Sancho,
No fault divorce, systematic and government financed killing of the unborn, and evolutionary science. If you can make any kind of case for how these three things have made a positive contribution to the lot of mankind, or our western society, I would love to hear it.

Although, of these three, some have had a positive effect on the others. For example, evolutionary philosophy, survival of the fittest, the striving of the strong to eliminate the weak fits quite nicely with freely available abortion. Those of us who are strong can freely eliminate the weakest and most defenceless in our society.

What is so sad about his whole issue is the condescension and self righteousness that the 'so-called' Australian Christian Lobby and its 'branch davidian like' fundamentalist followers rely on as 'decency'; as if they have the only franchise on what are acceptable social mores; that their selective use of their often widely different brands of "Holy Scripture" gives them the right to dictate to the whole of secular society what is and should be both ethical and moral. This fundamentalist dictatorship they so proudly espouse is divinely appointed by a carefully manipulated piece of text which they cudgel into a proclaimed mandate to impose their value system upon the world; namely Mark Chapter 16.

Much like the pharisees before them they have constructed their own sets of doctrines, creeds, rituals, sacrifices and generally ways to fleece their unquestioning followers into blindly accepting that because 10% of what they've said was right then everything they say must be just as true. This blind fundamentalism which has also made its way steadfastly into the halls of both established 'Christian' churches as well as those who would consider themselves independent; charismatic; brethren; home church; full-gospel; protestant and the most ritualistic of all, the 'inter-denominational' churches; carefully lifts each adherent up by their ankles and wrings every last penny from their pockets and savings accounts; all in the name of the salvation of the world.

Yet scarcely with the blink of an eye they find the freedom to condemn the Taliban for doing openly what they would prefer to remain hidden; occult; sanctified by tax concessions.

(Continued)

(continuation)

When it all boils down to its essence people like the Leighs; the Jim Wallaces, the Bill Muehlenbergs, the Peter Jensens and the George Pells of this world have to scream "Bloody Murder" from the rooftops about subjects like Gay Marriage; Lesbian access to IVF; A woman's right to determine what happens to her body; because it takes our eyes off the way they disobey those other parts of their "Holy Scriptures" that command them:

To feed and clothe the poor
To work for peace for ALL humanity
To work for EQUALITY for all human beings
To respect the Dignity of ALL human beings; no matter their colour or creed.
Not to impose their will upon all people; but to demonstrate love for one another.

and Most certainly
Not to Judge anyone, as that is the sole propriety of their God; as they are unable to see the heart; the core of the person.

I hear the words of Rowan Atkinson's "Welcome to Hell" monologue...

"Apologies to All the Christians, the Jews were Right!"

PS even some of them seem to be moving in the right direction and blessing the "Loving Relationships" of same sex couples.

" Christian principles and ethics accepted and influencing the way we are governed, do business and related to each as a community"

http://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/australian-christian lobby

That as a mission statement, has to be the highest level of arrogance ever.

"Influencing the way we are governed". Isnt that what the ballot box is for.

"Do Business", Now we know were "Work Choices" came from.

"Related to each other as a community". As long as you think and believe as we do, more like it.

The ACL say they do not want to create a theocracy....Pull the other one guys!

You will never impose your unAustralian beliefs on Australians. Your being is no better than a tabloid newspaper.

Thanks Graham,
I’m glad you got a chance to blow off a bit of steam and get that all of your chest.

Now for others who may be wondering what blind condescending fundmentalism is contained within the gospel of Mark chapter 16 and all the other stuff that Graham was going on about, I’ll type out some of it so that you don’t have to reference it.

Mark chapter 16

Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus' body…

When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, "Don't be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead!…

After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene... She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn't believe her…

Still later Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptised will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them..."

When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand…etc.

Dan Man. What ever baggage you are carrying, it don't belong to you!

Respect people, respect the diversity of life, it aint yours it aint mine, its everybodies.

I have found that people that wish to control others, have a lacking in their own lives.