April 2009 Journal Summary  

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Summary of the articles and information in the Journal. 

Editorial (full version below)
More and more we read, even from Christians, the 'fundamentalist' Christianity is dying or dead, that evangelicalism needs to move to the middle ground and be more inclusive. Yet we continually hear you saying to us that traditional Christian values are important and that we need to maintain not only the fundamentals of our faith but also of our values.

An Interesting Dilemma
Peter Stokes looks at research continually providing "no evidence that there is a homosexual gene, in other words, no evidence anyone is actually 'born' a homosexual or lesbian..."

News and Action
Abortion and overseas aid; Victoria - Gambling revenue; Federal - Alcopops tax; Baby bonus.

The Travail of His Soul
Andrew Lansdown reminds us that "Jesus' suffering was much more than physical. It was spiritual as well." But that it was also not without purpose.

Surrogacy
The state and federal attorneys-general and state Health and Disability Ministers are conducting a national Inquiry into surrogacy Laws.

Victoria - Sentencing
The Victorian Attorney-General has asked the Sentencing Advisory Council to investigate the adequacy of the maximum penalties that currently imply for the offence of "sexual penetration with a child under the age of 16."

Victoria - Exemptions in EO Act
The Victorian Parliament's Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee is investigating the exemptions in the state's Equal Opportunity Act.

Federal Bill of Rights
Submissions close 16 June.

Freedom of Religion
The Australian Human Rights Commission is continuing with its inquiry - Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21^st Century.

Gambling
The Productivity Commission is continuing with its inquiry into gambling.

Parliament of the World's Religions
Jenny Stokes looks at the funding, organisers and history of the Parliament of the World's Religions. It is a major interfaith gathering held every five years since 1993. Religions are encouraged to 'meet' together to talk and interact. This year it shall be held in Melbourne in December.

Abortion - around the states
With the passing of the Abortion Law Reform Bill in Victoria in October 2008, we expect that NSW, and perhaps Queensland, may soon face similar proposals to legalise abortion.

Ten Wrongs with a Bill of Rights
Bill Muehlenberg presents ten arguments against a Federal Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights - Submissions/Meetings
The Consultation Committee, appointed by the Rudd government to investigate a Bill of Rights for Australia, has to provide a Report to the government by 31 July 2009. Check our Campaign Page - http://www.saltshakers.org.au/html/P/302/B/567/

TV Programs - what can I do?
Peter Stokes explains what action to take when concerned about programs broadcasted on television, referring to Home and Away and it's episodes regarding a same-sex relationship.

Intolerant tolerance
"While proclaiming tolerance as a virtue, there is an increasing incidence of intolerance by groups and people wanting to silence the views of Bible-believing Christians."

AHRC: Sex and Gender
The Australian Human Rights Commission has released a report called Sex Files with recommendations that would drastically alter current laws in regards to marital status and the definition for a change in legal sex.

Stem Cells - new developments
A report on pluripotent adult stem cells, Barack Obama's federal funding for embryo stem cell research and stem cell research from aborted babies.

World News
Canada: Euthanasia; UK: Islam; Europe: Same sex 'marriage'; UK: Girls cancer vaccine; European Union: 'marriage'; USA: TransAction Day

April 2009 - Full Editorial

Firstly, we want to say a personal thank you to all those who responded to Barney's letter regarding our financial situation. We give praise and thanks to God for all of you, not just for the finances that have come through but for the encouragement to continue that came with them.

More and more we read, even from Christians, that 'fundamentalist' Christianity is dying or dead, and that evangelicalism needs to move to the middle ground and be more inclusive. Yet we continually hear you saying to us that traditional Christian values are important and that we need to maintain not only the fundamentals of our faith but also of our values.

True evangelicalism is dying in the face of growing 'secularism' in the West. But what we loosely call 'secularism' is, in reality, many other 'worldviews' that Christians are finding it increasingly hard to
contend with.

One reason for this dilemma would seem to be that older Christians have been seduced by the rhetoric of 'being nice', or "we must not judge others" or the deception that compromise is the way forward - whether that be in the realm of politics or interfaithism, or even how we raise our families and accept alternative lifestyles.

Yet we are exhorted to "hold on to what you have until I come" by Jesus Himself in Rev 2:25. Young Christians are not being trained to "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil", as told to do by Paul in Thess 5, and they are not taught how to, "contend earnestly for the faith" against other worldviews (Jude 1:5).

This is why we became involved in Biblical and other worldview training 5 years ago, both at a local church/city level and at a national level in conjunction with Summit Ministries.

The going has not been easy - there is a reluctance to grasp the idea that most Christians do not have a sound Biblical Christian worldview. We acknowledge we are losing ground and don't think we can compete, but don't really want to ask why.

Yet we also need to understand that it is not enough today to just understand our own worldview - we also need to understand our competition. No football or cricket team goes on the field without studying their opposition, understanding their technique and strategy - their game plan.

Unfortunately most Christians know far too little of the competition. We so easily swallow ideas such as, 'humanism is not a religion', 'Islam is a religion of peace', 'homosexuals are born that way' and 'Buddhists are tolerant'. If you think any of those are true, you need to do some serious study to find out the real truth!

Last year we promoted the Truth Project, produced and distributed by Focus On The Family. We said that every Christian should do this excellent 12 part DVD study on the Christian worldview - have you?

We had around 100 full time and another 100 part time participants at our week long Summit worldview school in Melbourne, but that is a very small proportion of even the Melbourne Christian community.

We are available to run weekend or one day worldview schools, family or youth camps or evening meetings to speak at church services. We are still hoping to run a week long Worldview school again in Melbourne next January.

We want to help you make a difference!

Yours in Christ Jesus

Peter & Jenny Stokes