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It might not be fashionable but as a Christian I am a bit of a literalist when it comes to what is right and wrong. Truth be told, I know no other way. If I were allowed to pick and choose from the Bible, or to put my own take on whatever is plainly written, I wouldn’t know whether I was coming or going. I would be in the same position as, say, the US Supreme Court or Australia’s High Court. Inventing rules out of thin air, oh-so loosely attached to constitutional texts.
My fellow Christians and I might end up all believing in quite different things. The doctrine of the Church of England, as set out in thirty-nine articles in 1592, is in part, as stated, “for the Avoiding of Diversities of Opinions…” These are not idle opinions but those that go to the tenets of the faith.
By the way, it goes without saying: believing what’s right is not the same thing as doing what’s right. I am talking about believing what’s right. Sadly, there is no easy option of believing only what you want to believe. Even more sadly, however, this does not deter those who seem to like easy options.
This brings me to Peter Wilkinson. He heads Catholics for Renewal, an Australian organisation of lay Catholics. I’m sure like organisations can be found in most Western countries across different Christian denominations. Prompted by the recent Victorian legislation – Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 – Wilkinson reportedly said this:
The science has changed but the church is still holding onto a false assumption of homosexuality as physically or morally deviant … It is our hope that the passage of this bill will stir the official Catholic Church to recognise such moves as reflections of the signs of the times, calling upon it to rethink its now-outdated teaching on diverse sexualities.
First, the law to which Wilkinson refers. Its underlying foundation is caught by three affirmations. Here they are verbatim:
1/ a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is not broken and in need of fixing
2/ no sexual orientation or gender identity constitutes a disorder, disease, illness, deficiency or shortcoming
3/ change or suppression practices are deceptive and harmful both to the person subject to the change or suppression practices and to the community as a whole.
The foundation of the law is flawed, clearly. Plainly, no scope is allowed for adults to make up their own minds as to whether they need help and what kind of help they want. No scope is allowed for children to be counselled on taking steps which might be irreversible and life-changing. There are stiff fines and, potentially, prison for those providing advice or counselling which challenges a desired sexual orientation or expressed gender preference; even if such advice or counselling is sought.
In a saner and more wholesome world than the one in which we live, legislation like this would not get to first base. As it is, it passed Victoria’s lower house easily, with the Liberals all abstaining. It passed the upper Legislative Council 27 votes to 9, with just two Libs breaking party ranks and voting nay.
Time to weep. And, is it time to cast the Libs aside? To simply go back to voting for a person. So far as I can tell that applies in all states and in the federal parliament. I will vote for Gladys Berejiklian (just) my local member in NSW, but not for Trent Zimmerman my Liberal federal member. Why would I vote for someone whose views are mostly the opposite of my own?
I agree, it’s a dilemma. Albo and his state counterparts are worse. But when will anything change for the better if we remain shackled to the Libs as they move ever leftwards?
I am off my main theme. The Bible is clear about fornication. It’s a sin. Let me admit for good reason that I’m not casting any stones.
The times don’t change sin. They don’t change the sin of murder, theft or bearing false witness. Though it might be inconvenient and unfashionable, neither do they make fornication permissible. Among others, Israel Folau and Margaret Court have pointed this out, bravely. Incidentally, why you have to be brave tells the story, in itself, of our darkening and increasingly dissolute times.
If you’re a Christian, who or what do you think is behind efforts to whitewash sin; to grow ostensibly Christian organisations which subject canonical scripture to the whims of science and fashion; and to persecute those who faithfully quote scripture? Apropos, read the South Australian Termination of Pregnancy Bill and search in vain for any acknowledgement that a human being, separate from the mother, an unborn baby, potentially an unborn baby at the point of birth, is being killed. Who or what is behind that callousness?
A friend sent me an article which explores whether people are becoming less intelligent. I don’t think there is any doubt. You simply have to look at the case of George Pell to understand that dimwittedness has reached even lofty levels of the judiciary. However, make no mistake, evil is also afoot; intent on undermining and undoing the Judeo-Christian values which have moulded our peerless civilisation.
Sure, most on the Left are simpletons and/or dupes. Read Phillip Adams in the Weekend Australian magazine. But not all, by any means. Recall Mark 5:10. “My name is Legion; for we are many.”
Catholics For Renewal are the product of the years of havoc brought about in the Catholic Church by priests, religious and laity who either never read the Documents of Vatican II or hijacked the valid interpretation of them. You can pick them by their use of the term ‘pre-Vatican II’ which indicated a monumental misunderstaning – that is – that Vatican II was a rupture – a break with the past. Their interpretation of the Council indicates this. Further, they are intent on the ‘anglicanization’ of the Roman Catholic Church – which means – as anyone who has been to an Anglican Synod knows ( and I have and am glad I am out of it) – they want power. Thankfully they , like their priest fellow travellers, are of an age when soon they will all be in nursing homes.
A very good question, Peter. I live in regional NSW, where my small Presbyterian Church has asked our local Nationals member if we could meet with him, at his convenience, to talk about religious freedom issues (think Izzy Falou, Margaret Court, Victoria’s Conversion Bill). That was two months ago and the first email was followed up by others. Though most issues of our local paper have photos of him opening a bridge or giving money to some group, he has not found the time to see us. I suspect we have been canceled …
Well, include me in the group, or is a crowd, who ran screaming from the Catholic Church after, and as a result of, changes wrought by Vatican II. I’ve never been back. The first change that repelled me was the abandonment, indeed the total “cancellation” of the universal Latin mass. The intent behind that change might have been well-meaning, but logically it was farcical. The idea that the congregation attending any given Mass was likely to be entirely made up of fluent speakers of whatever the vernacular language being used is fatuous. Latin was a truly universal and individuals could obtain a missal with translations to their own language. That change alone destroyed the myth of the Church’s universality, it now confirming that it was henceforth to be little more than a conglomeration of linguistic cliques.
It’s been going on for a few hundred years Peter, this elevation of the human mind above Scripture. Science does not replace Scripture for a start. Any examination of the creation by a human mind is secondary to revealed truth. Science is (highly) fallible, Scripture isn’t. Yet churches (particularly the Catholic church) have long elevated human ‘reason’ above revelation. Soocialist tendencies are usually the outcome, as was seen with all of the heretical sects of the Middle Ages.
So now we are tasting the high hanging fruit of this mass humanist extermination of Christianity. We have gone way beyond the low hanging fruit of the debasement of morality. People are now losing their ability to discern truth under pressure from nonsense from all directions. We are just as intelligent as ever, but the foundation of our knowledge has dissolved beneath us.
Doubting Thomas – the Latin Mass is available to those who want it. I attended a Sung Latin Mass yesterday at Notre Dame Benedictine Priory (Colebrook, Tasmania) and took with me a non practicing catholic. She commented after, “Well that was a life changing experience.” I think you will find a Latin Mass community in and around most capital cities and large regional centres.
“it passed Victoria’s lower house easily, with the Liberals all abstaining”. The Victorian Liberals are not an Opposition, they are enablers. Until they develop some principles, grow a backbone and start opposing Dan’s corruption of a once great state, they won’t ever sit on the government benches again.
Good piece Peter, and as a communicant of the C of E myself, and one who takes comfort from knowing an unchanging King James Bible, 1662 Prayer Book complete with articles, and the Creed of S. Athanasius are always there for me, I like the way you express it all. I tend to draw a veil over, and mostly ignore the changes and silly innovations from our lefty ‘Conrad Noel’ type Rector, and usually also say the original Lords Prayer sort of sotto voce, without going to any rude extremes.
The three affirmations underpinning this new sex law, reported in the above article, appear to condone, endorse, and therefore encourage, sex practices such as:
Sexual attacks not only on infants but well, any person or animal, of any gender, alive or dead.
The Libs and Nats will not oppose this kind of destructive lunacy -because there are no extra votes to gained from fighting it.
That’s right, people vote ALP and Green because voting that way enables the ALP and their Green allies to destroy the civil order and all institutions pertaining.
Sure, and in the immediate term those ALP/Green voters scoop up handouts and feel-goods -all at no expense to themselves.
Killing the host is in the very nature of parasitism.
All these people complaining about the Church.
Just like complaining about politicians.
Question:
How much personal effort -expenditure of their own time and their own money- do these complainants put into discovering/inventing remedies to the clear and present threats to the existence of Proper Australia.
Truth:
No Saviour or Team of Saviours is coming.
Consequence:
It is up to the Ordinary People to get ’emselves into action -organised, resourced, and into action at the Front.
A volunteer force for the Good and all that goes with it.
Spectator democracy -yelling and complaining from the side-lines- will not save the place.
padmmdpat, I am aware that Latin masses are available in certain churches. But unless things have changed in recent years, they are very few and far between. As a schoolboy, our boarding school choir was in great demand for sung masses in the local parish church. I got quite a surprise after several years overseas when I attended the wedding of a relation in a Sydney Parish church. The music consisted of one of my cousins, a nun with a nice enough voice and quite competent on a guitar, singing “Morning Has Broken”. Pathetic. It hardly rated compared with the full choral renditions of the likes of “Panis Angelicus” we used to do as kids.
Where will the future church music come from?
Peter Marriott, I too stick to the Lord’s prayer I know. Sotto voce too.
A few year’s back I visited Liverpool’s C of E cathedral in England. Each noon they have a short five minute service (or did), including the Lord’s Prayer. How pleased I was to find the original being said out loud.
Catholics For Renewal. Politically correct, but not Biblically correct. Ergo apostate.
Doubting Thomas if you ran screaming from the Church after Vatican Two then you left Jesus because of Judas.
Father Glen Tattersall is the Parish Priest of the Latin Masss Parish in Melbourne.
I miss the hyms I sang as a child e.g. Adoro te Devote, Faith of our Fathersand the one which used to shake the church: We Stand For God.
“The Victorian Liberals are not an Opposition, they are enablers.” How true! My local State ‘Liberal’ sent me an email telling me how to comply with Dandemic Dan’s latest Draconian Dystopian Lockup
On apostates, that compromise with evil
“They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.” Prov 28;4
And on the cause of unrestricted wickedness in our times,,,
“The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.” Ps 12:8
en passant, having just endured our own five-day lockdown (followed by eight days of continued mask-wearing and other restrictions) as dictated by Mr. 88 Percent–I mean, of course, the health advice–here in WA, you have my full sympathy. But the question is, what can we DO about it? We have been criticising the covid response for a full year now. Surely there’s something more that we can do?
@Doubting Thomas,
If you’re In Brisbane, the Brisbane Oratory in Formation, Annerley Parish offers the mass in Extraordinary Form (pre Vaticun II, 1962 Missal), conducted entirely in Latin except the homily is in English, male only alter servers and if a sung mass then traditional hymns circa 15th C to 19th Century. The Latin Mass Community in Wilston also offers a full Latin Mass. Musical instruments are only voice (choir) and pipe organ.
In todays society, I’m on the endangered species list….married white conservative christian male supporting the tenets of pro-life, pro-family, pro-freedom….and deeply saddened by the extortion, fraud and falsity of the socialist left agendas.
What to do about todays situation?
Educate ourselves with broader education of true history.
Educate our children with a traditional classical curriculum through the study of Latin, Logic (Maths, Physics, Chemistry), Rhetoric, Literature and History,
Encourage our children to read more good literature as opposed to some of the bile forced upon them by current state education
Encourage our children to study a third language after English and Latin…..suggesting either Italian, French or Spanish due to their Latin roots
Promote support and vote for conservative values that encourage freedom and not lockdowns in gulags.
Eat a healthy diet and don’t read listen watch or digest main stream media garbage…normally referred to as the ABC and other narrow minded journalists….find the truth, for example why doesn’t the press give me daily tables of the numbers of babies born each day (positive news) rather than the number of elderly people who died with some myth that they had China Virus (negative news)
And now I’ve got to try and be happy……
Is Donald Trump back as President yet?