When the Pink Mafia Are In Control
Wow, the nerve of this guy. Sheer evil. Horrible beyond belief. So crucify him already. He is obviously not fit to live on planet earth. And his crime? Horrific child abuse? Multiple murders? Horrific KKK-type activities? No, something much, much worse.
So what exactly was his heinous crime deserving of the greatest punishment and condemnation? Well, he told the truth about homosexuality, that’s what. Shocking! Appalling! Utterly disgusting! How dare he! Does he not realise that this is the number one unpardonable sin in Australia today?
Does he not know that for daring to do so he will face the strictest of sanctions and punishment? Does he not know the re-education camps are reserved for such recalcitrants? Well, he does now obviously. The book has been thrown at him, and the whole world now knows about his monstrous crime.
Yep, telling the truth about homosexuality is today the worst thing you can do. Lying about homosexuality is perfectly acceptable, and promoting this dangerous deathstyle is just peachy. But dare to tell a few basic truths about this lifestyle and all hell will break loose.
Here is how one news outlet is running with the story:
A homophobic comment posted on social media by a Tasmanian school chaplain has drawn widespread condemnation. Hobart College chaplain and Kingborough youth outreach officer Troy Williams re-posted a comment on Facebook that said “homosexuality is not normal” and “no-one is born gay”. The post has since been removed and Mr Williams has issued an apology.
He told the ABC: “I’ve made a mistake and learnt from it. I’m deeply sorry for any offence I’ve caused. I was very careless in posting that image for discussion. I will work with my employers to ensure there is no repeat.” That not only means young gay people won’t be able to seek support from him, but he’s actually making their life worse, he’s perpetuating stigma against them.
Gay rights activist and academic Rodney Croome said he was shocked by the post. “I was quite horrified because what this post says to young gay people is that someone they should be able to trust and who should support them thinks that their sexuality is abnormal, unnatural and a choice,” he said.
Ha! Here we have the militants and their craven supporters hyperventilating over what? The poster in question said this: “Homosexuality is not ‘normal’ On the contrary it is a challenge to the norm. Nature exists whether academics like it or not. And in nature, procreation is the single relentless rule. That is the norm. Our sexual bodies were designed for reproduction. No one is born gay. The idea is ridiculous.”
And the author of this horrific statement? Yep, lesbian activist Camille Paglia. So let me get this straight (no pun intended): if a lesbian says something that is not politically correct, then she is a homophobe? Right, got that. Makes perfect sense. Obviously she is bigoted, homophobic, and narrow-minded.
To even dare quote a lesbian today means the gay mafia will jump all over you and you will be forced to go to a re-education camp to correct your dangerous thoughts. Yep, just like the Communists did, now the homosexual fascists are doing it: this poor guy will now receive mandatory “counselling”. That is Orwellian doublespeak for thought control.
And sadly, we even have the Liberal Party up to their ears in this moonbattery: “Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said he was seeking an urgent explanation from the Scripture Union. ‘Bigotry, in all its forms, is unacceptable in our community, and it certainly has no place in our school environment,’ he said.”
And to further show how he feels about freedom of speech and real diversity in the community, the Minister said this: “We expect much better. My department is seeking an urgent explanation from the Scripture Union about what it is doing to ensure this does not happen again.”
Hey, I thought the Liberals were supposed to be the conservative party, not the party of political correctness, stifling conformity, leftist social engineering, and anti-Christian prejudice. Since when is telling the truth “bigotry”? Since when is simply quoting a lesbian activist “bigotry”?
When you get a supposed conservative party kowtowing fully to the militant homosexual agenda, then you know they are a lost cause. The pink mafia may bully this poor chaplain, and seduce the Libs, but I will not let them bully me, intimidate me, or silence me.
Since this mob and their supporters in politics are so much into censorship, let me defy that right here and now. Let me repeat for the whole world to see the truth that Ms Paglia spoke:
“Homosexuality is not ‘normal’ On the contrary it is a challenge to the norm. Nature exists whether academics like it or not. And in nature, procreation is the single relentless rule. That is the norm. Our sexual bodies were designed for reproduction. No one is born gay. The idea is ridiculous.”
There. So arrest me already. Tar and feather me already. Lock me up already. Send me to the gallows already.
I will never bow to these totalitarians. Never.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-05/school-chaplain-posts-homophobic-comment-on-facebook/5650640
[855 words]
Hi Bill
What progresses from the absurd to the sublime, is the story from the US, where at a Utah language school (Nomen Global Language Center), a teacher has been fired for writing a blog post that encourages homosexuality. What did he write about?
Homophones…
http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/01/teacher-sacked-for-blog-post-on-homophones-that-encourages-homosexuality-4818666/
Bill, by repeating that quote you’ve also ruled yourself out for life as a potential candidate for the Liberal Party!
http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/local-news/victoria-news/victorian-premier-calls-for-liberal-candidate-to-step-down-over-homophobic-tweets/125975
Yes I saw that one Matt – mind-boggling.
Hey Ewan, if the libs want to become the pro-sodomy and anti-Christian party, then I would never want to have anything to do with them.
Ewan, I suspect that the Libs are purging any and all pro-life, “religious nuts” from the party.
If they want to be a clone of the ALP, they are doing a good job.
But then no-one will want to vote for Labor-lite if they can just as easily have the real thing.
It appears that the Education Minister can attack the hapless chaplain as an employee, who presumably thought he was on safe ground quoting a homosexualist woman, for being ‘phobic’ when logically he should have been taking Camille Paglia to task! But of course he wont because she is beyond his reach and a member of a protected species to boot! And what on earth can the Scripture Union be expected to say when the Bible’s teaching is as clear as daylight about homosexuality, except of course to the wilfully blind.
Any chance of the Minister being castigated for being rather less than fully equipped for his job in the brain department?
It was apparently not Michael Ferguson who made this comment, “Bigotry, in all its forms, is unacceptable in our community, and it certainly has no place in our school environment”, but Jeremy Rockliff. Can you recheck this? I think Michael Ferguson is Minister for Health.
In all seriousness, Bill, how long before the PC police (or whatever they will call themselves), aided and abetted by the Rodney Croomes etc of this world, come after you to ban and confiscate your books, and close down this website, and even arraign you before the courts for “hate crimes”?
With this sort of thing happening world-wide, along with the advance of militant Islam (I attended the rally on Saturday in support of the Assyrian Christians), and militant atheism which seeks to eradicate Christianity from not only the public place but even from our homes and churches, I seriously wonder if this is indeed the final tribulation before the Return of our Lord. I know you think that this is not even a legitimate question, but if that is the case why has God given us passages like 2 Thess.2 to be in our Bibles?
It’s a pity the chaplain withdrew his statement. But I’d bet Sydney to a brick he was bullied into it.
Thanks Jan. It was the ABC article that attributed that statement to Ferguson. I was surprised by that because I thought he was both conservative and Christian. I guess the only way to find out is to contact the offices of the two men and see who did in fact say this. Unless you have other info on this. If so, keep us posted thanks.
Another article is saying this: “Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said he was seeking an urgent explanation from the Scripture Union. ‘Bigotry, in all its forms, is unacceptable in our community, and it certainly has no place in our school environment,’ he said.”
https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24638937/hobart-college-chaplain-apologises-for-homophobic-facebook-post/
Thanks again Jan for tipping me off. I see the ABC article has now been changed as well (with no word of apology for getting this wrong in the first place!). So I will change things in my article above.
Hi Bill,
This is a direct copy of the statement in the ABC article (from the link you provided)…….
“Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said he was seeking an urgent explanation from the Scripture Union.
“Bigotry, in all its forms, is unacceptable in our community, and it certainly has no place in our school environment,” he said.
“That extends to the social media accounts of those who work in our schools, who are all role models for our students.
“We expect much better. My department is seeking an urgent explanation from the Scripture Union about what it is doing to ensure this does not happen again.”
I guess they realised their mistake and quickly corrected it.
It is my strong belief, given Michael Ferguson’s stand against things like gay marriage, euthanasia, surrogacy and abortion in the past – and suffering some nasty attacks for it – that he would not be guilty of a cowardly statement like this.
My very savvy husband just pointed out that maybe the wrong name in the earlier ABC article was deliberate, anti-Christian bias being one of their more unsavoury faults.
I guess now the right thing to do is to insist they publish an apology to Michael Ferguson – but we won’t hold our breath, will we?
Murrray, I doubt that Bill will be targeted before the softer targets. The fascist of last century targeted the liberals and less “visible” orthodox people before going after the firmly and publicly orthodox when they were not fully in power (read Australia now…). It is once all the nominally Christian and liberals are all thoroughly cowed and obedient that a more far reaching totalitarian rule is instituted.
I am sure that there will come a day when there is a great cost to be borne by all Australian Christians. Let us pray that day is forestalled by God and work to see His kingdom come in the lives of those around us.
Thank you Bill for your ongoing honesty in these difficult times. It is sobering for me and I am sure many others to see what our nation is racing towards. I am involved in street witnessing and preaching in Hobart, and knowing what is going on in the broader war on Christianity is a vital source of both motivation and insight.
God bless you brother.
Many thanks David. I think the only reason that CW is still going and I have not been thrown into jail is the grace of God. But things will get worse before they get better. So both you and Murray are correct on this.
We are being told to “be strong and very courageous” and to “having done all to stand” I believe that works 2 ways. First, God can fully support us with all His power when we refuse to compromise and squarely stand on his promises and more even on His righteousness. The enemy we have to deal with is not stupid and probably knows the words of the bible back to front. He is the first to recognize our weaknesses and delights to tear us down from the point of those very weaknesses. If he is unable to find a flaw in our conduct, argument or courage we may gain grudging respect but more importantly bring more glory to the Lord.
I pray Scripture Union will be able to train their people better, prepare them for situations like this and only choose those people of whom they can be sure that they will not apologize after putting a comment that in today’s climate will inevitably raise opposition. The cause of Christ has not been promoted by Mr. William’s appology.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Bless you Bill for your forthrightness and unambiguous expositions of the truth from GOD’s Word. May He strengthen you as you for-fill His purposes in the fight for righteousness during these very last days.
Many thanks Rodney.
I am with you all the way Bill.
“Homosexuality is not ‘normal’ On the contrary it is a challenge to the norm. Nature exists whether academics like it or not. And in nature, procreation is the single relentless rule. That is the norm. Our sexual bodies were designed for reproduction. No one is born gay. The idea is ridiculous.”
And I will post it 101 times if necessary.
We are with you all be way , Bill.
Perhaps the Hobart chaplain didn’t get to attend the previous ‘training session’ on LGBT issues that chaplains in the north of Tasmania had in June. Rodney Croome certainly lauded the ‘development’ at the time….
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2014/06/16/4026248.htm
But of course, unless they say NOTHING on the issue (except, of course what is personally sanctioned by Mr Croome himself) then Rodney won’t be happy!
I’ve sent a stern email to Jeremy Rockliff to tell him he should be ashamed of himself for joining the attack on Troy Williams, and that he owes Mr Williams a sincere apology.
I also ordered a copy of your new book, Bill, before it is banned by the whining of the pink mafia. Your first book, Strained Relations, was a real eye-opener and superbly researched and written. I expect the new one will be just as good. Thank you for taking your part in the battle and arming us with the facts – and I’ll join with the others in saying, I’m with you all the way. God bless.
Many thanks indeed Jan. And thanks for writing to Rockliff. We need more concerned activists like you. Well done.
I too am disappointed Mr Williams, a Christian college chaplain has bowed to apparent pressure to apologize for expressing some simple truths concerning homosexuality. I would be interested to know Scripture Union’s response to all of this, and to know whether they agree or disagree with Mr William’s comments expressed in the social media post. I also have been disappointed somewhat with the Liberal Party in their wishy-washy attitudes, preferring to bow to Political Correctness. One Liberal I admire greatly is Senator Cory Bernardi from South Australia. He has paid a high price politically for being prepared to take a stand for righteousness in regard to issues such as same sex marriage, abortion and the threat of Islam in Australia. Pity there are not more in the Liberal Party like him.
Dear Bill,
I am blessed that a dear church family member forwarded this page to me. It has brought me comfort that my husband and family have some support. On saying that, I need to point out that my husband apologized that he may have upset people – not about the opinion expressed, nor for being homophobic as we both believe he wasn’t. We have certainly had a dark few days and have received and read so much hate. It is like a cool breeze tonight to read this page.
Thanks Sharynn. We will keep you guys in prayer. Keep up your good work.
Hi Bill and all, thanks for your words of support and mutual disgust at what has been happenning. I appreciate your prayers. I am a proud member of Citylight Church in Kingston where you have visited before.
God bless you Troy. Don’t let them get you down. You are a champ.
Hi Bill and all, i appreciate your support. I am happy (and brave enough) to field any questions your bloggers may have. Please pray with me that this may become another opportunity for the Gospel to go out.
Troy
Member – CityLight Church Kingston
Chaplain – Hobart College (at the moment)
Youth Outreach Officer Kingborough Council (at the moment)
I will probably be fired from both these jobs for encouraging young people in that they have a choice in who they are and that they shouldn’t be bullied by someone telling them their lot is predetermined (by someone other than God)
Troy, good on you for being brave and courageous in your stance and principles.
I don’t understand why Troy had to apologise. He didn’t do anything wrong. Unless speaking the truth is a hate crime now…
Dear Sharryn and Troy, God bless you heaps for your strong stand for good and truth!! Praying for peace and an extra measure of an awareness of the Lord’s presence with you in these days and many to stand with you!!!!!
Well said!
What a disgraceful bunch of PC-lemmings
Thanks for reporting this Bill, the man in question must be feeling pretty low and alienated. I pray he feels the hand of God.
As for the Liberal party – they are no different than Labor; they just canvas the conservative spiel at election time. In WA it was the liberals who legalised abortion.
God bless you, Troy. Stay strong and know that our prayers are with you. 1 Cor 15:58. Mick Koster
Thanks Bill, Jo, Lucy and Mick
and thank you others for your prayers.
Emails to these orgs would be useful
Hi Bill,
Please pass on my thanks and support to this family. I can only imagine how hard it must be for them to try and stand up against the pressure!! There are thousands of us out here supporting and praying for them. No matter what, God is faithful and He looks after His children. God is in this and we are backing this family 100%. Praying for God’s supernatural protection to be around them and their minds and spirits would be covered. Blessings to them!!
Prayers from all of us are with all who stand for God’s Objective Truth despite the opposition…
We may be the minority but who is counting, Righteousness is what matter and God is doing the accounting according to His name, Word and Attributes.
Blessings
Fired by Scripture Union for “Breach of conduct”
Sad day
Bill, Troy,
I would like to apologize for my hasty comment on “the cause of Christ not being furthered” by your apology. Troy, I apologize for not getting the nuance, the fact you apologized for causing offence, not for the content of your post. Please forgive me for adding to your no doubt already considerable anguish that of having been misunderstood by one of your fellow Christians. I can’t say how I would react under the pressure you must be under in your position, but I add my prayers to those of all the others that God would give you strength and the words to say that bring Him glory.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thank you Troy and Sharynn Williams for standing up for truth. My prayers, and I’m sure the prayers of many of others following this blog, are with you for the difficult time you are going through and the fight ahead.
And thank you Bill for sharing this with us so that we can know about some more courageous Christians. Let us rejoice that persecution for Christ’s sake reaps a heavenly reward, and that it is a good day when truth is told. I pray that many will see this blog post and ask questions.
One phrase from Psalm 37 always helps me when faced with situations like this – “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
Thinking of you and praying for you.
A sad day indeed Troy. You would have seen this discussing SU’s support of homosexuals:
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/2317398/chaplains-support-gay-students/
What exactly do they mean by “support”? Does that mean affirming the lifestyle and lying to them about what the Bible says? Or does it mean telling them the truth about the issue as you tried to do?
This shows the very real problems of any Christian group relying on government funding or even approval.
We will keep praying for you Troy. Bless you and your family.
Dearest Ursula, honestly, no apology necessary.
A completely understandable take on my statement. I would have felt the same way reading it.
I have been second guessing my own response.
But think I did the right thing at the time…. All things in love…
Love and many blessings to you and yours.
Troy
This is a message of support for Troy and Sharyn, I just want to thank you Troy, and both of you in fact, for speaking out and standing on the truth of the Word of God and not bowing to the fear of man. On the day you stood up for your students and put their welfare first against the myths of homosexuality you stood for us and we stood with you, On the day that you didn’t step back from telling the truth and risked you job, you stood for us and we stand with you. On the day that you lost your job for standing with Christ and standing for the word of God, you stood for us, and we stand with you.
I am so proud of you and I reckon the Lord says ‘well done good and faithful servant’. He knows what you are going through and He is with you.
Its a sad day for Scripture Union today but it is not a sad day for Christ and it is not a sad day for Troy. The Lord will take care of you financially and in every way possible and today will be a new day for you and your family with a change of direction and a fresh path. We stand with you and may we all be so brave when our time comes to stand, may we stand.
Thank you so much Nerissa,
Formerly stood down from Kingborough Council as well, pending investigation.
Please note that I am not against homosexuals but for truth.
So Christian chaplain Troy has now been fired by his own Christian organisation – simply because he spoke the truth about homosexuality:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/08/08/christian-persecution-in-australia/
Hmm. Fired by Scripture Union. I can understand their desire to walk the fine line and maintain their chaplains presence within schools, but fired for speaking truth about homosexuality? That is a very concerning outcome. As a member of a Beach Mission team, I will be taking this up with Scripture Union.
I am truly disappointed in SU. I thought they would maybe now after all this seek to train their chaplains to consider first their ability and willingness to stand strong in the face of inevitable attack and opposition should they stick their neck out to discuss “controversial truth” IN A PUBLIC PLACE before they embark on such a step. But to drop the one who was brave enough to do so, that is shameful. What good can chaplins do if they are not allowed to speak all of the truth where it is applicable. That only helps to lull those whom they are giving advice to into a false sense of security and their gospel turns into a false gospel, which, as Paul says is no gospel at all and for which he had the utmost hatred. It would be better to pull their chaplains out of the system altogether than to facilitate the propagation of an adulterated gospel. Surely there are plenty of wellmeaning unbelievers to give good helpful advice concerning this life without anyone risking the destiny of eternal souls by giving them false ideas about what God excepts of those who proclaim to be his followers.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
I am not one given to writing on a blog but, as a Christ follower, I have to say those who claim His name should follow His example and be prepared, where they are able, to meet the needs of fellow human beings without discrimination. Chaplains employed by Scripture Union make every endeavour to follow this example within the school community. They are able to do that without making judgements on the basis of a person’s social status, gender, education, race, sexual orientation, size, shape or any other feature that so often causes people to be marginalised.
It is a pity when our actions, intentional or otherwise, cause those outside the Christian community to believe we are not demonstrating this Christlike character. Chaplains are always going to need to be vigilant in following the guidelines that are designed to minimise opportunities for critics who may seek to make a case against them on the grounds of partiality or discrimination in their behaviours or attitudes.
Thanks Tony. But please tell us when and where exactly Troy discriminated against a homosexual. All he did was post on his own FB page a 100% true poster about homosexuals not be born that way – and it was written by another homosexual! How is that discriminating?
And by your reasoning, no Christian should say anything about the gospel ever, for fear of possibly offending someone, sometime, somewhere. If that is what people want, then fine. But we then no longer need SU or any Christian groups. Atheist counsellors would do the trick just fine in that case.
And please go back and reread the gospel accounts. Jesus was constantly offending people, angering people, and dividing the crowds, simply by speaking truth. Sorry, but I will stick with Jesus on this one.
And now CultureWatch is dragged into this debate:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-08/hobart-college-chaplain-sacked-over-homophobic-facebook-post/5657750
Please keep praying for Troy and his family. They are feeling the heat, and the hate, big time.
Thank you Troy and Sharynn for standing firmly on God’s infallible Word.
Jesus is with you and will never forsake you. Although at the moment you are under tremendous pressure, I am confident that you will feel the Lord’s presence and anointing and experience a peace which passes all understanding. God has mighty plans for you. Watch His plans unfold before you.
May His Face shine upon you as you serve Him each day.
Psalm 33:1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Hab 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
With ALL my love in Christ.
Troy,
could you please contact me and we will cover your story on the biblesociety website
John sandeman
Thanks John. I have passed your email address on to Troy.
Troy, we’ve covered your story twice in the past couple of days – and have asked people to pray for you and your family and also to write to the organisations.
Would appreciate you getting in touch with me, too.
God bless you and your family.
Jenny
Thanks Jenny. I have passed your email address on to Troy.
Bill, thank you for acknowledging my post but I think you have missed a major point of the post. SUTas as a responsible employer has strict guidelines about use of social media and these are signed by every employee as a condition of employment. The guidelines are designed to protect employees and the organisation, knowing how social media postings can be often be misunderstood. Many of the comments about the situation resulting from Troy’s post have been made by well meaning people who do not have all the facts. The simple reason for SUTas terminating the employment contract related to the breach of contact conditions. Posts on your blog which attribute the SUTas action to a response to views that Troy has subsequently expressed about the content of his post are simply based on a false premise – typical of the dangers of use of social media that our guidelines are designed to protect against. As Christians we should be careful not to diminish the effectiveness of a ministry like chaplaincy by making unhelpful comments without knowing all of the facts. I trust anyone who has a genuine interest in chaplaincy or has a concern about the role of chaplains in schools will feel free to contact SUTas personally for a more complete picture..
Thanks Tony, but a few problems. If you are interested in honest and transparent discussion here, it would have been good for starters to reveal your connection to all this. Of course 99% of readers here would have no idea that you are Chairperson of SU Tasmania.
And if all the media accounts of this are getting it totally wrong, then it would be incumbent on SU to publicly set the record straight. All the general public has to go on is what Troy has said and what the media reports have said – and all that has been about his posting on social sites about homosexuality. If this is not the case, then make a public correction of it, otherwise it just seems you are shooting the messenger here.
And if government funding is curtailing and restricting what SU says and does – as expressed in its statement of aims – then maybe it is a time to reconsider being tied down with such funding. As I say, if such constraints mean Christian workers simply hang around with folks, but cannot share clear biblical truth, then why even bother being there?
As Christians we should know full well that secular government is never going to be a safe and reliable partner for any Christian ministry. If they are footing the bill – even partially – then they will be calling the shots. If SU and any other parachurch group wants to be fully effective for the gospel, then it needs to decide once and for all who it will fully depend upon – God or the state. So maybe God is allowing this to happen so that the SU leadership might think long and hard about this, and to get down on their faces before almighty God and seek his will on all these matters. We can all pray for your group and others like it, but it is up to you folks to fully seek to hear what God is saying in all this. That I hope you will do. That may be the most important outcome from this whole situation.
Thanks Bill. I hope we can catch up sometime when you are down in Hobart.
Thanks Tony. Next time I am there I will look you up.
Scripture Union needs to explain to Bible-believing Christians why we should continue to support them, in light of the action they have taken against Mr Williams.
Jereth, this has been a prime example of the issues that arise for a responsible employer when an employee breaches guidelines on use of social media and I’m sure that any bible believing Christian who could put themselves in the role of the employer would understand the action taken by SUTas. The way the content of the particular posting has been referenced by the various interest groups just highlights how vital it is for a responsible employer to require adherence to guidelines designed to protect both the employer and the employee.
I can assure that the values that SU holds dearly have not been compromised at all by the actions taken by SUTas in this matter.
Tony, I disagree that I breached S.U. guidelines.
Nice bit of Holy fire there BILL.
All these Christian organisations are being watered down under pressure.
Christians are persecuted for speaking fundamental Bible truths. Loss of work means loss of income.
Jesus said we will be hated and persecuted. This generation will test many. Hope you never have to pack your jail bag.
Thanks Susan. I hope so too!
This is the email I sent to the Scirpture Union.
1. Can you give me the reasons for terminating a person’s employment because he told the truth?
2. Is the truth no longer important to the Scripture Union in Tasmania?
3. Is the Scripture Union in Tasmania governed by homosexual bigotry or the truth of God’s word?
4. Can you tell me how God’s Kingdom is going to be advanced if Christian Ministries give in to every Tom, Dick and Homosexual?
5. Can you tell me how we are going to overcome in this demonic fight against homosexuality if Christians are happy to cave in at the slightest challenge?
6. Can you tell me what it says about the church when it feeds it own to the wolves?
7. Is the Scripture Union in name only and should it in fact be known as “The Scripture (maybe) Union?
8. Should we be warning parents that allowing their kids to attend any of Scripture Union’s activities could be dangerous because they are blasé about the truth?
9. Can you tell me how the truth is going to be advanced if you don’t care whether it is or not?
10. Can you tell me how you can ever be trusted again?
I have tried on a number of occasions in recent days to send a message to SU Tasmania via the contact form on the SU website, but it continues to fail to send the message?? The message i was attempting to send:
_____________________________
As a past SU High School chaplain & long term supporter of Scripture Union, I find the decision by Scripture Union Tasmania to terminate the employment of Troy Williams EXTREMELY DISTURBING.
It comes across to me as a case of ‘shooting the messenger’.
If the primary issue was a breach of contract in relation to social media protocol, as has been suggested (a charge that Troy has specifically denied), can you please clarify this issue for all concerned by releasing a statement with the copy of the social media guidelines that he has specially breached & how what Troy did, was determined to be a breach.
My ongoing confidence & support of Scripture Union, is really hanging in the balance over my understanding of the handling of this issue.
Regards,
Howard Savage
Perhaps there is more to the story but on the face of it and what we know, I am fully with Howard Savage. World Vision attempted something like this awhile back then back pedaled when their base responded. And yes, my confidence in their board even to this day is rattled over it. Apologists for truth, or opportunists waiting for blood in the water to pounce ever so ‘correctly’.
All supporters on the SUTas mailing list will be sent a letter this week setting out the actions taken and the reasons for them. Those who know SU and who fully understand the facts of this particular incident will have no doubts that Scripture is and always will be the basis for undertaking our ministry and building our relationships.
If Scripture truly is the basis of undertaking your ministry you wouldn’t be terminating one who teaches the truth out of the Scripture!
I found the same Howard but I have just sent it again and it has gone through. I get the feeling that SU has some very red faces over this so they have been trying to ignore reality.
Thanks Roger – the SU Tassie website contact form is working appropriately now, as you indicated – I have to wonder if this was just a technical issue @ an inopportune time or was it a case of closing off the avenue for people to follow up, to give time for the issue to ‘cool off a bit’??
I sent a stern letter to SU Tas to express my disgust at their treatment of Troy Williams, and received the standard defense of their actions from Andrew Turner, SU Tas Chairman. In reply, I included a couple of quotes from Bill’s replies to Tony Wilson (acknowledged) Bill, I hope you don’t mind…..you said it so much better than I could! I ended the letter by stating that from a Biblical perspective, SU’s position is untenable.
I do hope that when they see Bill’s name mentioned, they will find this article and read it carefully, along with all the comments.
To Troy – God bless you, and keep standing up for His truth!
What I am about to say may not be that popular with your readers. I am a Christian. It is sad that Troy was sacked over such a thing. But I don’t understand why the Christian community (incl. you & your blog readers) make such a thing over homosexuality. Yes, I agree it is not biblical behaviour. But neither are so, so, so many of my daily actions and thoughts. Why does homosexuality rate higher than my sins? I don’t think it does in God’s eyes. Why are there so many anti-homosexuality comments on this blog instead of people with the attitude that their sin is just as bad as that of a homosexual. And that what people living a homosexual life need is Christians who show them LOVE and the cross of Christ through that LOVE. Not judgmental attitudes. That is not how we win people for Christ. If they don’t feel they can even walk in the door of a church without being vilified, how on earth will they come to know our Saviour? He is the only one who has the right to convict of sin. That is The Spirit’s job. Correct me if I am wrong. We are to show love.
Thanks Angela. Yes, respectfully, you are wrong, so yes I am happy to correct you, as you suggested. Your notions of basic Christianity seem all rather unbiblical unfortunately. For example, real love never means tolerating or condoning sin, but speaking biblical truth into the situation. You cannot separate love from truth. They go together. And the most loving thing we can tell a homosexual is he does not have to be that way, and that Jesus Christ can change lives. How is speaking this truth being unloving? See more on this here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2009/03/23/truth-and-love/
And you offer us the world’s understanding of judging. Of course we are to judge. We are commanded to judge dozens of times, even by Jesus. See here for example: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/10/08/thou-shalt-judge/
And you seem rather unaware of the massive war we are in. The homosexual agenda is a great moral issue of our day, and is actively warring against faith, family and freedom. Since when is standing up for our faith, for God’s institutions of marriage and family, and the right to exercise our freedom of conscience being unChristian and unloving? See here, eg.: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2013/01/10/the-war-against-faith-and-family-continues-unabated/
Sadly Wilberforce got the same unhelpful criticisms from other Christians in his day as he took on the great moral evil of slavery. “Oh Wilby, you are being too judgmental. You need to be loving. Stop vilifying people. It is the Spirit’s job to convict people, etc etc.”
Utter baloney of course. Wilberforce was rightly called of God to denounce the sin of slavery, and he stood for the truth – that was the loving and Christian thing to do. In the same way we are to stand against the obvious sins of our day, and proclaim biblical truth. See here for more: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2013/07/31/changing-hearts-laws-or-cultures/
If you don’t speak truth to homosexuals – or any other sinners – you don’t really love them. And I urge you to read this moving testimony of a man who was once a homosexual, but thanks to concerned Christians who spoke truth into his life, he no longer is. See here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/02/22/caring-enough-to-offend/
And sure, all sin is what sent Jesus to the cross. But not all sin is being aggressively promoted and championed now like homosexuality is. Refusing to see where the greatest attacks are coming from helps no one. It is the same as pretending slavery was not a big deal 200 years ago, and remaining silent on it. That would have been a dereliction of Christian duty. Also, the Bible makes it clear that not all sins are in fact equal: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/11/12/are-all-sins-equal-part-one/
Sadly it seems you need to go back to Scripture here and listen to what God is saying, not the surrounding pagan culture. Simply repeating what the world says about these matters helps no one, and is not a reflection of the Christian gospel.
But if you were not just asking a rhetorical question here, but were serious, then I suggest you take the time to read the articles I linked to.
As someone who is actually really close to this whole matter, I can calmly say that this is ridiculous and disgusts me! The basic idea of gender is physical! You have a man and a woman! Like puzzle pieces, you can’t put the same two together! It isn’t “normal” so why is this so bad? I can’t believe the PC Police have such complete control of education.
Thank you Orren. Clearly and simply put.
UPDATE – after 3 attempts of sending emails & a hard copy letter of the same email to SU Tasmania and waiting over 2 1/2 months for a reply to some basic questions about the handling of this issue on the part of Scripture Union, I have not received any response at all and I am beginning to wonder if I am ever going to be afforded the courtesy of a response.
Given that this offer was placed at the bottom of the initial message sent out by the SU office:
‘Please feel free to contact the SU Tas office if you wish to discuss this further.’
… I find this (particularly, as someone who was employed for many years by Scripture Union in the past), very poor form. Unless they have something to hide, why will Scripture Union not enter into dialogue about this issue?
Bless you Bill
Mr. Troy Williams, how are you?
I am writing here on behalf of Hong Kong pro-family alliance to encourage you for your brave stance on truth.
We believe strongly in freedom of speech and religions which are one of the foundations of a civilized society. We felt angry and sorry for the experience you encountered 3 months ago. We have written an article of this incident and shared with our Hong Kong family supporters. We are all supporting you. Never give up!
If you want any further contacts, feel free to contact me by by email.
Please continue to pray for my family and I. I still don’t have employment and we are finding the going quite difficult.
Thank you
Troy,
You are often in my thoughts & prayers – it saddens me that the outcome of this issue is still causing strain for you & your family.
After numerous attempts of sending both hard copy letters & emails to SU Tasmania, I have NEVER received any response, to some basic questions about this issue.
The last message I sent was November 2014:
Andrew Turner, Tony Wilson & The Tassie SU Team,
Another month has passed by, and it is becoming clear that my concerns in relation to the issues surrounding the termination of Troy William’s employment as a chaplain, are going to go unanswered. I find this silence, deeply disappointing. Your offer of – ‘Please feel free to contact the SU Tas office if you wish to discuss this further’ – carries little meaning at all, if you are unwilling to follow up on inquiries that are put to your office.
This leaves me believing that the questions I am asking go to the heart of the matter and the fact that SU Tasmanian is refusing to respond to them, strongly suggests that the truth of what really took place, was not what has been presented by Scripture Union in the formal information that has been released to date.
Acts 5:29 records the words of Peter & the other apostles who were brought before the Sanhedrin, after having been previously given strict orders not to teach in the name of Jesus … ‘We must obey God rather than men!’ It concerns me greatly from what I have read of the situation and the lack of response to my questions from Scripture Union, that Troy William’s position was scarified on the alter of political correctness and obeying men, rather than obeying God. It is indeed a very sad day when the fear of men is determining the decision making processes of a Christian organisation, rather than the fear of God.
Still awaiting your response to my concerns.
Thank you so much Bill, though disappointed with the actions of Scripture Union I know that most of the pressure came from the Education Department through pressure from some elements of the community. I hold Hobart College and the staff there in the highest regard but as I said at my “dismissal” meeting with S.U., I understand if they (Hobart College) can’t maintain my employment then I am therefore unemployable by S.U.
We had lots of moral support from your followers here and I must say, from Family Voice Australia.
We would like to be upheld in prayer still by your audience.
Bless you.