Chinese whispers at the ABC

Posted on August 5, 2017 
Filed under Culture wars, Opinion

“A media fracas broke out this past week over Julia Baird’s reports on the ABC about links between Christian teachings and domestic violence against women.

My personal experiences as an Anglican pastor resonated with much that Baird reported. She made valuable points about the impact of particular Christian teachings and Bible verses on some women, such as the injunction in St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians for wives to ‘submit’ to their husbands. I did not see her work as an attack on Christianity.

However Baird’s findings, which included harrowing interviews with victims of abuse, were overshadowed by disputes about a report she gave of American research findings concerning the connection between Christian faith and domestic abuse.…”

– At The Spectator Australia, Mark Durie in Melbourne looks at the ‘chain of evidence’ relied on in the ABC reports.

Also see Faith, family, violence and the ABC’s smears – Mark Powell.

“Since Baird’s article and the subsequent piece on 7:30, I have followed up on all the academic sources that she references. It really wasn’t that hard since there was only one. However, in that sole reference, a footnote led me to a number of other works. …”