This day is being enjoyed by many, but used as a political football by others. So it is worth looking briefly at what it was originally all about, and then focus on some contemporary issues. As with so many Christian events, the secularists have managed to strip this day of all Christian content.
Christian event you ask? Yep sure is – or at least sure was. What we are really celebrating on this day is the martyrdom of a Roman priest. Valentine was beheaded on February 14, 270. He had evidently resisted the state by refusing to bow to an edict of Emperor Claudius forbidding marriage.
Valentine ignored this order, and secretly married young couples in the underground church. This was discovered, and he was arrested, imprisoned, beaten, and eventually killed. While in prison it seems he became romantically involved with the jailer’s daughter.
As the story goes, he was denied his books, so he cut shapes out of paper, and sent her notes, the last of which ended with the words, “Your Valentine”. In 496 the date of Feb 14 was named in his honour. So even though most of us are not aware of the Christian beginnings to this day, we still celebrate love and romance.
But as I said, there are many who want to twist all this, and a clear example is found in today’s press. It seems the homosexual activists have sent roses to our leaders in their twisted efforts to redefine marriage out of existence. The story begins as follows:
“Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott have been asked to open their hearts to gay marriage, with a spectacular Valentine’s Day gesture. Five hundred roses each have been delivered to the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader’s Canberra offices today by gay marriage advocates. Three thousand roses in total will be delivered to the nation’s politicians today, as they are asked to end discrimination in the marriage act.”
Here we go again with the old furphy of “discrimination”. I have dealt with this time and time again. There of course is no discrimination here. If someone wants to get married, they simply must meet the criteria. Two men or two women do not, so they are ineligible – end of story.
And as I have documented, the case being made for this sort of “love” is exactly the same as is being made for group love and other types of relationships. Once you open the door to same-sex marriage, you open it to all these other bizarre permutations. This is not love, but deviance.
And when the state says there is a right to SSM, it will demand that everyone complies with this right. Everything will change. We will all be adversely impacted by such a radical bit of social engineering. Last night in a speech Queensland MP George Christensen spoke to this very issue.
He said, “The sentiments behind the recent push by independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie to exempt churches from having to perform same sex ‘marriages’, if indeed they are legalised, are probably well-intentioned. However, it is clear from the global experience that any such sentiments, legislated, codified or otherwise, will not withstand the ongoing march of Christophobia that is occurring throughout the Western world.
“This Christophobia – this system persecution of the faithful – is not something new for Christians. In fact, Saint Paul’s second epistle to Timothy warns us that ‘all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution’. But such persecution is anathema to Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states:
“‘Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion… (including the) freedom… in public … to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching; (and) No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom…’”
He then went on to show how all over the Western world these freedoms are being whittled away whenever special rights are granted to homosexuals. He concludes this way: “At the government level, the Attorney General has released a discussion paper on proposed federal anti-discrimination changes. That paper suggests some exemptions be offered to religious organisations, except from those connected with’sexual orientation’.
“In a pre-emptive strike, Archbishop Barry Hickey of the Roman Catholic Church has flagged his Perth archdiocese will simply surrender its marriage license if they’re compelled to perform same sex marriages. Maybe this is the end result that the Christophobes are pushing for?
“Because despite cleverly concocted exemptions that seek to dull the Christian voters’ concerns over proposed same sex marriage laws, if we redefine marriage nothing will stop the advance of Christophobia, a march that, in Australia, is done to the beat of both the Greens’ and Labor’s drum.”
He is exactly right. We need more politicians who see things straight and call it like it is. As long as we have MPs like him around, we know that the destruction of marriage may not be inevitable. Indeed, you might want to send him a Valentine, saying ‘well done’.
Exactly right Cameron With these false shepherds in bed with the activists, no wonder we are in such a mess.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Thanks for the background on Valentine, Bill, I was unaware.
John Bennett
– and of course over the next two weeks Sydney will be hosting another Christian festival, the Mardi Gras, which also has been homosexually-hijacked.
John Miller
Thanks Bill, I had no idea about the story of Valentine the priest. I have always thought it was just a commercial made up event and have never bothered with it.
I wrote to MP George Christensen and he replied immediately.
It is heartening to know that a few MPs are standing firm on this most critical issue.
Annette Williams
Well done Annette. We always need to encourage our MPs when they are doing the right thing.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Dear Bill,
Thank you for that information regarding the background. Valentine’s day.
Thank you Cameron for the link. The last paragraph is revealing
“Christian churches in Australia have some ground to make up. All their good works have been tarnished by poor decisions in some areas. The same-sex marriage debate offers an opportunity for them to concede the changing social views while retaining their own patterns of behaviour as they wish.”
Reverend Harry Herbert is in my humble opinion wanting a sinless approach by the church, where absolutely anything goes, if it is promoted by the secularists. Utter nonense of course from a biblical perspective.
Keep up the great work Bill. God bless.
Paul Copeland
Wikepedia has a bit about it, but you can never be sure how accurate Wikepedia is.
Tas Walker
Bill, I fully agree with you, same sex marriage is not love but deviance, but unfortunately its seems the majority of Australians want same sex marriage to be legalised as shown in today’s West Australian, “A Galaxy poll released yesterday showed support for same-sex marriage is steady at 62 per cent, with support strongest amongst young voters”.
Also I have found as a teacher that overwhelmingly students support same sex marriage. I know its despairing but that’s the way things are heading, unless there is a radical change in the hearts and minds of Australians.
Thanks for the info about Valenitine.
Martyn Mettam
Thanks Martyn
The answers to these polls vary quite a bit depending on how the questions are asked. But even if 99% of Australians end up supporting it, we still stand for what is right. And recall that most Englishmen supported slavery at one point, but Wilberforce helped to change their minds. So we keep at it!
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I spent last election day handing out how to vote cards for George Christensen. Time well spent.
Graeme Cumming
Well done Graeme. He is a good man. So are you.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Bill, thanks for another great post. And now we have celeberties (if you can call her that) Madge Savanski coming out of the closet in support of SSM.
Martyn, most students do not understand what is really involved if SSM becomes a reality, the truth is, it should be decided by those who have the knowledge and wisdom to make decisions that are in the best interests of society and the foundation of society, the family unit, especially children. Therefore this should not become a conscience vote or depend on the ‘voters’ in polls or whatever the media throws at us.
Sadly I believe Labour will, in its attempts to hang on to power, bring it in. I hope I am wrong, but I think it is more than likely to happen. It will be up to consecutive governments to then ‘correct’ the situation.
Bill what is MP George Christensen email or mailing address? I want to congratulate him also we need more like him in Parliament.
Fred Merlo
Thanks Fred
The link I have above has his contact details.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
To those who consider that SSM is inevitable, don’t despair. At most, only 53% of delegates at the Dec ’11 ALP Conference approved of it. The government is polling only 46% of the two-party preferred vote; suggesting that less than 25% of MPs are strongly in favour. Even if you throw in the wimps from the Opposition who support SSM – 10% – it will still be lost 35%/65%.
Cheer up!
Dunstan Hartley
Thanks for courageously speaking out again, Bill. It’s clear that this is how they plan to bring down the Christian church. Which churches will bow their knees to Baal and cave into the demand to perform SSM or receive a crushing fine or be closed down? And which churches will begin to suffer persecution for making a stand? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego come to mind. May God give us all grace to stand.
Dee Graf
Thanks Dee
You got it exactly right. A moral and spiritual civil war has been declared, and the question is, where will we stand? Will we stand?
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
There is nothing whatsoever wrong with same-sex love; such as the relationship between David and Jonathan.
One of the tricks homosexual activists use is to attempt to equate same-sex love, which is in-itself righteous, with the perversion of performing homosexual acts.
Christians must be careful to differentiate and dissociate these two very different things.
Mansel is quite correct, in fact the campaign to sexualise legitimate same-sex relationships in the Bible really tells you more about what goes on in the mind of the person making that claim, than anything about what is written in Scripture.
There is not a single endorsement of any homosexual act in the Bible and this is a challenge that must be given consistently to those would seek to legitimise it, making it clear to all that in defying God’s word and the male or female testimony of their own bodies, that they cannot claim to stand as part of God’s kingdom.
Mark Rabich
For more on the parliamentary content of this debate this week start with House of Representatives Hansard report for 13th February – Link is: http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr130212.pdf .The Member for Dawson’s speech is in connection with a motion moved by Andrew Wilkie which attempts to shield freedom of conscience of religious dissidents and groups who are conscience-bound by their respective creeds to reject same-sex marriage and the GLBTI sexual orientations and behaviours outright as disobedient to the revealed will of Almighty God.
Ironically, the original St Valentine would never have countenanced anything but the biblical, heterosexual marriage union of two fellow believers in Christ as a fully authentic marriage. Nero and one other later Roman emperor are the only two known ancient “pioneers” in the field of same-sex marriage to my knowledge. Did Nero condemn St Paul to death because he found the contents of Paul’s Letter to the Romans condemned Nero’s own immoral, violent and profligate personal lifestyle?
Adam Bandt in his first-reading speech, appeals to notions of “love” repeatedly – does he mean “eros” or some crazy cocktail of other emotional and voluntary commitments and appetites.
Much of the debate will be sadly informed by a reductionist notion of individual liberty as nothing more than civil liberty – a liberty governed by the secular state and not by the higher, revealed moral laws of Almighty God. From my own limited reading of JS Mill’s classic essay, he necessarily offers an incomplete picture of true liberty – a liberty paradoxically only found in willing bondage to our Creator and Redeemer… and not in Aleister Crowley’s blasphemous thelemic maxim “Do what thou wilt”.
For many of our neighbours today, liberty is a euphemism for a hedonistic slavery to personal lusts and appetites – He who serves sin is the slave of sin [John ch. 8:34 etc].
John Wigg
Quite right Mansel, Mark and John.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Just dropped George a line thanking him for his conviction and his stance for marriage. Lets pray that a few more like him surface as well.
Steve Davis
Well done Steve – good for you.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Americans must know more about Valentine’s day as it was a young American man who first told me at least some of what Bill wrote above.
Among those encouraging us Alan Tudge is another giving positive replies about marriage as between a man and a woman.
If I own a cat I am not being discriminated against if the council refuses to register it as a dog.
Katherine Fishley
Yes quite right Katherine – good one.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Perhaps God is driving us to our knees.
David Morrison
Thanks David
Yes I am sure that is something he always wishes of us.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I will have to read your article on civil disobedience, Bill. In response to the news of the catholic archbishop, maybe this is the way we have to go if we don’t put the state back in its place first, which would be to me more desirable, though I know God brings greater good our of evil and suffering. I am reminded of John Bunyan’s experience of being in prison for refusing the accept the conditions of a preaching licence issued by the established church of his time, which would have restricted his god-given responsibility to preach the true gospel when and where he was lead to do it. Similarly the responsibility to exercise the privilege to marry only people who meet the god-given criteria for marriage has been already given to the church by God and the state has no place to alter that.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Doesn’t help when we have supposed Church leaders compromising on the issue:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/church-misses-big-picture-on-samesex-marriage-20120213-1t1jr.html
Regards,
Cameron Spink
RESISTANCE THINKING CO-ORDINATOR
Exactly right Cameron With these false shepherds in bed with the activists, no wonder we are in such a mess.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Thanks for the background on Valentine, Bill, I was unaware.
John Bennett
– and of course over the next two weeks Sydney will be hosting another Christian festival, the Mardi Gras, which also has been homosexually-hijacked.
John Miller
Thanks Bill, I had no idea about the story of Valentine the priest. I have always thought it was just a commercial made up event and have never bothered with it.
I wrote to MP George Christensen and he replied immediately.
It is heartening to know that a few MPs are standing firm on this most critical issue.
Annette Williams
Well done Annette. We always need to encourage our MPs when they are doing the right thing.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Dear Bill,
Thank you for that information regarding the background. Valentine’s day.
Thank you Cameron for the link. The last paragraph is revealing
“Christian churches in Australia have some ground to make up. All their good works have been tarnished by poor decisions in some areas. The same-sex marriage debate offers an opportunity for them to concede the changing social views while retaining their own patterns of behaviour as they wish.”
Reverend Harry Herbert is in my humble opinion wanting a sinless approach by the church, where absolutely anything goes, if it is promoted by the secularists. Utter nonense of course from a biblical perspective.
Keep up the great work Bill. God bless.
Paul Copeland
Wikepedia has a bit about it, but you can never be sure how accurate Wikepedia is.
Tas Walker
Bill, I fully agree with you, same sex marriage is not love but deviance, but unfortunately its seems the majority of Australians want same sex marriage to be legalised as shown in today’s West Australian, “A Galaxy poll released yesterday showed support for same-sex marriage is steady at 62 per cent, with support strongest amongst young voters”.
Also I have found as a teacher that overwhelmingly students support same sex marriage. I know its despairing but that’s the way things are heading, unless there is a radical change in the hearts and minds of Australians.
Thanks for the info about Valenitine.
Martyn Mettam
Thanks Martyn
The answers to these polls vary quite a bit depending on how the questions are asked. But even if 99% of Australians end up supporting it, we still stand for what is right. And recall that most Englishmen supported slavery at one point, but Wilberforce helped to change their minds. So we keep at it!
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I spent last election day handing out how to vote cards for George Christensen. Time well spent.
Graeme Cumming
Well done Graeme. He is a good man. So are you.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Bill, thanks for another great post. And now we have celeberties (if you can call her that) Madge Savanski coming out of the closet in support of SSM.
Martyn, most students do not understand what is really involved if SSM becomes a reality, the truth is, it should be decided by those who have the knowledge and wisdom to make decisions that are in the best interests of society and the foundation of society, the family unit, especially children. Therefore this should not become a conscience vote or depend on the ‘voters’ in polls or whatever the media throws at us.
Sadly I believe Labour will, in its attempts to hang on to power, bring it in. I hope I am wrong, but I think it is more than likely to happen. It will be up to consecutive governments to then ‘correct’ the situation.
Bill what is MP George Christensen email or mailing address? I want to congratulate him also we need more like him in Parliament.
Fred Merlo
Thanks Fred
The link I have above has his contact details.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
To those who consider that SSM is inevitable, don’t despair. At most, only 53% of delegates at the Dec ’11 ALP Conference approved of it. The government is polling only 46% of the two-party preferred vote; suggesting that less than 25% of MPs are strongly in favour. Even if you throw in the wimps from the Opposition who support SSM – 10% – it will still be lost 35%/65%.
Cheer up!
Dunstan Hartley
Thanks for courageously speaking out again, Bill. It’s clear that this is how they plan to bring down the Christian church. Which churches will bow their knees to Baal and cave into the demand to perform SSM or receive a crushing fine or be closed down? And which churches will begin to suffer persecution for making a stand? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego come to mind. May God give us all grace to stand.
Dee Graf
Thanks Dee
You got it exactly right. A moral and spiritual civil war has been declared, and the question is, where will we stand? Will we stand?
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
There is nothing whatsoever wrong with same-sex love; such as the relationship between David and Jonathan.
One of the tricks homosexual activists use is to attempt to equate same-sex love, which is in-itself righteous, with the perversion of performing homosexual acts.
Christians must be careful to differentiate and dissociate these two very different things.
Mansel Rogerson
Interesting piece I just found on St Valentine after reading your article Bill:
http://www.executedtoday.com/2008/02/14/270-st-valentine/
Servaas Hofmeyr
Mansel is quite correct, in fact the campaign to sexualise legitimate same-sex relationships in the Bible really tells you more about what goes on in the mind of the person making that claim, than anything about what is written in Scripture.
There is not a single endorsement of any homosexual act in the Bible and this is a challenge that must be given consistently to those would seek to legitimise it, making it clear to all that in defying God’s word and the male or female testimony of their own bodies, that they cannot claim to stand as part of God’s kingdom.
Mark Rabich
For more on the parliamentary content of this debate this week start with House of Representatives Hansard report for 13th February – Link is: http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr130212.pdf .The Member for Dawson’s speech is in connection with a motion moved by Andrew Wilkie which attempts to shield freedom of conscience of religious dissidents and groups who are conscience-bound by their respective creeds to reject same-sex marriage and the GLBTI sexual orientations and behaviours outright as disobedient to the revealed will of Almighty God.
Ironically, the original St Valentine would never have countenanced anything but the biblical, heterosexual marriage union of two fellow believers in Christ as a fully authentic marriage. Nero and one other later Roman emperor are the only two known ancient “pioneers” in the field of same-sex marriage to my knowledge. Did Nero condemn St Paul to death because he found the contents of Paul’s Letter to the Romans condemned Nero’s own immoral, violent and profligate personal lifestyle?
Adam Bandt in his first-reading speech, appeals to notions of “love” repeatedly – does he mean “eros” or some crazy cocktail of other emotional and voluntary commitments and appetites.
Much of the debate will be sadly informed by a reductionist notion of individual liberty as nothing more than civil liberty – a liberty governed by the secular state and not by the higher, revealed moral laws of Almighty God. From my own limited reading of JS Mill’s classic essay, he necessarily offers an incomplete picture of true liberty – a liberty paradoxically only found in willing bondage to our Creator and Redeemer… and not in Aleister Crowley’s blasphemous thelemic maxim “Do what thou wilt”.
For many of our neighbours today, liberty is a euphemism for a hedonistic slavery to personal lusts and appetites – He who serves sin is the slave of sin [John ch. 8:34 etc].
John Wigg
Quite right Mansel, Mark and John.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Just dropped George a line thanking him for his conviction and his stance for marriage. Lets pray that a few more like him surface as well.
Steve Davis
Well done Steve – good for you.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Americans must know more about Valentine’s day as it was a young American man who first told me at least some of what Bill wrote above.
Among those encouraging us Alan Tudge is another giving positive replies about marriage as between a man and a woman.
If I own a cat I am not being discriminated against if the council refuses to register it as a dog.
Katherine Fishley
Yes quite right Katherine – good one.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Perhaps God is driving us to our knees.
David Morrison
Thanks David
Yes I am sure that is something he always wishes of us.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I will have to read your article on civil disobedience, Bill. In response to the news of the catholic archbishop, maybe this is the way we have to go if we don’t put the state back in its place first, which would be to me more desirable, though I know God brings greater good our of evil and suffering. I am reminded of John Bunyan’s experience of being in prison for refusing the accept the conditions of a preaching licence issued by the established church of his time, which would have restricted his god-given responsibility to preach the true gospel when and where he was lead to do it. Similarly the responsibility to exercise the privilege to marry only people who meet the god-given criteria for marriage has been already given to the church by God and the state has no place to alter that.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett