2010 April Journal

 

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Summary of the articles and information in the Journal. 

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Summary - Salt Shakers Journal April 2010

 

Editorial (full version below)
"We atheists are not all godforsaken" must go down as the quote of the month.
Firstly, if you don't believe in God how can you claim He has not forsaken you?

'Halal' food - to eat or not to eat?
Jenny Stokes writes on the 'Halal' symbols on our foods, on what 'Halal' means and also on the religious issues involved that are of concern to Christians.

News & Action
Registered with no gender; Atheism ads; Federal ETS; Freedom of Religion;

Ouija Boards at Toys 'R' Us
Toys 'R' Us (USA) are currently stocking a 'glow-in-the-dark Ouija board and promoting it as a game to children and adding a bonus toy aimed at young children.

Britain & Australia move closer to same-sex marriages
Peter Stokes discusses the issues raised by the proposed introduction of a Relationship Register for homosexual and heterosexual couples.

Victoria - Equal Opportunity Amendments
Victoria's Attorney-General Rob Hulls recently introduced a bill into parliament to amend the Equal Opportunity Act (EOA), which contains some issues of grave concern for Christians.

Political Parties - What do they stand for? Part Four: The Australian Labour Party
Peter Stokes explains the history and philosophy of the Australian Labour Party.

Paid Parental or Maternity Leave Funding
Concerns are raised regarding the outcome for the waged mother, as compared to the outcome for the unwaged stay-at-home mother, due to the proposed paid parental leave scheme or the maternity leave scheme.

Lesbian ordained as a 'bishop'
The Episcopalian Church in the USA, has granted a Bishops 'crown' to a long standing lesbian.

Teaching 'creation' in Christian Schools
There is concern that the proposed national curriculum will restrict the teaching of creation in Christian schools in Australia. The situation in South Australia and New South Wales is noted.

Update: Charter of Rights
As the federal government is still considering its response to the National Consultation on Human Rights, there is still opportunity to address the issues that will protect our rights.

UK - Research on Marriage and Families
Research is continuing to prove that marriage provides the best environment for raising children.

UN: Girl Scouts and sex
The Girl Scouts currently deals with matters of sex and sexuality. They hosted a no-adults-welcome panel at the United Nations during March and distributed a brochure entitled, "Healthy, Happy and Hot".

World News
UN and adolescent sex; Geert Wilders in the UK; Damage from Pornography

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Full Editorial

"We atheists are not all godforsaken" must go down as the quote of the month.

(Cheryl Critchley, Herald Sun, 10/3/2010)

Firstly, if you don't believe in God how can you claim He has not forsaken you?

Secondly, if you have made the claim, 'there is no god', you have forsaken Him.

Of course, as Christians we know that nobody is forsaken by God until after they die. That is the wonderful hope that keeps people going through all kinds of difficulty. I remember General Peter Cosgrove saying in a speech at Parliament House, "there are no atheists in the trenches".

A great deal of discussion has taken place about Atheism, over recent weeks, due to the recent 'Global Atheist Convention held in Melbourne during March.

There was a lot of riling against religions, some justified, like Dawkins comments about Islam's intimidating "cut off your head" doctrine and some totally untrue, such as Peter Singer suggesting the New Testament, "orders the rich to give away their possessions to the poor", but what we didn't see were any arguments to prove God does not exist.

Or arguments that proved something came from nothing - a big bang without a 'big banger'.

Thankfully, when we look around us we see the wonderful evidence that life is too complex to be accidental and too intelligently made to be random.

We think the reason we are seeing a more aggressive Atheism is because they see it too, yet they don't want to admit there is more to life than this.

They want to stay in control - or even take control, to play gods themselves, despite the mess that resulted from that sort of philosophy in Germany, the USSR and China last century or North Korea today.

Yes, there are bad religions - just look at the Middle East today - but in the West, especially in Australia, we have more freedom that anywhere else, thanks to our Christian heritage.

But back to Cheryl, who decided to suggest her own ten commandments. She said, "One day I might start my own atheist religion. It would go something like:"ALL men and women are created equal." They are created  Cheryl, and God says they are equal - equal but different.

"LIVE your life according to what is right, not what is written in a 2000-year-old book." - Who says what is right, Cheryl?

"TREAT others as you want them to treat you." - Is this not Luke 6:31?

"RESPECT difference in others." - Even pornographers and child abusers, Cheryl?

"WATCH out for those less privileged."
- Is that like 'loving your neighbour'?

"NEVER judge people based on their religion, gender, race or sexuality." - Not even when some religions treat women as second best or a person's sexuality is unnatural and unhealthy?

"RESPECT relationships between consenting adults that do not hurt others." - Who is the 'judge' of what hurts others?

"QUESTION authority if it unfairly oppresses you or others." Every smoker would like this one - who judges what is oppression?

"NEVER compromise what is right, for money or promotion".  - Who decides what is right when 'we' get to make up the rules?

"IF and when God shows him or herself in person we will believe." HE DID, Cheryl 2000 years ago, but you still don't  believe!

Where do these atheists get their values?

Yours in the service of Jesus Christ,

Peter & Jenny Stokes