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Raising children in the fear of Almighty God David d’Lima, FamilyVoice Australia - June 2021 Part of the privilege and responsibility of parents and teachers is to encourage young hearts and minds towards knowing God, who is both loving and holy, and who therefore is to be loved and to be feared. Indeed, all authorities in society, including parents, teachers and governmental leaders, should be loved and respected, and therefore it is good to encourage those responses among the children we nurture. The word ‘fear’ is regarded somewhat negatively within modern thinking, both in Christian and secular contexts. Hence it is valuable and necessary to restore the wise and biblically-endorsed concept of fear. The gift of fear is built into creation itself. Hence, people are rightly frightened by unexpected loud noises, and sources of pain, such as hot surfaces or sharp implements. As expressed by an Irish proverb: A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned. While such examples of fear may be called a common grace (functioning as good gifts that are granted to all humanity), other aspects of fear must be taught and learned - in response to the revelation by God concerning his character and qualities.

In this issue: Labor attacks babies and free speech ... March for Life in Brisbane on September 1 ... ‘Language madness’ restarts in Defence Force ... How to birth a pro-life culture ... Call for positive religious freedom protections ... Opt-out filters aren’t censorship ... Why the Lord’s Prayer matters ... Constitutional challenge to “safe access” speech ban

Reflections on Australian Citizenship David d'Lima, FamilyVoice Australia - August 2017 Since developing Australian citizenship in the mid-Twentieth Century, the nation has struggled to find the right approach, with five pledges used in five decades, as may be seen in the following short survey. In 1901 at Federation, Australians were not citizens of Australia, but of Britain. In 1948 Australian Citizenship was created, and it took effect from 1949. From that date, candidates for citizenship made the following Oath of Allegiance: I, A. B; swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King George the Sixth, his heirs and successors according to law, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Australia and fulfil my duties as an Australian citizen. From 1966 all persons pledging themselves as Australian citizens were required to renounce all foreign allegiance, but received the optional choice of making no reference to God when they made their promise: I, A. B., renouncing all other allegiance, swear by Almighty God [or solemnly and sincerely promise and declare] that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors according to law.

PHYSICAL DISCIPLINE: IS IT EVER OK? By Roslyn Phillips, BSc DipEd.             In March 2014, an Audelaide father faced court on an aggravated assault charge for smacking his 12-year-old son. The father - an Air Force pilot "of excellent character and work ethic" - shared custody of his son with his former wife, whose approach to parenting he considered "very laisser-faire".     By contrast, the father set firm boundaries about bed times, TV and computer use, meals and chores. He did this out of love, trying to instil self-discipline to his son - along with values including respect, dignity and integrity.

Prepared by David d'Lima.

THE DANGERS OF REDEFINING MARRIAGE. By Dr David van Gend, family doctor and president of Australian Marriage Forum.             Redefining marriage is a dangerous idea. It redefines everything from parenting and kinship bonds to sexual morality and acceptable religious doctrine. G.K. Chesterton warned "This triangle of truisms - father, mother and child - cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilisation wich disregards it." 

Rendering honour on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday David d’Lima - FamilyVoice Australia, June 2020 As the first and oldest Australian public holiday, the Queen’s Birthday gives the opportunity to render honour to our Sovereign Lady, along with various noteworthy people who are recognised by awards that are conferred on that day each year, under the Order of Australia, of which Her Majesty is head. Action to honour the Sovereign, as the nation’s highest authority, is a virtue that is commendable to all Australians, regardless of their political views. Such action accords with the way we have arranged our civic system in Australia. Furthermore, it is coherent with the following biblical precepts: Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour (Romans 13:7); Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him ... (I Peter 2:13); Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the king (I Peter 2:17).

Shaping the Australian identity David d’Lima, FamilyVoice Australia - November 2020 The identity of the Australian people is the set of qualities that characterise those who live on our great island continental landmass. Those characteristics include the predominantly English heritage of the people, including the language, religion, customs, civic institutions, food and clothing exported by England in the colonial era. The First Fleet arrived in 1788, bringing convicts and colonists who carried the English language, the Christian faith, the Crown, with the law code and customs of Britain. Indigenous culture flourished prior to the arrival of British people, but Aboriginal influences on colonial and modern Australian mainstream identity are minimal. The greatest indigenous influence on Australian culture is perhaps the use of the didgeridoo by some musicians, and the use of certain indigenous nouns including kangaroo, koala, boomerang, Uluru, and Kata Tjuta...

Solomon David d’Lima - FamilyVoice Australia, June 2020 King Solomon is regarded as a man of tremendous wisdom as he led the united monarchy of Israel and Judah, and as he built the temple of God. Solomon was born in about 990 BC as the most famous son (and successor) of King David. He built the temple of God in Jerusalem, but is most famous as the author of three books of Scripture: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. Solomon commenced his reign by the remarkable adjudication of a dispute between two women who both claimed one baby (1 Kings 3) as he applied a remarkable appreciation of human psychology....

THE SCHOOL BULLYING PROBLEM By Roslyn Phillips, BSc DipEd. National Research Officer, FamilyVoice Australia             "Throughout school I was always a geeky kid," Stuart McGregor (41) says. "A nerd if you will. The kind of kid bullies love. Except I had one feature that stood out. I was a coppertop. A red dog. A ranga. A redhead. With freckles."That feature made me a target for bullies. On a daily basis I would be beaten. I was afraid to go to the toilet at school for fear of my head being flushed. "Let's get that red out of your hair, ranga," the bullies would say as they tipped me upside down. Blue Loo tastes as awful as it looks and smells."

In this issue: Euthanasia bill voted down ... Health Minister opposes euthanasia ... ‘Language madness’ restarts in Defence Force ... How to birth a pro-life culture ... Call for positive religious freedom protections ... Opt-out filters aren’t censorship ... Why the Lord’s Prayer matters ... Constitutional challenge to “safe access” speech ban  

Spectacular Australian Flag glasses Prepared by David d'Lima May we ... lift up our banners in the name of our God (Psalm 20:5) Print these images on thick paper (perhaps 250 gsm) to make two A5 worksheets.