News

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WA Liberal Party candidate for Victoria Park, Amanda-Sue Markham, was speaking to media about her work in intensive care at a nearby Perth hospital when she was ambushed by aggressive questioning on homosexuality.

A Channel Nine reporter challenged her about her husband’s so-called “extreme views” about homosexuality.  Her husband, Rev Campbell Markham, is studying for a PhD at the University of Western Australia.  He had explained in his blog some standard Christian teaching on homosexuality.

Before she could answer the belligerent reporter, WA Liberal leader Zak Kirkup stepped up to the microphone saying that was not the purpose of the media conference.

After checking Campbell Markam’s blog, Kirkup said that he and the Liberal Party rejected his views.  However, he considered them irrelevant for Amanda-Sue’s candidature, adding that he believed she was an excellent candidate for the Liberal Party.

Kirkup was no doubt aware of the media furore surrounding Israel Folau and Margaret Court, due to their public comments on homosexual behaviour. Until relatively recently, people who rejected Christian morality may have merely disagreed with people like Israel Folau, Margaret Court or Campbell Markham.

No longer. In recent times people are attacked personally and condemned as “haters”, and sacked, removed or “cancelled”. Amanda-Sue, a committed pro-life campaigner while living in Tasmania, is facing a media onslaught.

Two days later, she responded to questions about her views of religion and homosexuality. 

On religion, she said, “I don’t believe my faith – which I have never sought to make an election issue – should be the subject of constant interrogation by the media.”

She said the issue of homosexuality was addressed in Tasmania during the 2019 federal election, when she was asked whether gay people went to heaven or hell.  At that time she said the answer was simple, “The basis of Christianity is that we are all sinners, we are all sinful people, and that’s a fundamental teaching of Christianity. It’s not specific to any one group of people, it’s just the foundation of Christianity.”

As a candidate in the current WA election Amanda-Sue said, “I believe in the values of individual responsibility, the importance of volunteering, caring for those who need help, and the freedom of religion.”

She said she should be judged on her own merit. “I am ready and able to represent the people of Victoria Park,” she said.

Amanda-Sue’s husband, Rev Campbell Markham is familiar with hostile attacks.

Like Catholic Archbishop Julian Porteous, Pastor Markham was hauled before Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner in 2017 for explaining why he opposed legalising same-sex marriage. It took a year of stress and legal costs before the complaint was ultimately dropped.

Back in July 2018 Campbell wrote a confronting article: “Australian Church Leaders, Prepare your People for Persecution”.

He said we should expect persecution for our faith. It is, in effect, “the new normal”.

He began: Last year [2017] an 18-year-old Australian Christian named Madeline was dismissed from [her job] after putting an “It’s OK to Vote No” filter on her Facebook profile…

The ACT Fair Work Ombudsman upheld Madeline’s dismissal, and said that it would “pursue no further action.”  There was no outcry against this decision. In fact there was no response at all…

We live and worship within a growing hostile environment … How must we respond to this change?

Clearly, we need to prepare for this “new normal”.

Peter Downie - National Director

FamilyVoice Australia

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Church sermons will be required to be submitted to the state, under a proposed new law in Denmark.

The draft law will require churches to translate, if necessary, and submit sermons to the government in a move which has been opposed by numerous Christian churches.

“I am sure it comes from a genuine concern about the security of the estate and the monitoring of all religious minorities who might be perceived as a security risk,” said Robert Innes, the Church of England’s bishop in Europe.

“I share the ambition of the Danish government to ensure safety and security and the desire that all religious organisations in Denmark conduct their act peacefully but to require translation of sermons into the national language goes too far. It goes in a concerning anti-liberal direction.

“In a democratic society I would hope the government would strive for better cooperation with religious organisations than hastily resorting to legislation interfering with their freedoms.

“This is a first which is why it is so important we find a way to address and encourage the Danish government to find another solution. Because my real concern is that if the Danes do it other countries may copy. That would be a very worrying development indeed.”

The Danish Government claims the purpose of the law is to “enlarge the transparency of religious events and sermons in Denmark, when these are given in a language other than Danish”.

“Preachers don’t always write full text of their sermons, they might write notes. They might preach extempore as the archbishop of Canterbury sometimes does and there are questions of idiom and nuance which requires a high level of skill in translation of course. It is a high bar. It is a skilled art and it is an expensive skill as well,” Innes added.

“I think overall there is a suspicion of people using languages that are not the native languages of the country concerned and that is in contravention of the article 9 of the convention of freedom of thought, comment and religion, which does guarantee for people to manifest their own religion and belief in worship teaching practice and observance, which must include the freedom to worship in your maternal tongue.”

If passed, if won’t be the first time a government has asked churches to turn over sermons.  In 2014, the City of Houston subpoenaed a number of pastors requiring them to hand over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s then lesbian Mayor.

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Former Senator Bob Day is targeting marginal seat MPs in the two major parties, warning them his newly-formed Australian Family Party will direct preferences away from pro-abortion MPs in the State election that is just over 12 months away.

Speaking to FamilyVoice Australia, Bob Day said letters to MPs were delivered personally last week, informing them of the direct action his party will deliver.

“On Monday last week, the Australian Family Party wrote directly to SA marginal seat holders (Liberal and Labor) stating the Party would direct its preferences away from them at the next State election if they supported this late-term abortion Bill,” Bob Day said.

“As Christians we do not enjoy confrontational politics,” he explained.

“However recognizing confrontation is inevitable when dealing with the Left, for they have absolutely no intention of stopping their worldwide goals.”

Meanwhile, the Sunday Mail yesterday strangely referred to hundreds of people who attended the Walk for Life held on Saturday, mentioning the word “thousands” only in the body of the news report.

“The opening of the article seemed to downplay the extraordinary turnout,” said FamilyVoice Spokesman, David d’Lima.

“But our prayer is that MPs will recognise the pro-life event as further evidence of public concern about the outrageous abortion bill, that is expected to be debated in mid-February.”

 Please send a quick message to your MP to oppose the radical abortion bill

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Catholic and Islamic leaders have written to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews warning that his “Conversion Practices” Bill targets people of faith “in an unprecedented way”.

“We write on behalf of the Muslim and Catholic communities in Victoria in solidarity with other people of faith, expressing profound concern over the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020,” the letter begins.

“Every day we are working alongside our fellow Victorians to celebrate our diversity, care for the vulnerable and serve one another. We value our freedom to do so responsibly, by supporting and caring for people in their searching and questioning, with honesty, attentiveness, and compassion.

“Unfortunately, this Bill doesn’t just ban out-dated and insidious practices of coercion and harm, which we firmly reject. The bill also criminalises conversation between children and parents, interferes with sound professional advice, and silences ministers of religion from providing personal attention for individuals freely seeking pastoral care for complex personal situations. It includes ill-conceived concepts of faith and conversation, vague definitions, and scientifically and medically flawed approaches. It places arbitrary limitations on parents, families and people of faith. People change for all kinds of reasons, and should feel free to do so, whether it be on matters of personal identity, gender, sexuality, family association, or religion. Contrary to its intent, this Bill obstructs people’s freedom by limiting, restricting and removing options for their good, thereby creating undesirable possibilities of harm.”

The open letter is signed by Mr Mohamed Mohideen, President of the Islamic Council of Victoria, Catholic Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, and other Catholic leaders.

“At present the Bill appears to target people of faith in an unprecedented way, puts limits on ordinary conversations in families, and legislates for what prayer is legal and what prayer is not.”

The letter ends with an urgent request for a pause on the bill.

 Send a quick message to your MP urging them to reject the extreme "Conversion Practices" Bill.

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Last week’s article about Australia Day got me thinking some more about its meaning.

The date, 26 January, comes from the day in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip, along with the crew of his ship the Supply, gathered on the shore of Sydney Cove to hoist the British flag.  They had anchored off the cove, now called Circular Quay, the day before.

This historic event is depicted in the famous 1937 oil painting by Algernon Talmage, below:

By raising the flag, Phillip was claiming British sovereignty over the eastern part of Australia, then known as New Holland. He thereby brought to our land the English common law, with its protections of individual rights and freedoms.

A central element of the common law is that the law should apply equally to everyone.  This Judaeo‑Christian principle comes from Genesis 1:27 – God created all people in his own image.  His laws applied equally to the people of Israel, and to strangers who were living among them (e.g. Exodus 12:49).

The apostle Paul expressed the same notion when he spoke in Athens: “The God who made the world and everything in it ... made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.” (Acts 17:24-26)

The British government intended to treat colonists and natives equally as British subjects. The Proclamation of South Australia, read out under the Old Gum Tree at Glenelg on 28 December 1836, stated Governor Hindmarsh’s resolve: “to take every lawful means for extending the same protection to the Native Population as to the rest of His Majesty’s Subjects”.

However, the lived experience of indigenous Australians has fallen far short of this aim.  The often‑tragic story is documented by John Harris in his monumental work, One Blood: 200 Years Of Aboriginal Encounter With Christianity: A Story Of Hope.

Nevertheless, significant progress has been made towards equal treatment of indigenous Australians since colonisation. 

When Australia became a nation at federation on 1 January 1901, all Australians – including indigenous people – were considered British subjects.

This changed when federal parliament passed the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948. It came into effect on Australia Day, 26 January 1949.  Australians, including indigenous Australians, were now Australian citizens who could carry Australian rather than British passports.

Today, indigenous Australians have taken their place in many different areas of Australian society.  There are now six indigenous MPs in federal parliament, including Ken Wyatt (Lib), Minister for Indigenous Australians, Pat Dodson (ALP) and Jacqui Lambie (JLN). They make up 2.6% of federal MPs, approaching the 3.3% of indigenous people in Australia.

Over the past 50 years, eight indigenous people, including Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Cathy Freeman and Adam Goodes, have been honoured as Australian of the Year – 16% of recipients.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, indigenous activist and Alice Springs deputy mayor, has called on those fighting for indigenous rights to “invest their energy into supporting practical outcomes to overcome family violence, child sexual abuse, youth suicide, alcohol and substance abuse in our indigenous communities.”

Much more is needed to address disadvantage and enable indigenous Australians to fully participate in Australian society.  In doing so we would do well to uphold the Judaeo-Christian principle that we are all “one blood”, made in God’s image, under one law applying equally to all.

I would welcome any thoughts you have on these important matters. And, if you are able, a donation to this ministry would be greatly appreciated.

Peter Downie - National Director

FamilyVoice Australia