Abortion, Obscenity and Free Speech

“Sometimes a powerful visual image is what is needed to shock us into action. But can an image be so powerful and horrifying that it becomes “obscene” and hence unlawful to use in public?

That, it seems, is now the view being taken in Victoria of a particular type of image: pictures of unborn babies who have been killed. While the decision of a Victorian court, it may be followed elsewhere in Australia. …”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster (Associate Professor in Law at Newcastle) discusses the decision in Victoria, and implications for free speech.

Image: Australian Christian Lobby.

Why Princeton’s snub of Tim Keller should outrage progressives

“If you’re a conservative evangelical Christian who feels called to ministry, you’re welcome to attend Princeton Theological Seminary. But you’re not worthy of honor there. That’s the message sent by PTS’ president, Craig Barnes, today. …

If Christians like Tim Keller are unworthy of honor and deserve to be marginalized, American Christianity is in serious trouble. …”

– Jonathan Merritt writes at Religion News Service.

Related: What Hath Amsterdam to do with Princeton? – Reformation21.

“In 1898 B.B. Warfield invited the Dutch Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper to deliver six lectures at Princeton Seminary for the inaugural Stone Lectures. These lectures were eventually bound and printed as Kuyper’s Lectures on Calvinism. In these lectures, Kuyper discussed what he believed to be the manner by which a Calvinist and Reformed worldview ought to be applied to quite a number of spheres of life.

The inaugural Stone Lectures forever linked the theology of Dr. Kuyper with Princeton Seminary. This connection was further solidified in the creation of the Kuyper Prize, awarded by the Kuyper Center for Public Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.”

The history and theology behind Princeton’s decision not to honour Tim Keller

Albert Mohler unpacks Princeton’s decision not to award the Kuyper Prize if it means giving it to Tim Keller.

How showing a picture of a dead foetus has become a crime

“Showing a picture of a dead foetus in public is now a crime following a ruling in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday which will strengthen the hand of the abortion industry lobby across Australia, warns the Australian Christian Lobby.’…”

– from The Australian Christian Lobby.

‘Gay rights activists target IBM executive’

“Marriage equality advocate IBM Australia is being targeted by ­militant gay rights activists who have condemned the company over a senior executive’s links to a ­Christian organisation. …

The social media campaign comes after the same activists shamed Adelaide brewer Coopers into pledging allegiance to Australian Marriage Equality after its ties with the Bible Society were ­exposed.”

– Report from The Australian. (paywalled)

Beer, Bibles and free speech in Australia

“The Bible Society of Australia has recently celebrated its 200th birthday – a significant milestone in a country whose European settlement only took place about 230 years ago. It decided to celebrate the event by way of connecting with popular Australian culture – and in a fairly secular country, a key aspect of that culture is beer!

So in a creative move, the Society formed a partnership with Coopers, a long-established but slightly “niche” brewery, to arrange the release of cans of “Coopers Light”, a low-alcohol beer, with Bible verses on the cans. (The link was all the more appropriate because the motto of the Society was “Live Light”. Coopers also claims to be “Australia’s longest living family brewery”, having been established in 1862.)

So far, so good …”

– At MercatorNet, Neil Foster recounts the disturbing tale of the “Keeping it Light” video.

Coopers outrage ‘over the top’, Liberal MPs say

“The two Liberal MPs involved in a video which sparked outrage over Coopers Brewery’s links with The Bible Society have hit back, calling the public response ‘over the top’ and the brewer’s backdown ‘spineless’. …”

– ABC News report. Image: ABC.

‘Beer and Bibles: brewery cops same-sex marriage backlash’

“Coopers has been copping a bit of flack over a video produced with the Bible Society in which two MPs debate same-sex marriage. …”

– Story from ABC’s Triple J Hack.

Related: 1. Press release from Bible Society. 2. A good drop for the Good Book.

Update: Coopers Brewery distances itself from Bible Society’s marriage equality video, faces backlash – ABC News.

Religious Free Speech in Australia: CDF v Gaynor

“Can a reserve member of the Armed Forces make controversial, religiously motivated, political comments on a private website contrary to Defence Force policy?

Sadly, the answer provided by the recent decision in Chief of the Defence Force v Gaynor [2017] FCAFC 41 (8 March 2017) is, No, not without having their service terminated. …”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster (Associate Professor in Law at Newcastle), looks at an important free speech issue in Australia.

Philip North crisis: ‘Good Disagreement’ has become ‘bad bullying’

“When the house that has been painstakingly constructed on the sand falls flat, there is nothing to rejoice over. Discernment works better when unclouded by the sin of taking and giving offence.

Bishop Philip North’s election to the Diocese of Sheffield was a litmus test. … a serious test for the much vaunted ‘Good Disagreement’ that Archbishop Justin Welby has staked his archiepiscopal strategy on.

It has all gone badly wrong.”

– Dr Gavin Ashenden guest posts at Archbishop Cranmer.

“Beauty and the Beast fans in Sydney welcome ‘queer’ twist in remake of classic tale”

“Hundreds of fans have lined the streets outside Sydney’s iconic State Theatre to welcome US actor Josh Gad, one of the stars in the remake of Disney’s classic Beauty and the Beast. …”

– ABC report.

Related: The Facts about Beauty and the Beast Disney Movie – Amy Bevin (h/t Tim Challies.) Image: ABC TV.

Exacerbating the credibility crisis

“It is with regret that we have today heard that Philip North, suffragan Bishop of Burnley, has chosen not to accept his nomination as diocesan Bishop of Sheffield.

The circumstances surrounding his withdrawal exacerbate the already acute credibility crisis for the Church of England, especially in its treatment of those with traditional Christian views. What now does ‘flourishing’ mean?…”

– Church Society Director Lee Gatiss responds to the news that Philip North has been forced to withdraw his nomination as Bishop of Sheffield.

Statement on the Rt Rev’d Philip North’s withdrawal from nomination as the next Bishop of Sheffield

Bishop of Maidstone, Rod Thomas, has released this statement on the withdrawal of Bishop Philip North for consideration as the next Bishop of Sheffield.

“I am deeply saddened that Philip North has felt forced to withdraw from his nomination as the next Bishop of Sheffield. It will be a huge loss to Sheffield and is a body blow to the concept of ‘mutual flourishing’ which lay at the heart of the agreement to introduce women bishops in the Church of England.

Philip has huge gifts to offer the Church, and his leadership in Sheffield would have given a great boost to mission.

However, the damage to the principles on which the House of Bishops Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests is based, is profound. If all orders of ministry and all appointments are equally open to men and women, then the same has to apply to those who hold that the ministries of men and women are distinctively different. If it does not, if there is, in effect, a glass ceiling that prevents those of traditional churchmanships ministering at all levels of the Church, then the Declaration and the provisions that came with it lose all credibility.

I know that both Archbishops were personally wholly committed to the concept of mutual flourishing and it was warmly supported by the General Synod. If it is to survive as our governing motif, then urgent action will be needed to demonstrate its effectiveness. In the absence of such action, we will simply have given in to those who hounded Philip North out of office.”

– So much for ‘radical inclusion’ in the Church of England. Emphasis added.

And from Bishop North’s statement:

“There is clearly much to be done on what it means to disagree well and to live with theological difference in the Church of England. The highly individualised nature of the attacks upon me have been extremely hard to bear. If, as Christians, we cannot relate to each other within the bounds of love, how can we possibly presume to transform a nation in the name of Christ?”

Christian street preachers convicted for quoting the King James Bible

“Two Christian street preachers have been convicted of religiously aggravated harassment after quoting from the King James Bible when asked questions about Islam and homosexuality by hecklers. … 

the claims of the prosecutor that merely quoting the Bible is both abusive and criminal goes to the very heart and foundation of freedom of religion in the UK.”

– Story from Barnabas Fund.

See also: In 2008 the UK was saved from a new blasphemy law – Barnabas Fund.

TEC Bishop Michael Curry “intervenes” in Supreme Court transgender case

“Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the US based Episcopal Church has put his name to a document going before the Supreme Court, as it examines the issue of transgender bathroom use. …

The case involves a teenager who took on male gender identity and was allowed by his school to use the boys’ bathroom for two months. But then, after some parents objected, he was offered a private bathroom instead. …

Bishop Curry anchored his support of the brief in Genesis 1:26-27…”

– Report, including an ‘interesting’ reading of Genesis 1:26-27, from The Anglican Communion News Service. Photo: Episcopal News Service.

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