The way I see it a person either has their feet on the ground - in Australia or they are loyal to a cult -worship a god in space. It is a contradiction to believe in a magic god which creates a universe and remain loyal to a nation. Cults deal in jingoism and rhetoric, making patriotic claims based on religion are meaningless. This is true of all monotheistic superstitions.

The fact that Costello is superstitious and panders to prosperity cults like the pentecostals should not surprise anybody. Costello as treasurer has consistantly put the value of the material above the value of people. He belongs to a political party who buys votes rather than do the real work of government.

Ifran pentecostals are Christian in name only, they call themselves Christian but technically they are a new age prosperity cult very similar to the latest fastest growing religion 'the secret'. It is certainly true the cult of pentecostalism proscribes draconian dark age judgements to devalue outside society and engage in occult rituals. The other influence of Christianity is they look foward to the central monotheist value of ending the world where followers of the cult are magically lifted into a mythological kingdom akin to the giants castle in Jack and the beanstalk. The pentecostal theology go against all teachings of Jesus,even the good teachings as few as there are.

I suspect you rope them in as Judeo-Christian so as not to include Islam.

As an Australian, Christianity as are all monothesitic cults are as alien to me as little green men. To say the Judeo-Christianity sets my values as an Australian is ridiculous at best. A point in case, I can freely say this and survive because Australia is a secular society.

Reading this thread all I can say is Christians will claim moral superiority and monopoly. The claim of morality is unfounded as are all claims of Christistians and monothesists. The premise for the claim is claim of a real god despite the fact god lives exclusively in fantasy. Even as a man such a god is elusive as there is not a sniff of evidence that Jesus ever existed. Certainly in fact history contradicts the existence of the monotheistic god. Certainly in fact Christian history and the history of all monotheistic cults testify evil is the norm and good values are the exception to the rule. The religious individual has to be their good selves to hold any form of good values.Those who hold good values do so because personality is genetic. Be reminded Christianity has inspired a great many serial killers and Islam a great many terrorists, how is that possible if their religions held good values? Those Christians with good values will use all excuses for their god , god tests with cancer and tragedy. A jealous god is not a moral god. The rest go with the flow of god and ethnic cleanse, convert, witch hunt, terrorise,excommunicate and protest until every mole hill becomes a mountain, then persecutes. Morals and values are a monotheists version of a peddlers wrinkle cream and vitamin B which faith in it will make a 70 year old as young as a 20 year old. The result ,60 year olds who see's a 20 year old in the mirror who scoffs at the bemused who see a 70 year old in crop tops and mini skirts. Religion is the tailor for the emporers new clothes.

Monotheists claim morality and values , but the claim is meaningless. Morality and values in the religious sense is wrinkle cream.

Dickie has no idea. Afghans in the mid 1800's were always a part of Australia's exploration due to their use of camels. There weren't thousands of them though Dick. A few hundred. And were they Muslims? Who really cartes. They didn't shove it down anyone's throats like today's religious morins do. These Afghans are and were simply Australians.

Whatever Dick, it has nothing to do with what Irfan has written. If you look you might also find evidence of other races too mate. Maybe, perhaps. What a lot ot rot.

The comments by the treasurer, Mr Costello, typify the arrogance and downright ignorance of the American style right wing dominated federal cabinet. The Australian ethos has little to do with any Judeo/Christian coalition of values if indeed there is any such coalition at all. As has been pointed out earlier, democracy itself derives from a people that laid the foundations of western society long before christianity developed, and while the jews were still wandering around the desert being a general nuisance to all and sundry - as indeed they still are. Also,if Mr Costello wants to claim the good things for his particular brand of god-bothering garbage, he must also accept responsibility for the bad - e.g the slaughter of the Aborigines, the on-going rape of the environment etc etc. Stick to waving your arms around at Hillsong, Mr Costello - your reading of history and ethics is of no worthwhile interest to anyone other than the brainwashed bible-bashing coalition supporters upon which your job depends.

Really Robbyh? Who said there were "thousands" of Afghans living in Australia in the early days? Certainly not I!

Furthermore, 99% of Afghans are Muslim so it is very likely the early settlement of these people in Australia would reveal they were Muslims.

So what's your beef? I suspect your post is also a "load of rot".......all froth and no substance!

The "Afghans" weren't from Afghanistan - they were from India and Pakistan - and in those days there wasn't a mosque in every suburb and limitless petro-dollars to fund extremists.