here, and the full text of the joint statement, by the NSW Bar Association president Arthur Moses, president of the Law Society of NSW Pauline Wright, and president of the NSW division of the Australian Medical Association Brad Frankum, is here.)
A number of lawyers around Australia, myself included, were concerned that this statement was not made after consultation with members of the various organisations, and in fact was misleading precisely at the point where one would expect a statement from lawyers to be accurate, in its statements about the law. …
Finally, speaking of a lack of consultation, as I prepare this post I see that WordPress seems to have decided to add a “rainbow banner” to the top of my page, without asking me if I would like such.”
– Associate Professor Neil Foster gives some background to the Wilberforce Foundation, and the Media release they have issued (PDF file).
(The header seen by WordPress users who are logged in to wordpress.com.)
City of Sydney launches ‘vote yes’ campaign
“To support same-sex marriage, 260 rainbow ‘vote yes’ banners will be flown across the city [of Sydney] following unanimous support from Labor, Liberals and Greens.
The council voted to give $110,000 to the cause.
As well as flags, the city will send mail outs to encourage a ‘yes’ vote and promote ‘yes’ campaign activities through their communication channels. …”
– Story from ABC News. (Photo: Lord Mayor Clover Moore.)
‘Saying this Ad lies is a lie’
“Journalists and same-sex marriage activists claim the ad for the no campaign tells lies. But that is the real lie …“
– On SkyNews Australia, Herald-Sun’s Andrew Bolt looks at reaction to the first Coalition for Marriage television ad.
Related:
Fact checking the ‘No’ ad on same-sex marriage – ABC’s Triple J Hack.
Shorten blames Turnbull for ‘total rubbish’ TV ad from same-sex marriage opponents – SMH.
Not all Equality is Equal
“One of the central mantras of the campaign to redefine marriage is that it’s all about ‘equality’. We hear the language of ‘equal marriage’, ‘marriage equality’ and even the claim that homosexuals are, somehow, ‘second-class citizens’.
What are we to make of this claim? I think the key is to establish quite what proponents have in mind when they speak of ‘equality’. To get clarity on this question we should turn to the most consistent of those pushing hard for a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming postal survey (notwithstanding their refusal to committing to honour the result). Here in Australia perhaps one of the proponents with most integrity in this regard is the MP Tanya Plibersek, member for Sydney. …”
– David Ould asks what exactly it is that proponents of ‘marriage equality’ are talking about.
(Photo courtesy of the website of The Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP.)
Related:
This short video tries the approach of logic.
“Let’s be clear. This isn’t personal. The people making the argument for same-sex marriage are our family, they’re our friends, they’re our colleagues. We love them and we don’t think they’re failures at all. It’s the argument being used to justify a change in marriage that is a failure. This isn’t personal, it’s logical.”
CBMW releases Nashville Statement on Biblical Sexuality
“The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) announced August 29th the release of The Nashville Statement, an evangelical coalition statement on biblical sexuality. …
The statement, comprised of 14 affirmations and denials, addresses issues related to human sexuality, ‘in the hope of serving Christ’s church,’ according to the statement’s preamble.”
– Announcement from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
Read ‘The Nashville Statement’.
From the Preamble –
“Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being.
By and large the spirit of our age no longer discerns or delights in the beauty of God’s design for human life. Many deny that God created human beings for his glory, and that his good purposes for us include our personal and physical design as male and female.
It is common to think that human identity as male and female is not part of God’s beautiful plan, but is, rather, an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences.
The pathway to full and lasting joy through God’s good design for his creatures is thus replaced by the path of shortsighted alternatives that, sooner or later, ruin human life and dishonor God. …”
Related:
In today’s issue of The Briefing, Albert Mohler commends the statement and gives some background.
He explains the huge importance of speaking clearly about such matters. He also relates some of the early responses, and how they demonstrate the worldviews of the commentators. Take the time to listen.
The Bible and Same-Sex Marriage: A Response to Robyn Whitaker and Amy-Jill Levine
“Christians seeking guidance in the upcoming same-sex marriage ballot will naturally turn to the Bible. But what does the Bible actually say about marriage and sexuality?
It can be confusing when there are so many claims circulating about biblical scholarship on these matters. However, the Bible itself is clearer than often claimed. The real question is not simply what the Bible says, but rather what we do with what it says.
Last week, the ABC republished an article by Robyn Whitaker, claiming to be a ‘summary of critical biblical scholarship on the issue.’…”
– ABC’s Religion and Ethics has published this response by Dr Lionel Windsor to claims published by the ABC last week.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…