John Howard and Kevin Rudd are both appealing to Christian values in an effort to enhance their status as worthy leaders. But what are these Christian values we’re supposed to admire? As neither Howard nor Rudd are keen to spell them out, the Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc decided to take a look. We discovered it’s easier to gain an understanding of Christian values by looking at the things they oppose rather than the things they reckon they support.

See the 10 key points: http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/mediarelease.htm

The AFA has sent a Questionnaire on a number of these matters to all federal politicians. It is alarming how few have responded! Are our representatives with no ‘faith’ frightened to be honest because of a possible religious backlash? Or are they merely the lap-dogs of political power-brokers, fearful of repercussions for non-compliance?

Whatever their reasons, it is inexcusable that those touting for votes by pushing Christian values are so contemptuous of the electorate that they refuse to state them in the Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc survey. http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/survey.htm

Our parliamentarians enact laws binding on all Australians. If they are using Christian values to determine what makes a good law, then it is high time these values were written down clearly, and published for everyone to see. How else can we learn to trust political decisions? By concealing their values and motives, politicians undermine our fragile democracy. More than half the voting population has no interest in religion, so to continue pretending that Christian values are somehow better than, or different from the universal ethical guidelines that have kept humanity going for a couple of hundred thousand years, is stupid and unrepresentative.

If the citizens of Australia want to keep their society democratic, secular and pluralist, then they should demand answers from would-be politicians, whether they represent a political party or are ‘Independents’ – far too many of whom are merely front men and women for religious organisations. This is the only way to make your vote count.

Good points, Atheist Foundation, and a very interesting link.

However, I hope you've got both a thick skin and a raincoat - this forum is infested with hard core religious (mostly Christian) zealots and fundies.

Good luck, and keep your head down!

Nooooww CJ.. don't let it out of the bag :)

Atheist. There are some values that Christians are more likely to vote for in this democracy than others.

For example. I and I'm sure most of us would vote to 'BAN' all XXX rated videos coming from Canberra to the rest of the country. Unfortunately that is one 'Christian' Value which Mr Ruddock does not subscribe to.(I have the letter to confirm this)

We would also (if possible) have some kind of 'minimum standard' for the types of literature available at service stations.. yep.. NO PORN...wham bam thankyou maam.. no porn at servo's..

There are a host of such things I'm sure, which usually put us into the 'wowser' category which is just a small step short of the 'How dare you impose your values on us' thing.

Then there are various usual 'left wing/Socialist' values which include
-Same sex marriage
-Gay adoption
-Abortion.

So.. don't expect us to be jumping up and down with joy each time an aborted human life is flushed down the toilet or shredded though the garbage disposal of the clinic kitchen.

So.. if you call holding high ideals on these issues a moral mess, then so be it. We don't.

But the most funamental 'Christian' values on which ALL our laws should be based are simple.

1/ Love God with all your heart
2/Love your neighbour as yourself.

Now..I can hear the howwwwwl already. 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN' making laws about loving God? you say.... true.. I was not serious on that one, just getting your passions going there :) but I will point out though, that without "1" you are left with 'MIUAUG' which regular BOAZ bashers know to mean 'make it up as u go'

Of course the atheist foundation support the 'right' of all Australians to be fed porn which assists the paedophiles as clearly seen in our indigeneous and white communities, they support murdering unborn children in the name of 'women's rights' the promotion of depravity in schools (even though many of them refuse to send their own kids to listen to the rubbish)and then complain when their man Mr Rudd opposes these things. The atheist foundation supports all as equal as long as you don't oppose their hopelessly flawed humanistic thinking.

just wondering...if the people who oppose abortion would still oppose it if they had been raped and an unwanted pregnancy resulted from that rape? What if they were a good "christian" but decided on an abortion? Does whatever god you believe in say that you must have an unwanted baby due to a rape, or you are not a christian?
Just wondering...because once a "christian" friend of mine said to me" you would make a good 'christian'" I said why and she stated because I help people. Why do I have to believe in someone else's god in order to help people? Can't I just be me and have no god to run my life? Why does everything have to revolve around religion and not just revolve around each individual?

Dear Callie
you have raised probably 'THE' most difficult ethical challenge to the santity of life.
I cannot imagine even a fraction of the trauma a woman may feel at the thought of a child growing inside her caused by the violent rape of her person.
This kind of thing happened in Bosnia, and many Muslim women were raped and impregnated by Serbs, and I'll bet that many Serb women were also impregnated by Muslim men and Croatian.
Some had the child and others committed suicide, some who had the child gave them up immediately, others kept them.

We should consider firstly though, that a life has been conceived.
That life had nothing to do with the crime which brought him or her into being.

Is it right to kill that life which though no fault of its own came to be ?

Would it not be better to take a positive stance on this, and take the child to term, and offer it for adoption to infertile couples?

These are just questions, I cannot in general, make any judgement on how the individual copes with such an event. If the woman is Christian, I feel I can say it would be better to allow the child to be born and adopt it out. Out of tragedy, good things can still happen.

I used to raise many hyperthetical situations such as this one, when God was knocking on the door of my own heart in my early 20s. I knew deep down, that I was just making excuses not to committ my life to Him.

EUTHENASIA is an issue we don't talk about much as Christians. Personally, I think if a persons heart is settled under God, and they have no fear of death, and it is inevitable, they should be free to simply request pain relief, and refuse some artificial life supports.
I don't think there is much 'mercy' in actively killing someone, but we could conjour up any number of heart wrenching hypertheticals.