Category Archives: Christian Education

Living as an evangelical Christian in a secular society

Scott Morrison

Morrison in 2021

By Spencer D Gear PhD

Taking a stand for biblical values on sexuality

Citipointe Christian College, Carindale, Brisbane, has taken a stand for biblical sexual values and that has meant telling the truth about homosexuality. The effect has been fury of the secular agenda piled by the pro-LGBTIQ+ community and media against this Christian College.

ABC News, Brisbane reported: ‘A parent and teacher at a Brisbane Christian college that is demanding parents sign a contract affirming students identify as their birth gender and that homosexuality is “sinful”, says she is looking for another school for her child to attend’ (“Brisbane’s Citipointe Christian College defends demanding parents sign contract on student gender identity, homosexuality”).[1]

The News item continued: ‘In an e-mail to parents . . , principal Pastor Brian Mulheran said the new clauses in the enrolment contract were included to “ensure that we retain our Christian ethos, which is the foundation of what has made the College what it is today”’.[2]

The contract states “the college will only enrol the student on the basis of the gender that corresponds to their biological sex” to maintain consistent with the college’s “Christian Ethos Requirements”.

It goes on to state that the college “acknowledges the biological sex of a person as recognised at birth and requires practices consistent with that sex”.

Another clause states the college has the right to “exclude a student from the college” should they not adhere to the “doctrinal precepts including those as to biological sex”.

To keep their child enrolled at the school, parents must agree with a set of “religious beliefs” laid out in a “Declaration of Faith” attached to the contract.

Part of the declaration states that “any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to; adultery, fornication, homosexual acts, bisexual acts, bestiality, incest, paedophilia, and pornography) is sinful and offensive to God and is destructive to human relationships and society”.[3]

Morrison’s view when it becomes law

Now that homosexual marriage has been legalised in Australia, what is Morrison’s view? Notice how he dodges the journalist’s questions:

Scott Morrison says he supports the law of the country but wouldn’t say if his personal opposition to same-sex marriage has changed since it was legalised. . . .

Mr Morrison abstained from voting for marriage equality when it passed the House of Representatives in 2018, and he voted “no” in the national survey.

When asked if he is still personally opposed to same-sex marriage, the prime minister replied: “It’s law. And I’m glad that the change has now been made and people can get on with their lives. That’s what I’m happy about.”

When pressed on whether his opinions have changed, he told reporters in Perth: “I always support the law of the country” (SBS News 2019).[4]

So, he supports Australian law but didn’t own up to his personal beliefs about homosexuality in 2019. I wonder, as a Pentecostal Christian, whether he accepts the Bible’s view on the topic. See Romans 1:25-27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

God’s view is different from Morrison’s. Those who practise homosexuality (male & female) will not inherit the kingdom of God. Whether ScoMo is a PM or an ordinary Christian, he should support the Bible’s view.

Scriptures: Christians must obey government, but not at the expense of biblical teaching.

I’ll examine two biblical passages relating to Christians and government. They are:

(1) Romans 13:1-5 (NIV):

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. ⁴For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

Let’s apply this to what is happening at Citipointe Christian College where the College has been forced to remove its statement on homosexuality from entry requirements.

The Guardian Australia reported:

While Citipointe Christian College says it “deeply regrets” that the contracts made students feel discriminated against, the principal says the school has the right to maintain its ethos and the “freedom to continue to provide an education based on our shared beliefs”.

Rom 13:1-5 is not addressing a local issue but the laws of the State and nation. God sets up authorities. He is in control of them – no matter how bad they are. I struggle to understand these verses in light of the Nazi governments, and those of Pol Pot, Idi Amin, etc. However, I have to accept that God allows these horrific regimes to punish the people.

These verses point to the danger of getting too close to government in dependence on school funding. Citipointe demonstrates how Big Brother could have influenced the changing of the values of a school’s ethos.

(2) Matthew 22:19-21 (NIV),

¹⁹Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

The obvious application is to paying taxes but its impact may stretch further with Caesar’s requiring Christian institutions to change their values.

We must obey God rather than human authorities.

‘But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority”’ (Acts 5:29 NLT).

This sums up the Christians responsibility to government, especially when the values of Christians clash with those of regimes. I consider that is what we have with Citipointe Christian College and its values that clash with those of government.

In my view, Acts 5:29 is causing some potential clashes when private schools receive so much funding from federal and state governments. There is a temptation to toe the government line rather than being true to their Christian heritage.

Governments who want to trash or compromise biblical values.

See my articles:

Tolerance, homosexuality and not inheriting the Kingdom of God

‘Homosexual unions, homosexual marriage, mass media & politicians’

Why should we oppose homosexual marriage?

The personal disappointment for me is that our Pentecostal Prime Minister is not standing beside the Citipointe Christian College’s leadership in the promotion of sexual Christian ethics.

Notes

[1] Accessed 1^st February 2022.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] SBS News (AAP) 2019. Gay marriage is the law: PM Morrison, 13 May. Available at: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/gay-marriage-is-the-law-pm-morrison (Accessed 5 February 2022).

Scott Morrison, Christian colleges, & biblical Christianity

The Honourable

Scott Morrison MP

Morrison in 2021

30th Prime Minister of Australia

Incumbent

By Spencer D Gear PhD

This article first appeared in On Line Opinion, 14 February 2022.

I was shocked to read our Prime Minister’s reported view that he does not support the Citipointe Christian College’s promotion of the ethics of biblical Christianity. He did not say it in such straight-forward language but stated,

The federal government will seek to amend a contentious section of the Sex Discrimination Act alongside its Religious Discrimination Bill, in a move that follows lengthy discussions between the Prime Minister’s office and key backbenchers over the past week (The Sydney Morning Herald, “Church schools will lose right to expel gay students as PM deals with moderate Liberals,” (February 3, 2022)

Let’s make it clear: “Moderate liberals” are not supporters of what the Scriptures state about homosexuality. The Coalition government wants “to lock in the support of moderate Liberal MPs ahead of a potential vote on the bill in the next sitting fortnight” (“Church schools will lose the right . . .”

Wouldn’t it be amazing to read a mass media press release that states the Coalition wants to woo Bible-believing Christians in the community and support their views on sexual (including homosexual) ethics – straight from the Bible?

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18).

“God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another” (Rom 1:24)

“God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Rom 1:26-27).

“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice” (Rom 1:28-29).

(photo Citipointe Christian College campus)

Elsewhere in the New Testament, the Bible states that these acts of homosexuality have this consequence:

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Instead of trying to save his political backside for the next election and satisfying the LGBTIQ+ people, he should be representing ALL people and telling the truth about where homosexuality will take people. Bible-believing Christians have been betrayed, in my opinion, and should see the political craftiness of Morrison and give up on him at the next election. I’m not convinced an Anthony Albanese led government will present a better option but at least its ethics will be secular and not in the guise of Christianity – as with Morrison.

The truth about sexual and other sins

Where are the Bible-believing MPs who will speak God’s truth on the eternal penalty of that sexual aberration? Will they speak up when voting on the Religious Discrimination Bill?

Morrison admitted, “My kids go to a Christian school here in Sydney, and I wouldn’t want my school doing that either,” he told Brisbane’s B105.3 radio (Church schools will lose right to expel gay students). He was addressing the Citipointe Christian College issue. So, is he saying he doesn’t want a Christian school to tell the truth of the homosexual lifestyle and its eternal ramification?

Citipointe Christian College should feel let down by a Christian Prime Minister who seems to be playing political games for the next election so he can save “soft” Liberal Party seats. He has lost my vote to one of the minor parties that supports and practises biblical standards.

In my view, Morrison has practised reverse discrimination by compromising biblical Christianity and its ethics on sexuality and sucking up to the LGBTIQ+ community to make it look like support for that view. It is a politically correct view that may cost him at the next election.