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FamilyVoice National Secretary David d’Lima used the Australia Day weekend to promote conciliation between black and white when he addressed the indigenous Brethren church at Port Augusta on 27 January.

Highlighting the Christian crosses on Australia's national flag, David d’Lima encouraged the almost completely aboriginal congregation to recognise how the message of Christ came to Australia in 1788.

“Today most indigenous people identify as Christian,” he said.

“While much wrong-doing has occurred, it was God’s plan to bring the knowledge of Christ and connect everyone in the wider family of nations across the Pacific.”

He thanked the indigenous people for their patience as white Australians learn to honour aboriginal language and identity.

“I see on Google maps the Pitjantjatjara words ‘Kata Wami’ at Port Augusta and I believe that means ‘Head of the Snake’ - obviously Spencer Gulf.

“We’ve learned to call Ayers Rock ‘Uluru’ and the Olgas ‘Kata Tjuta’ (many heads) in recognition of the names used for generations untold by the Pitjantjatjara peoples.

“I’m hoping South Australia’s State Flower the Sturt Desert Pea will be renamed ‘malu kuru’ (kangaroo eye) using the Pitjantjatjara name,” he said.

“But today I noticed kangaroo burgers on a menu in the Wadlata café, identified by the word ‘malu’.

“While someone is trying earnestly to honour your culture, hardly anyone understands that word and indeed no tribal people would eat kangaroo - unless it was killed according to ceremonial law!

“You can see how hard is the clash of cultures - though some people are trying to make connection; above all there is unity through faith in Christ.”

David d’Lima ended his message by highlighting The Proclamation issued in 1836 by Governor John Hindmarsh.

“We have a public holiday to mark Proclamation Day - yet hardly anyone realises this founding document is explicitly Christian and mainly describes the requirement to reach out with the love of God to assist the aboriginal people,” he said.

David d’Lima reported afterwards the listeners thanked him profusely for his message as they eagerly took printed notes on Australia's national flag and details about The Proclamation.

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FamilyVoice National Director Charles Newington speaks out about the importance of religious freedom for faith-based schools on Vision Christian Radio:

 “[Faith-based schools] are for religious purposes.” 

“Religion doesn’t just cover what we do in the building, but it covers how we approach science and how we approach the arts, and how we approach our engagement in the world.  And that is the nature of religion and this is part of the big debate that has been going on that some people don’t want to concede that religion is that holistic, that it influences everything.  They want to confine it to the private spaces – the home and the church hall.   

…

“We need to see that we are dealing with a major shift in the culture in an attempt to limit the freedoms of, not just the Church of Christ, but all religious bodies, to limit their freedoms and to impose the state over religious bodies and, in fact, telling them what they can and can’t teach.”

…

“The momentum in the public square commentary is very selective and frames Christians, in particular, as reactionary and historically irrelevant now.  I think it’s making Christians think very hard again about our engagement in society.”

You can hear more of Charles Newington’s interview at the Vision Christian Radio website here.

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President Donald Trump has slammed Democrats’ extreme abortion stance.

Speaking about a Virginia bill which would have allowed abortion up until birth, President Trump called it “terrible” and said that it would "lift up the whole pro-life movement like maybe it’s never been lifted up before."

In another tweet the President wrote that: “Democrats are becoming the Party of late term abortion, high taxes, Open Borders and Crime!”

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Virginia state politician Kathy Tran, who pushed the legislation, admitted during a committee hearing that her bill would allow a woman who is in labor to abort her baby.

Gilbert: So where it’s obvious that a woman is about to give birth, she has physical signs that she’s about to give birth, would that still be a point at which she could still request an abortion if she was so certified? She’s dilating?

Tran: Mr. Chairman, you know, that would be a decision that the doctor, the physician, and the woman would make.

Gilbert: I understand that. I’m asking if your bill allows that.

Tran: My bill would allow that, yes.

The controversy didn’t end there.  Later, in a radio interview, Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam provoked outrage after he advocated for infanticide in a radio interview.  As Fox News reported:

Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam … [told] WTOP radio that third-trimester abortions are done with "the consent of obviously the mother, with consent of the physician, multiple physicians by the way, and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities or there may be a fetus that’s not viable."

Northam then gave an example in which "the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."

Senator. Ben Sasse, a republican from Nebraska, condemned Governor Northam’s remarks:

In just a few years, pro-abortion zealots went from 'safe, legal, and rare' to 'keep the newborns comfortable while the doctor debates infanticide,'

I don't care what party you’re from — if you can’t say that it’s wrong to leave babies to die after birth, get the hell out of public office.

 

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So often when the media covers pro-life issues, if it does at all, it does so in a negative light.  It did that again at the recent March for Life in Washington DC, where over 100,000 (and 50,000 in Paris) stood for life from conception. How spectacularly their agenda backfired.

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At least 100,000 people marched in Washington, and perhaps over 200,000 marched across the country.

In case you missed the biggest story of the week, the media pushed the line that Catholic school students had harassed and mocked a Native American Indian at the annual pro-life protest.  That is, until its cozy narrative was destroyed.  As LifeSiteNews reported:

The original video showed the man, “indigenous peoples” activist Nathan Phillips, beating a drum and singing while students in Trump’s iconic red “Make America Great Again” hats laughed and hollered around him, with one student in particular grinning inches from the man’s face. But additional video and firsthand accounts soon revealed Phillips was the one who waded into the group waiting for its bus and decided to beat a drum inches from Nick Sandmann’s face, and other adults who accompanied Phillips shouted taunts like “white people, go back to Europe” at the kids.

Breitbart News highlighted how distorted the media’s coverage was of the pro-life event:

the major networks devoted 19 minutes to coverage of false accusations of racism against the Covington Catholic teens attending the March for Life, in contrast with only 58 seconds spent on the actual annual pro-life event.

Is it any wonder then that the media is losing credibility with the public?

One lawyer one was so incensed by the smearing of the students that he offered his services for free to sue a journalist for defamation.

He wasn’t the only one outraged.  President Donald Trump put out a tweet condemning the media for the disgraceful attack on the students:

Nick Sandmann and the students of Covington have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be. They have captivated the attention of the world, and I know they will use it for the good - maybe even to bring people together. It started off unpleasant, but can end in a dream!

But he didn’t stop there. The President has also invited the school students to the White House.

The hate that was whipped up by the media was so great that the school will remain closed until police say it is safe for students to return to class.

It’s a reminder that the world is as hostile an environment as ever for Christians. 

aus day

By David d'Lima

Dear friends, I invite you to use the following eight prayer points suitable for family devotions or church prayers ahead of Australia Day.

1. Almighty God and sovereign of the nations, we pray that the people of Australia will turn in faith to receive Christ as Saviour and Lord. 

2. We pray for Queen Elizabeth, and for her representative the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, and for the six State Governors as they supervise the civic system.

3. We pray for the High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel as she gives leadership to help the Court interpret the Constitution and the statutes of the nation.

4. Our Father, be with the Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he advises the Crown, chairs Federal Cabinet, supervises the ministry, and represents the Government.

5. Lord God, guide and bless the Members and  Senators in the remaining several weeks of the 45th Federal Parliament. Be with Bill Shorten as he leads the Opposition to scrutinise Government.

6. We pray for General David Hurley as he prepares to take up duties as Australia’s 27th Governor-General.

7. Lord bless the work of the federal government as it provides a fathering project to run in schools, designed to help dads take greater responsibility.

8. We pray for citizenship candidates as they make their pledges of loyalty on Australia Day, that they would truly share Australia’s democratic beliefs, respect it rights and liberties, and obey its laws.

9. We pray the community will utilise Australia Day for the promotion of harmony that builds upon our indigenous, migrant and Christian heritage, as a means of securing a peace and prosperity for all.

10. As the Federal Parliament considers the competing demands of individual rights and the common good, we pray that the historic freedoms of faith, association, contract and speech would be preserved.

Finally, here are a few salient questions about the Australian Flag that may stimulate family discussion ahead of Australia Day.

1. How many Christian crosses are on the Australian flag?

2. How many stars are on the flag?

3. How many points are on the flag’s largest star?

4. Beginning with the letter “F” or “C”, what is the name of the largest star on the Australian Flag?

5. Why was that star enlarged by one point in 1908?

6. What was the name of the snake lifted up by Moses on a pole, prefiguring Christ on the cross? (See John 3:14-15; Numbers 21:8; 2 Kings 18:4).

7. On which two days each year should the flag be flown at half-mast?

8. Which of the United States of America features the Union Jack?

9. According to Number 2:1-2, each Israelite man was instructed to camp under which two vexillological emblems?

10. Centred around the Tent of Meeting, what shape was formed by the twelve tribes as they encamped, according to Numbers 2?

To further explore the Christian concepts underlying Australia’s Star-Crossed Federal Blue Banner, I encourage you to view a short article entitled “Flying the Australian Flag” and also to print copies of a worksheet that enables family members to work together cutting and assembling the deconstructed elements of the flag. The worksheet would also be an excellent children’s resource to use in services on the Australia Day long weekend.

The worksheet and essay are on our website.