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Dear LEGO,

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You wrote :

1. « You have stated on this post and on another, that freedom of speech ends where it affects others »

No I did not LEGO. If you care to re-read my posts you will see that I wrote : “Like all individual rights, it’s only limited by the rights of all others …”.
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2. « The clear implication that you made is that if freedom of speech is against the law, then it must be OK »

You already made that comment and I already replied to it. Here is my reply once again : “I made no judgment on the law. I simply pointed-out that it existed and commented : “It will be interesting to see if Israel Folau takes the matter to court. I’m not sure it would be in his best interests to do so. If the court decides he broke the law he might end up in jail. I doubt that he would consider that to be in his best interests”.
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3. « Freedom of speech can be expressed as politely or as impolitely as you like. The only restriction is on "incitement to violence »

No, that is not the only restriction, LEGO. You will recall that I wrote in my first post to you : “Unfortunately, I am not aware of the legal situation in all the Australian states and territories regarding publicly threatening or inciting violence on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex or HIV/AIDS status, but here is an article on the legal situation in New South Wales and a brief explanatory note on the bill that was passed in 2018 :

http://hornet.com/stories/crimes-amendment-australian-homophobia/ ”
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4. « You either support freedom of speech or you do not. If you support freedom of speech you are a genuine liberal progressive »

I think you will find that most Australians support freedom of speech. But I doubt that most Australians qualify as “genuine liberal progressives”.

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(Continued …)

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(Continued …)

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I understand that "liberal-progressive" was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no liberal-progressive party: it was an alliance between two parties. In Manitoba, a party existed with this name (Wikipedia).

Here is an article on freedom of speech in Australia that may be of interest to you :

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/09/australia-does-not-have-freedom-of-speech/

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SR I am intrigued, by your overbearing, condescending rhetoric.
You speak as if from a position of authority.
You are not a moderator and you have already been outed as a whistle blower and a champion of virtue shaming.
Ozspen, has every right to comment, under the guise of 'opinion', and not have to endure a vitriolic barrage without being demeaned for doing so.
The name of this medium is On Line Opinion, in case you've forgotten.
'I am of course asserting you have made a fallacious use of a fallacy and am asking you to refrain'.

Dear ALTRAV,

You wrote;

“You speak as if from a position of authority. You are not a moderator and you have already been outed as a whistle blower and a champion of virtue shaming.”

Oh god strewth if you took your blinkers off for just one second you would realise that was exactly what I was highlighting about OzSpec.

And I will remind you that davidf, in your words, “has every right to comment, under the guise of 'opinion', and not have to endure a vitriolic barrage without being demeaned for doing so.”

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Dear OzSpen,
 
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You quoted my comment … “All too often, I have observed in some people that their beliefs have become so encrusted in their minds … their beliefs seem to have fossilised and turned into stone …”

and you asked :

« Does that also apply to your own non-Christian or anti-Christian beliefs? Have they also become fossilised as part of your world and life view ? »

I don't consider that I have either “non-Christian or anti-Christian beliefs”. I don't have what I could call “beliefs” as regards Christians or Christianity. I should rather say I have sympathies, understanding and opinions.

I'm a Christian. I have been baptised and confirmed. I was also an altar boy for many years and one of my lifetime friends is now a retired bishop. He was my religious instruction teacher when I was in primary school in the Queensland bush where I grew up. We have remained close friends ever since and continue to communicate together regularly.

As there was nobody in the bush with whom I could have an intelligent conversation I spent most of my spare time discussing philosophy and theology with the young priests of the bush brotherhood – to such an extent that everybody was persuaded that I too would become a priest.

I spent half a century investigating the god hypothesis, expecting that I would eventually believe there is a god – until a few years ago when I experienced what I can only describe as a revelation, a stroke of genius, a flash of light that hit me like a bolt of lightning and penetrated my mind. It suddenly dawned on me that there is no god.

I continued my investigations a little while longer, but in a different light, with the new conviction I had acquired, and it all became crystal clear. No god, no belief – just the understanding of how and why the concept developed.

But please be assured my mind remains open to any new evidence that may come to light anytime in the future.
 
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Banjo:
You say "I'm a Christian. I have been baptised and confirmed."
Then later on you reveal that it suddenly dawned on you that "there is no god".

You can't be both. One of the basics of Christianity is a belief in the one true creator God as found in the Christian Bible. If you have jettisoned a belief in the existence of the Christan God, then you have ceased to adhere to the definition of a Christian.

The Inspector