I respectfully disagree. I think a Christian act is defined by what Christians do especially when it is done in the name of their religion.

Truthfulness, compassion and flexibility are desirable but not Christian traits. There is no evidence to support the idea that Christians exhibit these traits to a greater degree than non-Christians.

Fundamentalist Christians deny the scientific evidence for evolution and in effect lie for God. They manipulate the truth to promote their literal belief in the biblical creation story. However it would be unfair to deny the fervency of their Christian belief and their Christian identity.

Since the Christian religion assumed a position of power in the western world when it became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 and somewhat earlier it has on occasion been relentless in persecuting those people who have maintained their faith against Christian pressures or even questioned Christian doctrine. On many occasions it has even murdered.

There have been notable martyrdoms of those who refused the Christian demand to convert. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia tells of Hypatia, mathematician, philosopher and scholar, who was murdered by Christian monks in 370. Some think her martyrdom marked the beginning of the Dark Ages.

Doubters of Christian doctrine were also martyrs to Christian persecution. Michael Servetus, theologian, physician, cartographer and humanist, was executed in 1553 in Calvin's Geneva apparently for doubting the Trinity. Giordano Bruno, mathematician, philosopher and scholar, was executed in 1600 in Catholic Rome apparently for pantheism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jewish_martyrs tells of some of the many Jewish martyrs who were murdered because they refused to deny their faith. Some were executed by Christians. Some were Christians who became Jews and were executed for apostasy. Such a one was Nicholas Antoine whose fate was described in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Antoine.

The above acts were Christian. However the perpetrators were not compassionate and did not exhibit flexibiity.

I think Tony Abbott is a mean-spirited person who ignores human misery. However, to say he is not a Christian is unfair to Torquemada, one of the guiding spirits of the Spanish Inquisition and other sincere Christians who behaved in a similar manner.

...Well, Tony Abbott may not go “all the way with LB”J as a Christian, but Abbott is no fool. And I would hope when the Liberals “walk” into office at the next election, a top priority will be to correct the current debacle at our borders where hordes of foreigners simply walk a one way path into the country, with no intention of leaving. Illegal boat arrivals will be, no doubt, at the top of the list to be dealt with.

...Many Australians are also of the mind (such as myself), an upgrading of the department of immigration should include a focus on an expatriation program, to vet arrivals since the time of the current Labour Government, and expel those involved in criminal activity such as drug running and people smuggling; and clear the decks of all known rorters of our overgenerous current immigration policies

David F got it right.
The vatican for instance is a moral and ethical cess-pool. Always has been.
For a thorough-going description of the nature of applied christian politics as practiced by the benighted denizens that infest the vatican, including the number one honcho, the so called vicar of christ, why not check out the book by David Yallop titled The Power and the Glory: The Dark Heart of John Paul II's Vatican.
Plus his previous book In God's Name. And similar books listed on the Amazon review webpage.
And yet these benighted ghouls presume to lecture us about ethics and morals.

Yep,

Once religion is mentioned, especially that ill-defined corporatised range of religions claiming to be christian, common sense and decency leave the room.

Tony Abbott is, in my opinion, an excellent example of a Christian - inflexible, opinionated, irrational and more interested in his own desires and well-being than the needs of those around him. So, for what it is worth, are many other failed leaders such as Kevin Rudd or a whole swag of American past Presidents, but let's get back to Tony.

If Tony is a Christian, he is damaging his own brand.

Thankfully, there are many whose lives are built on a more principled and ethical foundation - but not all these make great leaders. For an example, we need look no further than Julia Gillard, but at least she doesn't blame her shortcomings on an invisible friend in the sky.

Any management text will contain a list of the qualities of a good manager. These include being trustworthy, a good listener, predictable, effective, honest and much more. Pity is, that doesn't describe many of our politicians of any stripe.

Michael Landragin is spot on.

Christian values emphasise the virtue of welcoming the stranger. The Old Testament has the same message more than 20 times.

In the New Testament, the parable of the good Samaritan is only one example.

Tony Abbott someohow manages to justify an attitude towards asylum seekers which Christ would certainly have rejected and which cannot be reconciled with the faith he claims to hold.

If he is not true to his word, and not true to his beliefs, why should anyone listen to him?

+1 to Michael and Julian. Andrew Prior