VoxBrief

FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION: Education, children and the purpose of God. By Sarah Dingle.        "In the space of just a few decades, homosexuality has gone from being a criminal offence to a psychological disorder, to an acceptable way of life, to today, the 'new virtue'. Without doubt, we are living in a time of massive moral and cultural change." The shift towards same sex marriage in Australia has happened quickly. Just a short time ago, neither major party in Australia would support changing the meaning of marriage in law. Momentous social change of this nature leaves us with the question of how a revolution of this type has occurred; how does such significant social change take place so quickly?

BRINGING FREEDOM AND ORDER TOGETHER IN A FALLEN WORLD. By Rev Dr Peter Barnes.         The recent plebiscite on same-sex (or any gender) marriage has raised a number of issues for Australian society, and, indeed, for Western societies in general. A key concern is that of the basis upon which Western laws operate.     Over the last two hundred years or so, the notion has grown that Western secular societies operate best in a context of maximised freedoms standing on a thin moral base. Paradoxically, this has led to those who are most vehement in favour of homosexual rights to be most coercive when it comes to legislation.

ISLAM AND WOMEN - STORIES FROM BEHIND THE VEIL. By Dr Stuart Robinson, award-winning author, The Hidden Half.         There is more to it than meets the eye of the beholder... A few years ago when I was on talk back radio, a young lady phoned in from interstate. She told me she was a Muslim and wanted to ask some questions. To provide some context I asked where she had gone to school. She named a Christian denominational school that she had attended for 12 years. I next asked had she ever read a Bible. She hadn't.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF UNDER ATTACK. By John Ballantyne, former editor of News Weekly.         Many Australian Christians in recent years have sensed that the society around them has been transformed almost out of recognition. Values that their parents and grandparents took for granted are today openly derided. Marital fidelity and family values have diminished, at the same time as divorce and non-marital cohabitation have increased. The very institution of marriage has been called into question, with more and more Australian public figures each year calling for marriage to be redefinded to include same-sex couples.

EUTHANASIA: ARE THE RISKS TOO GREAT? From the Minority Report by Daniel Mulino MLC to the Victorian Legislative Council Inquiry into End of Life Choices, June 2016. Edited by Roslyn Phillips, BSc DipEd.             Debate about legalising euthanasia and assisted suicide continues to rage in most states of Australia. The Victorian Legislative Council established an Inquiry into End of Life Choices in May 2015, and issued its final report in June 2016.     A majority of the committee members who conducted the inquiry recommended, among other things, that assisted dying be legalised in certain limited circumstances. Daniel Mulino MLC, one of the two members who disagreed with this recommendation, has issued a comprehensive minority report that considers the evidence in some detail.

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.

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." 

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."

A VOICE TO OUR NATION. By David Phillips. Edited extract from 'Courage in a Hostile World - the story of FamilyVoice Australia'.             My wife Ros and I were driving along in our rental car during a 1990 holiday in New Zealand. We were enjoying the majestic scenery when suddenly we saw it - a large billboard saying: 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD!' (Ps 33:12) It challenged my thinking: What does it mean for a nation to serve God?

THE TRUTH ABOUT TRANSGENDERISM: WHAT EVERY PARENT NEEDS TO KNOW. Edited by Roslyn Phillips, BSc DipEd.        Brett (not his real name) was only three years old when he discovered barbie dolls. His parents thought it was a phase he would soon out grow, but that didn't happen. He wanted to wear frilly pink dresses like those Barbies wore. At kindergarten, he only wanted to play with girls. He told people that he wanted to be a lady when he grew up.

THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE: WHY THE US SUPREME COURT GOT IT WRONG. Edited by Roslyn Phillips, BSc DipEd.         On 26 June 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled (5:4) that same-sex 'marriage' is a fundamental right under the US Constitution. This decision by five unelected judges has automatically legalised same-sex 'marriage' in all 50 US states, including those where voters had rejected same-sex 'marriage' via democratic referendums.     The majority ruling was splashed across world headlines - but very few media outlets reported the foud dissenting opinions, including that of US Chief Justice John Roberts. All four were scathing of the majority judgment, pointing out that it ignores both logic and precedent, and exceeds the Court's pwer. Each opinion expressed deep concern that the Court has ushered in a new form of tyranny.

INDIGENOUS RECOGNITION: SHOULD WE CHANGE THE CONStITUTION? By Dr David Phillips, National Director, FamilyVoice Australia.         In a major 2007 address, former Liberal prime minister John Howard spoke of "the anguish so many Australians feel about the state of Indigenous Australia and the deep yearning in the national psyche for a more positive and unifying approach to Reconciliation."     Mr Howard promised that, if re-elected that year as prime minister, he would hold a referendum to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution. However his government lost office.