Into the Lions’ Den

George Orwell once said that “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” He certainly got that one right. As the West moves into an ever more secular, politically correct and anti-Christian direction, this reality is becoming increasingly obvious.

To stand for truth becomes an act of defiance, if not treason. Moreover, the defence of what formerly needed no defence becomes a basic duty. We have to take a stand for the obvious, when all around us common sense and moral clarity go missing.

The defence of heterosexual marriage is a prime example of this. Defend marriage? Up until just very recently, no one thought we needed to defend marriage, at least in terms of it being the union of a man and a woman. But now we have to actually make the case as to why marriage does not and cannot involve two men, or two women.

(c) Walker Art Gallery; Supplied by The Public Catalogue FoundationWe have had over a dozen bills presented to state and Federal parliaments in almost as many years demanding homosexual marriage. Every single one of them has been defeated. And there have been plenty of government inquiries into this issue. I have been involved in many of them.

But we have yet another such bill! Not surprisingly, it has been introduced by the Greens. They know that a war of attrition tends to work, so just keep putting up these bills ad infinitum, ad nauseam. They figure that eventually people will tire of fighting all this, and they will eventually win.

So that meant yet another round of government submissions were called for, and yet another Senate inquiry had to be attended. I have lost count of how many of these I have been involved in. It is a game in many respects, but a game we must be willing to play nonetheless.

As I went to yesterday’s inquiry, I thought that maybe one day when we are more enlightened we will look back and laugh at this insanity: “What, you used to have to attend government hearings to defend heterosexual marriage?” Quite so. One might as well attend government inquiries on the issue of changing 2+2=4 to 2+2=5.

So I went, along with Jenny Stokes of Salt Shakers, to represent the National Marriage Coalition. Many folks had prayed for our time there, and many have asked how it went. The easiest way to report on it is to of course simply cite Hansard.

But it is not out yet, so I can offer some details in the meantime. These affairs can be a bit explosive at times, with those intent on pushing the homosexual agenda often quite hostile to those who seek to defend natural marriage and family. Often I will have rather hot and bothered politicians getting a bit feisty with me.

For example, the last time I did one of these – with ex-homosexual Ron Brookman – we had some fireworks going off, especially from Greens’ Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. That transcript is available on Hansard, so let me quote a bit of it here.

Of course the printed word does not make clear when voices are being raised and emotions running hot! On a number of occasions back then SH-Y was actually shouting at me, and she had to be told to stop interrupting me! Here is part of that meeting:

Senator HANSON-YOUNG: Have you read the Marriage Act, Mr Brookman or Mr Muehlenberg?
Rev. Brookman: Not in full.
Senator HANSON-YOUNG: I suggest that you do, because in the current Marriage Act it does not say that marriage is for the creation of children. You may believe that, but that is not what the federal Marriage Act says.
Mr Muehlenberg: It says it is ‘the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others’.
Senator HANSON-YOUNG: Yes.
Mr Muehlenberg: You want to change the gender requirement, in which case why not change the numerical requirement?
Senator HANSON-YOUNG: Because that is not what my bill does.
Mr Muehlenberg: Let us say there is a bisexual who loves his woman and his male friend. It is a threesome. They are fully in love. The same arguments that you are making for same-sex marriage can be used for polyamory, and that argument is being used.
Senator HANSON-YOUNG: You may argue that.
Mr Muehlenberg: It is happening right now.
CHAIR: Senator Hanson-Young, just let the witness finish.
Senator HANSON-YOUNG: You may argue that, but that is not what the bill before this Senate inquiry does. The bill before this Senate inquiry clearly states that marriage is between two consenting adults.
Rev. Brookman: Male and female.
Mr Muehlenberg: Man and woman….
Senator PRATT: If it is the only institution from which people can obtain that security and exclusivity, then surely it is entirely unfair to wish on people that gay men should be marrying heterosexual women.
Mr Muehlenberg: There is no unfairness whatsoever. I cannot get married. I am already married. The rules are quite clear: one partner, opposite gender, not a close blood relative. If you meet those three criteria, anyone in the world can get married. If you refuse to meet the right criteria of the game, do not insist you are being discriminated against. You are saying: ‘The rules do not apply to me. I want to change the rules. I want to make this something that it has never been.’ I am sorry, but that is not discrimination. Treating different things differently is not inequality or discrimination; it is facing reality. With all due respect to the Greens, I know they do not believe anatomy matters. Senator Hanson-Young would not be here if anatomy did not matter. None of us would be—come on!

Again, the colourful nature of that previous encounter gets lost in the printed word. So I was eager to see how SH-Y would act this time around. Well, she obviously decided that her rather unseemly performance last time may not have been all that helpful, so she actually just stayed away for most of our time as witnesses. She only came back in the room at the tail end, playing with her phone and sniggering every time I said something.

She did interrupt once, to bring up the red herring about inter-racial marriages, to which I immediately replied that she is talking about apples and oranges. People cannot change their race, but they can and do change their sexual attractions.

Jenny and I presented plenty of evidence, which is how these things should be done. But one of the Labor Senators simply spoke of individuals she knew. For example, she asked me if de facto relationships are any different from married couples, and Jenny and I assured her that they most certainly are, offering various stats and facts.

To that she could only talk about people she knew of who seemed like nice folks, and seemed committed, etc. Again we had to remind her that it is the evidence which must be followed here. We all know of individuals who may be loving and committed without marriage, but it is the evidence that matters in this situation.

We made a number of other points, but as I say, the best way to get it all is to wait for Hansard to present our words, which should be soon. But the point is, truth had to be presented. Someone had to be there to offer facts and evidence to counter all the emotive agendas of the social engineers.

It may be frustrating and tiring to do so, but we must be involved nonetheless. I am frustrated that there are so few believers who are able to even put in a submission on these matters, let alone enter the lions’ den of an often hostile group of politicians. We need more people who are well read, articulate, and courageous enough to go into these scenarios and boldly proclaim truth.

And as things get more and more nutzo out there in the world, standing for truth will become more and more necessary, yet more and more dangerous to do as well. As Orwell also stated, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.”

Orwell was of course incredibly perceptive about the nature of the totalist state, in which independent thinking is viewed as a hate crime. Consider just a very brief bit of dialogue from his prescient novel, 1984:

Interrogator: “How many fingers am I holding up Winston?”
Winston: “Two.”
Interrogator: “And if Big Brother says I am holding up three fingers, then how many fingers am I holding up?”
Winston: (after being suitably tortured) “Three.”

And this is where we are quickly moving as a society. The thought police are out in force, and increasingly we are seeing people being persecuted by the state for holding to politically incorrect views. This is why we so desperately need watchmen and warriors to keep fighting the good fight.

What we hold near and dear cannot be preserved without such warriors. We will lose it all unless some brave men and women take a stand and enter the lions’ den. As Orwell correctly said: “We sleep safely in our beds because rough men are willing to do battle with those who would do us harm.”

http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=COMMITTEES;id=committees%2Fcommsen%2Fc8e9db57-3acd-4c0f-a11a-96077dfac944%2F0003;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommsen%2Fc8e9db57-3acd-4c0f-a11a-96077dfac944%2F0000%22

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33 Replies to “Into the Lions’ Den”

  1. Ooooh! I do love a good defence! Thank you and bless you for your untiring efforts.

  2. Hi Bill, I’d like to add my thanks for what you’re doing.

    Just bought your book btw, will look forward to getting into it soon.

  3. Thank you for your continuing effort in battling the absurdity of homosexual marriage.

  4. Thanks, Bill. It’s great to know we have warriors like you and Jenny Stokes out there fighting for truth and reason.
    I’ve just started reading your new book, Dangerous Relations, and the section where you detail examples of attacks on Christian freedom of speech and action, instigated by the homosexual lobby all over the globe, is truly shocking. As you stated, this is just the beginning. We all need to unite and, with God’s help, join the battle against the homosexual mayhem.

  5. Thank God for you both, Bill. Many of us feel the same way you do but not so many of us are gifted with the sort of quick thinking and intellectual recall that would be needed in a situation like that. God bless you.

  6. Great work BIll and Jenny. I applaud both of your for spending your time, sticking your neck out, and telling the unadulterated truth that so many of us who are in the background, are overjoyed to hear being spoken out publicly.

    May God richly bless you both.

  7. Well done Bill! Well done Jenny! Sterling stuff! Keep up the great work!

  8. Thank you Bill, you gave very intelligent evidence, I couldn’t do as good a job as you, so I give support by praying for you and I’ll buy your book, Thank you again

  9. My prayer and encouragement are with you Bill. When I read your posts, I’m reminded of the relevance and urgency of what we must stand for in the face of adversity. Keep up the great work that you’re doing.

  10. Well done and thank you. I think you are right in that the wearing down of normality will eventually triumph in this country’s laws, but like Allan Walker ( founder of Lifeline ) said about his long fight against Sunday trading (eventually lost, of course) at least the delay made a difference to individuals and families lives in the meantime.
    Voices of righteousness must always be heard, we owe it to our kids and grand kids not to let them grow up thinking wrong is right and acceptable.

  11. Thanks Bill and Jenny.
    Thanks from me as a wife and parent.
    Thanks from my 3 kids who face a future in Australia that hangs in the balance over critical issues like this.

  12. It is so refreshing to hear short, sharp, commonsense rebuttals to gay assertions. However, I am afraid, in the UK where commonsense and reason fled years ago, such arguments count for nothing. Added to which, Muslims are in the forefront of pushing gay rights. Hence not only do we contend with irrationality but the fear of upsetting Islam.

    Lord Waheed Ali sits right at the heart of government and has spearhead gay rights legislation. His partner, whatever that means is Charlie Parsons, who runs a disgusting gay dating site, Gaydar, where apparently you can get what you want when you want it.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waheed_Alli,_Baron_Alli

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys3k52L9nJw

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7BqDyOh07s

    http://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jul/13/lord-alli-mediaguardian-100-2010

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1047062.stm

    http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-alli/3482

    http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21572786-how-prince-cool-britannia-grew-up-lord-hunch

    David Skinner UK

  13. Sadly we don’t have many warriors like you Bill. But we’ve got you and for that I am eternally grateful. Fantastic Hansard notes. Look forward to the next set of Hansard and your new book. I use your book as a reference for my battles and pass on copies to so many. Just spoke to a great guy who is prolife but pro same sex marriage. I yelled to my daughter from the living room where we were talking,”Mary, go get a copy of Bill’s book for my friend here!” : )

  14. Great work Bill and Jenny! Top effort!

    Apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks! SHY avoided you this time, as she made a goose of herself last time.

  15. Bill,

    There is another quote that I favour. It comes at the end of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Nobel Peace Prize lecture in 1970. It is an old Russian proverb:

    “One word of truth outweighs the whole world.”

    You are a Man of Truth, Bill. You, like the late James Foley, outweigh a planet of lying scoundrels.

  16. I thank God for you and Jenny Stokes. His richest blessings on you both, and yours, for your refusal to give way in the face of the enemy. Surely, in Heaven, in the War Memorial there, there will be something to honour you both for your actions.
    Love in Jesus, good warriors of the Truth.

  17. They might have money and power but we have Jesus Christ who sustains us even in this terrible battle against satan.
    Let us storm heaven with prayers of thanksgiving for Bill and Jenny who did an amazing job in speaking the TRUTH on marriage.
    Let us keep storming heaven with prayers that same sex marriage will once again be defeated.

  18. Good on you Bill and Jenny. Keep up the fantastic work mate. God Bless you both!

  19. Well done, Bill & Jenny. Thank you for being so faithful to God’s truth. Praying for you & your families.

  20. Bill,
    I think your next book needs to be written as a ready reference to empower Christians to make a difference in the market place across a range of topics. I agree with you. It is disappointing how few Christians are knowledgeable and engaged when it comes to the most important issues of our day, including abortion, same sex “marriage” etc. However, if Christians and supportive others had a guide that they could quickly refer to, set out in topics with relevant biblical references, statistics and arguments from the Christian worldview that was quick to read and easily accessible then this may assist in helping people to participate and make a difference. When something is being discussed on the radio it is important to act quickly and get in the queue to be heard. The book idea I am suggesting could be a very useful tool in this and many other situations, especially where people are time poor and cannot do the research and reading that you have done.

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