Over-egged

Australian Labor MP Linda Burney jumps into the arms of Liberal MP Warren Enstch  after 
parliament passed legislation to allow same-sex marriage in Australia. Michael Masters/Getty

This was the scene when Australia overwhelmingly voted to legalise same-sex marriage on Thursday. More pictures here.

There was considerable drama. An emotional Liberal MP fought back tears to propose to his long-term partner in the House of Representatives shortly after the same-sex marriage bill was introduced to the Lower House.

The vote was "greeted with applause from all sides of politics and the public gallery" (here). Spectators in the public gallery began singing “I Am Australian” (here) but such enthusiasm was disproportionate and inappropriate.

The reality has been exposed in Great Britain by the Coalition for Marriage. Quoting a study by academics at the University of York: "There are around 40,000 places of worship in Britain in which a traditional marriage may be solemnised. Only 182 of these are registered to conduct same-sex weddings. Half of those which responded to the researchers had never done so.

The study showed that "the total number of same-sex marriages that have been solemnized in the
places of worship comprising the sample is 83. Over half of the places of worship that have
solemnized a same-sex marriage have done so on only one occasion. 19 places of worship report that they have solemnized one same-sex marriage, eight report that they have solemnized two same-sex marriages, and four report that they have solemnized three same-sex marriages. Only five places of worship have solemnized four or more same-sex marriages, with the highest number of  same-sex marriages solemnized in any place of worship reported as 10".

The gay marriage plebiscite in Australia was estimated to cost Australia $525 million but a poll suggests that the millions of dollars spent on television advertising by the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ sides during the same-sex marriage campaign had little impact on voting intentions.

The population of Great Britain in 2016 was around 66 million compared with 24 million in Australia so in the unlikely event of exceptional demand the number of same sex marriages in Australia compared with the 118,401 marriages registered should be tiny.

The enthusiasm for gay marriage when compared with this reality is baffling. There are so many deserving causes which could benefit from money wasted on providing self-satisfaction for a few people with little or no regard for the sanctity of marriage as generally understood which is the union between one man and one woman for the procreation of children, without whom civilization would cease.

They talk of love and equality with no apparent understanding of either. Civil partnerships granted equality whether couples loved one another or not.

Same sex 'marriage' has over-egged a wrong which was put right at considerable cost with no benefit whatever to society.

It has been egged on by the media, often portraying the church as out of touch yet only a week after his enthronement in Brecon Cathedral the Archbishop of Wales John Davies is referred to in his local newspaper as the 'Archbishop of Brecon'. The Most Rev John Davies is also the diocesan bishop of Swansea and Brecon.

Twitter advises that the Archbishop of Wales will be discussing the role of the church in Welsh life on BBC Radio Wales Sunday Supplement this Sunday at 8am. Clearly he has much to do. On its own web site, the Church in Wales regularly refers to its clergy as, for example, Rev Smith instead of the Rev John Smith or the Rev Mr Smith.

Given the record of the bench of bishops in the Church in Wales, no doubt 'Right Rev John' as he was referred to in a BBC news article will be thrilled for the people of Australia in another giant leap for secularism.

Postscript [10.12.2017]

Readers who tuned in to listen to the Archbishop of Wales talking about the role of the church in Welsh life will have been disappointed if they expected any hint of the Great Commission. In his first presidential address to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales, bishop John Davies urged, "Put evangelism at heart of ministry".

There was little evidence of putting his words into practice. Instead we had the political face of a progressive church which, allegedly, "respects the consciences of people who feel differently" while providing their own answer to the Archbishop's question: "What would Jesus do?"

Ignoring what Jesus actually did when appointing His apostles and using 'love' as justification for departing from scripture and tradition, the Archbishop misleadingly pointed to the Governing Body as being representative of congregations when we all know from experience that it has become a tool to be used or ignored by the bench of bishops as have parish soundings and expensive diocesan consultations.

But the pièce de résistance came with the Archbishop's closing comments when he cited the Church of England's traditionalist bishop Philip North as an example of the church's concern for the poor.

Philip North is the bishop who was denounced by WATCH stooge, Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. He urged Philip North to either renounce his membership of the Society, a C of E organisation that rejects female priests, or decline his nomination as Bishop of Sheffield.

Perhaps we should not be surprised.  The new archbishop "signalled that the Province will continue to develop the vision begun by his predecessor, Dr Barry Morgan" but he hoped to "increase the tempo of change".

The BBC’s attack on gender puts children at risk

From Coalition for Marriage:

Dear marriage supporter,

It is an ill society which chooses to confuse and worry children in order to appease adults with an extreme agenda. Sadly, our national broadcaster continues to do just this.

This coming Wednesday, August 16th, BBC2 will screen a documentary titled No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free?

In the programme, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim sets out to prove that there are no significant physical or psychological differences between young boys and girls.

To this end a classroom of seven-year-olds is subjected to an experiment in which books with characters “squarely aimed at boys” are thrown away, distinct male and female toilets abolished, and a male make-up artist is brought in to persuade boys to aim for less masculine careers.

Girls vulnerable

The children themselves are horrified at having to share lavatories, with Dr Abdelmoneim admitting that girls feel particularly uncomfortable as a result of the new arrangement.

This is the latest in a series of programmes by the BBC which appear determined to promote transgenderism as a positive, natural development in children.

Last week the Victoria Derbyshire programme renewed its coverage of two pre-pubescent children living as members of the opposite gender.

A nine-year-old boy who uses the name ‘Lily’ is featured along with his friend ‘Jessica’ who is a ten-year-old boy, and ‘Jessica’s’ step-mother who has decided to live as a member of the opposite sex named ‘Alex’.

BBC bias

The BBC’s persistent undermining of children’s natural genders is deeply upsetting for parents and children, as is the claim that gender is a question of feelings and not biology. Without an ability to meaningfully distinguish between man and woman, traditional marriage is greatly undermined.

Under section 6 of its charter, the BBC is required to “provide impartial news and information”. Its editorial guidelines also say:

“When dealing with ‘controversial subjects’, we must ensure a wide range of significant views and perspectives are given due weight and prominence, particularly when the controversy is active. Opinion should be clearly distinguished from fact.”

Raising pre-pubescent children to have no gender or to believe that they are members of the opposite sex is clearly controversial but there is no discernible effort to balance any of the Corporation’s output on the subject.

We believe the BBC’s decision to dispense with editorial impartiality on this issue is a breach of its legal duty. In the coming weeks, the Coalition for Marriage will continue to do all that it can to push the Corporation to demonstrate the balance and neutrality required of it by law.

ENDS

From the Mirror:

Star-Cloud being raised as gender fluid                   Source Mirror/Mark Pinder

Family where mum is daddy, dad is mummy and son, 4, is being raised as gender neutral

Star Cloud's mum is Louise, who was born a man but is transitioning to become a woman, while dad is pansexual Nikki, born a woman but who dresses some days as male. 

Parents Louise and Nikki Draven are raising Britain’s first gender-fluid family, bringing up their four-year-old son Star Cloud to “not get hung up” on being a boy.

Star’s mum is Louise, who was born a man but having hormone treatment ready to fully transition to a woman. Dad is pansexual Nikki, born a woman but who dresses some days as male and some as female.

Nikki, 30, says: “Neither of us gets hung up on the gender we were born as. “We don’t want our child constrained by that either. We’re just an ordinary family being who we want to be.”

Star is being brought up as gender neutral – told by his parents he is “a person” rather than “a boy”. He is free to wear make-up, paint his nails, pick out boys’ or girls’ clothes and play with dolls.

He will go to school for the first time in September wearing a boy’s uniform – but with pink vest and socks that he has chosen for the occasion.

And the youngster himself says he might grow up to be a man or a woman. But Nikki and Louise’s approach is likely to spark a national debate – on whether the urge not to force his birth gender on Star is projecting their own issues, denying him his true identity.

 Full story here.

How did we get here?

The General Synod of the Church of Ireland has passed a motion upholding marriage as a union between one man and one woman but for upholding tradition, the Church of Ireland Synod [is] blasted for 'homophobia'.

How did we get ourselves into the ridiculous position that those upholding tradition are pilloried as extremists? What was previously considered normal is now considered outrageous. In another example, Cranmer is being persecuted by the Advertising Standards Authority following "a number of complaints about an advertisement carried on behalf of the Coalition for Marriage". Same sex marriage is the latest trend in a movement, often in search of votes, that has brought the church to its knees, not to pray but by pressing fashionable minority, secular values on the church with no regard for tradition and scripture. In research carried out for the Coalition for Marriage, the majority of the 150 MPs who have declared themselves support equal marriage, a decision also taken by President Obama, perhaps sensing some electoral advantage in the decision. 

While there is no excuse for unchristian religious extremism, the homosexual campaign for so called equality is in danger of turning away supporters of equal rights. Same sex couples deservedly have equal rights through civil partnerships but it is not homophobic to reject the notion of same sex marriage. Equality does not mean sameness especially when it dilutes the faith of the church. Unsurprisingly the champion of minorities (other than those who keep the faith), the Archbishop of Wales has already expressed his support for same sex marriage along with so called senior bishops of the Church in England. In a recent hard hitting article for Virtueonline the question was posed: What future for the Church of England: Is it too late to save her?  The Church of England is now a very short step from following precisely the same agenda as The Episcopal Church. Here a few paragraphs to give the flavour of the article:

 "The tragic facts are these: in order to maintain the illusion of a universal Church of England, inseparable from the state and its people, the Church's leaders have spent more than 150 years in trimming Christian doctrine so as not to "offend" anyone. Or to be "inclusive". Or to make the scriptures and Christian doctrine conform to the prevailing scientific fad of the day. Or, perhaps worst of all, in the truly misguided belief that by watering down the gospel they might be more successful in persuading unbelievers to come to Christ. They have compromised, with relative impunity, down the years, writing from the security of senior positions within the Church's establishment and protected by the national courts from any complaints which have come from concerned church members - but rarely, if ever, from the bishops who are supposed to be the guardians of Christian teaching. ... The Church of England has no effective mechanisms, either for guaranteeing orthodoxy of public teaching by its leaders, or for dealing with those who lead the way in subverting its witness to the gospel. Many of the leading revisionists have actually commenced their careers as teachers at the Church's seminaries. The outcome for the Church is constant drift in the direction of unbelief. Every novelty which is proposed has to be met halfway, with a compromise. The direction of movement each time is a step away from a recognisable faith in the gospel as the Church has received it, and the further alienation and exclusion of those within the Church who seek simply to be faithful to that gospel.

The catastrophic abandonment by the Church of England's bishops of their intrinsic role as guardians of Christian teaching concerning the Scriptures and the Creeds has been accompanied by a progressive relinquishment of their teaching authority in favour of voting on doctrinal and moral issues by the Church Assembly and latterly by the General Synod, whose members are not required to possess any qualification for judging such matters and who increasingly take their lead from media and politicians who want to see the Church redesigned in their own image. If it is possible for leading Anglicans to declare that there is no Hell, that there was no Incarnation and no Resurrection, and that there is no need for repentance and conversion in the universalist institution which the Church of England has become, then any appeal to the Scriptures for guidance as to God's will, or definition of morality, is met with blank looks and bafflement by many lay and clerical leaders for whom such an intellectual and spiritual universe is largely unknown." 

So what hope is there for the Church of England? It was not encouraging to read that the Apostle of Faith by Fad has been elected to serve on the Crown Nominations Commission, the body that will nominate the next Archbishop of Canterbury, an honour he will no doubt regard as an endorsement of his secular creed. 


The writing is on the wall.