The End of Gender?
“In the year 2000 I started giving talks on gender issues, based on research I had been doing in feminism. At the time I would speak of the ‘the end’ of feminism, meaning, the logical conclusion of feminist thinking. …
So, I predicted, the end of feminism – its logical outcome – was not likely to be lesbianism, which after all still asserts that there is a difference between men and women, and that women are to be preferred. Rather, the end of feminism was likely to be the disappearance of gender altogether.
But I did not expect to be proved so right, so soon.”
Plenty of good and thought-provoking reading.
You could start with Kirsty Birkett’s article, “The End of Gender?” on page 6.
‘Cover-up — can’t stop truth coming out’
“The story of Cheltenham Girls High School is a textbook example of the subterfuge involved in the controversial Safe Schools Coalition and how far education authorities and governments will go to preserve and conceal a program that subverts parents rights and values. …
It all began last week with our story of how teachers at the all-girls school in north-west Sydney were asked in a staff meeting to stop referring to students as “girls”, ladies” and “women”, but to use “gender-neutral” language instead.”
– At The Daily Telegraph, columnist Miranda Devine looks at one particular school, and also publishes a recent list of schools involved in the ‘Safe Schools’ programme.
Calls for a national conversation about anti-Christian prejudice and bullying
“This week saw one of the two candidates to become simultaneously leader of the UK’s Conservative Party and Prime Minister drop out, leaving her rival to claim the crown without any further voting.
The reason Andrea Leadsom withdrew was a sustained media campaign against her that by Friday last week was being described by seasoned political commentators as “feral” and based on prejudice towards her Christian faith. It was being claimed that her support for traditional marriage and family values, rather than wholeheartedly endorsing every aspect of the gay rights agenda, was morally wrong and that being a Christian in politics somehow made her suspect. …
… Barnabas Fund is calling for a national conversation in the UK and other western countries about the importance of freedom of religion as one of our most important historic national values and how we maintain it.
We are free to speak up for the persecuted church elsewhere because we have freedom of religion here. It is vital that we protect it.”
– from Barnabas Fund in the UK.
Related:
Freedom for Faith Conference at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney on Friday 12th August 2016.
Sheep among wolves
“One vote kept The Anglican Church of Canada’s synod from opening the door to same sex marriage on Monday, July 11.
I wanted to take heart at this outcome – any time a church beats back heresy, Christians should rejoice. We should be glad that the shepherds were able to chase the wolf away, but I couldn’t rejoice at this victory.
That’s because I knew the wolf would come right back. …
The reality is that the Anglican Church of Canada wasn’t saved by Monday’s narrow victory and then suddenly lost by Tuesday’s betrayal of the rules. The Church of Canada was lost over a period of years. Its walls of orthodox teaching and practice that protected the sheep crumbled slowly but deliberately. The Dioceses of Niagara and Ottawa have been embracing un-biblical teaching for years and it’s been no secret…”
– The American Anglican Council’s Communications Director, Robert Lundy, speaks plainly about the tactics you need to understand.
Related:
Seven bishops ‘publicly dissent’ from same-sex marriage vote – Anglican Journal (Canada).
“The [bishops’] statement begins with a declaration that ‘the entire process, beginning with the hasty vote in 2013 and concluding with the vote and miscount this week, has been flawed and inflicted terrible hurt and damage on all involved.’
The bishops also say that the declared intentions on the part of some bishops to immediately proceed with same-sex marriages, before the required second vote on the resolution in 2019, is ‘contrary to the explicit doctrine and discipline set out in our constitution, canons and liturgies.’
‘That raises the question…why did we bother voting at all, if the decision was already made?’ said [Bishop Fraser] Lawton [of the diocese of Athabasca].…”
The inaugural Freedom for Faith Conference
“Sharing the message of freedom in a threatening public square”
The very first Freedom for Faith Conference will be held at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney on Friday 12th August 2016.
This important conference is being run by Freedom for Faith – a Christian legal think tank that exists to see religious freedom protected and promoted in Australia.
Trouble in Bakersfield
“A popular, longstanding, and effective member of a schoolboard has had to stand down—not because he does not enjoy the confidence of the community, but simply because he does not accept the latest demands that every knee must bow to whatever the political taste of the moment has decided is non-negotiable…
it is time to face that fact and abandon the myth that the world is run by people who respect difference and diversity…”
– At First Things, Carl Trueman writes about some of the fallout from California’s mandated school transgender policy.
After lawsuit ‘ChristianMingle’ dating website allows same-sex options
“ChristianMingle.com will open its 16 million-member site to gay and lesbian users following an anti-discrimination lawsuit.
According to a settlement approved by a California judge last week, the country’s most popular Christian dating site will offer options for same-sex matches, rather than limiting searches to “a man seeking a woman or a woman seeking a man,” the Wall Street Journal reported…”
– Story from Christianity Today.
Assisted Suicide: A Quadriplegic’s Perspective
“Culture is so easily influenced by the entertainment industry. This is why I am sounding an alarm about a very dangerous message in a film released this summer. The movie? Me Before You.…”
– The wonderful Joni Eareckson Tada has a few things to say about a tragic movie. (h/t Tim Challies.)
Religious schools and discrimination in Victoria
“Recently a Greens MP in Victoria, Sue Pennicuik, has introduced a Bill into the Victorian Parliament to reduce the ability of religious schools to deal with potential admissions, or their current student body, on the basis of the school’s religious beliefs. The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Equality for Students) Bill 2016 had its second reading in the Legislative Council on 22 June 2016.
The legislation is arguably an impairment of the religious freedom of parents and the schools, and ought not to be passed…”
– In his latest post at Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster discusses the latest moves in Victoria. Among other observations, he wonders of the proposed changes are constitutional. Once again, Neil has done the wider community a service by teasing out some of the key issues for us.
Sexual orthodoxy and admitting lawyers
“The decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of Upper Canada, 2016 ONCA 518 (29 June 2016) is an interesting illustration of the strength of the current orthodoxy in society on sexual behaviour, and how those who dissent are increasingly being cast in the role of ‘heretics’ and unfit for civilised society.
(While this blog is mostly about Australian issues, those raised by this case are likely to be replicated here and elsewhere in the West, so I think it is worthy of note.)
The decision is the latest in a line of cases relating to the attempt of TWU, a private Christian university located in British Columbia, to start a law school…”
– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster comments on yet another example of increasing intolerance of Christian morality.
Defending classic marriage
“God is the ultimate marriage celebrant. Our Prayer Book marriage services – the only services by which Anglican clergy are authorised to conduct marriages – says, ‘What God has joined together, let no-one put asunder’.
These words are repeated after the couple’s vows as part of the minister’s declaration of marriage: ‘Those whom God has joined together let not man put asunder’. Indeed, if the couple chooses either the Gospel of Matthew or the Gospel of Mark as their Bible reading, you will hear those words for a third time!
God is the ultimate marriage celebrant. The union is not just a secular legal status; marriage existed before nation states and their laws. With marriage, we are talking about an absolute reality: it’s God who joins people together in marriage. A society can redefine marriage in its rhetoric and laws. But we cannot redefine the ultimate deep reality of marriage.
But what is biblical marriage?…”
– In an article adapted from a speech he gave at Sydney Synod in October year, Sandy Grant reminds us why the ‘classic view’ of marriage is worth defending. At GoThereFor.com.
Freedom for Faith Sydney Conference, 12th August – bookings now open
“There has never been a more important time for Christians to think about the place of religious freedom in Australia. …
There is a sense that Christians are more and more out of step with cultural elites and that soon they may hold beliefs which are at odds with Australian law. Looking globally we see genocidal persecution of believers on a scale that has never been seen before.
Churches are crying out for leadership in knowing how to live in these changing times. Come and be equipped and refreshed.
Dr Michael Ovey, Principal of Oak Hil College in London will headline a great day of teaching…”
– Freedom for Faith is holding a conference at St. Andrew’s Cathedral on Friday 12th August 2016.
“Sharing the message of freedom in a threatening public square.
A one day conference for Christian leaders. Join Dr Michael Ovey (Oak Hill College London), Professor Iain Benson (Notre Dame Law School), Rev Kanishka Raffel (Anglican Dean of Sydney), Dr Megan Best – ethicist, Dr Sam Chan – Evangelist City Bible Forum, Archbishop Julian Porteous – Catholic Archbishop of Hobart, Lyle Shelton – Australian Christian Lobby & more. ”
See also the interview with Freedom For Faith Executive Director Michael Kellahan on page 10 of The Pulse, May – June 2016 (PDF).
‘Same-sex intimate unions’
“Once again the issue of same-sex intimate unions is in the headlines. …
The supporters of these changes insist that this is an issue of fundamental human rights — the right to marry the one I love — and of equality. The slogan that has been used with most effect in the campaign in Australia is ‘marriage equality’. Just as racial equality was the great cause of the mid-twentieth century, and gender equality similarly in the late twentieth century, the time has come for marriage equality. It is presented as the great civil liberty issue of our time. Listen to the speeches of the advocates — the stakes are very high indeed. …
It is possible to present this change as both necessary and inevitable and even to suggest it is a change that can be made without any adverse consequences at all. But how can we be sure that is the case if we do not listen—seriously and sympathetically listen— to the voices of dissent?”
– In the light of talk about a plebiscite, Dr Mark Thompson’s article on Same-sex intimate unions, published in July 2015, is an important one, and well worth re-reading.
21 Questions with Barronelle Stutzman
“Barronelle Stutzman is the Washington florist sued by a gay man, a friend and client of almost a decade, who was outraged by her refusal to do the flowers for his same-sex wedding. Whatever you think you know about her case, I bet you don’t know a lot of things in that short three-minute video.”
– Rod Dreher at The American Conservative highlights this video. (h/t Tim Challies.)
Why we need a plebiscite
“In his campaign launch speech last Saturday the leader of the Federal Opposition, the Hon. Bill Shorten, has politicised the same-sex marriage plebiscite, making it a key point of differentiation between Labor and the Coalition. Mr Shorten affirmed Labor’s commitment to introduce same-sex marriage legislation if elected on July 2, and claimed that the Coalition promise of a plebiscite to allow Australians to have their say on this important social change would be a ‘taxpayer-funded platform for homophobia’…”
– Bishop Michael Stead, chair of the Religious Freedom Reference Group for Sydney Diocese, argues the case for an informed choice about same-sex marriage in the form of a plebiscite.
Bishop Stead was interviewed by John Sandeman for Eternity Newspaper. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for the video.)
“Our driving agenda is telling people about Jesus.”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…