As I have documented now in hundreds of articles and various books, the things we hold most near and dear are under ferocious attack. Christianity, marriage and family, and liberty are all being threatened big time. And one of the greatest threats is coming from the militant homosexual lobby.
They are relentless in their attempts to squash all three. Although small in number, they make up for it in loudness of voice, a compliant media, coercion, and a tireless commitment to win at all costs. Thus in their attempts to ram homosexual “marriage” down the throats of everyone else, they simply keep bashing away.
It is a war of attrition, and they believe they can just wear us down and tire us out, so that we will eventually raise the white flag of surrender. For example in Australia there have been over a dozen bills to introduce their war on marriage into Australian law.
So far we have held the line, but they keep on introducing new bills, the latest of which goes into Federal Parliament on August 11. But our side can easily be tempted to just give up – after all, they have often been asked to contact politicians, write letters, put in submissions, etc.
Many have faithfully done so, but are now beginning to grow weary of all this. Sadly our side does not seem to have the same determination, resolve and commitment on this as does the other side. But as tiring as it can be, we must never stop in defending faith, family and freedom.
This weekend I have been interstate speaking at a pro-marriage rally organised by a group of local Catholics. They had a pro-marriage weekend, complete with the renewing of wedding vows for married couples. It was encouraging to see this committed group in Albury making a stand. (At the same time a smaller group of “rainbow” activists had a brief march in the city.)
As I said to a large and eager crowd yesterday, this battle is far too important to opt out of. We simply do not have the luxury of sitting on the fence, nor can we grow weary in well-doing. We must stand and fight, and continue to do so for as long as it takes.
One thing that I was quite impressed with was a small, attractive booklet just released last month by the Catholic Bishops of Australia. It is a pastoral letter entitled “Don’t Mess With Marriage.” Let me quote from this important document. It begins by noting how we must treat our opponents:
Every man, woman and child has great dignity and worth which can never be taken away. This includes those who experience same-sex attraction. They must be treated with respect, sensitivity, and love.
It then looks at some of the myths being perpetrated by the activists, including the concepts of “equality” and “discrimination”. It rightly states, “We must treat like cases alike and different cases differently.” It continues:
In this pastoral letter we argue that what is unjust – gravely unjust – is:
-to legitimise the false assertion that there is nothing distinctive about a man and a woman, a father or a mother;
-to ignore the particular values that real marriage serves;
-to ignore the importance for children of having, as far as possible, a mum and a dad, committed to them and to each other for the long haul;
-to destabilize marriage further at a time when it is already under considerable pressure; and
-to change retrospectively the basis upon which all existing married couples got married.
It reminds us that emotional ties are not the same as committed marriages. The traditional view of marriage recognises that
marriage includes an emotional union, but it goes further than that. It involves a substantial bodily and spiritual union of a man and a woman. As the Old Testament taught and Jesus and St Paul repeated, marriage is where man and woman truly become “one flesh.”
On the importance of marriage and family it says this:
Because of the crucial role marriage plays as the nursery for the future of the community, and its responsibility always to act in the best interests of children governments everywhere recognise and regulate marriage.
Mothers and fathers are different, and a child needs both:
Sometimes people claim that children do just fine with two mums or two dads and that there is “no difference” between households with same-sex parents and heterosexual parents. But sociological research, as well as the long experience of Church and society, attests to the importance for children of having, as far as possible, both a mother and father. ‘Messing with marriage’, therefore, is also ‘messing with kids’. It is gravely unjust to them.
The booklet closes with a section on how there are very real – and very negative – consequences to redefining marriage. Here are a few of the examples given:
-The City of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, ordered Christian ministers to perform samesex weddings under pain of 180 days’ imprisonment for each day the ceremony is not performed and fines of $1000 per day; some British MPs have threatened to remove the marriage licences from clergy who fail to conduct ‘same-sex marriages’
-Clergy in Holland, France, Spain, the US and Australia have been threatened with prosecution for ‘hate speech’ for upholding their faith tradition’s position on marriage; the City of Houston, Texas, has even subpoenaed pastors, compelling them to submit sermons to legal scrutiny when discussing sexuality
-In Colorado and Oregon, courts have fined bakers who refused on religious or conscientious grounds to bake wedding cakes for ‘same-sex weddings’; in New Mexico a wedding photographer was fined for refusing to do photography for such a ceremony; and in Illinois accommodation providers have been sued for not providing honeymoon packages after ‘same-sex weddings’
-British MPs have threatened to stop churches holding weddings if they do not agree to conduct same-sex ones
-The Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam and a Bishop in Spain have been threatened with prosecution for ‘hate speech’ merely for restating the position of their religious traditions
-Having allowed ‘same-sex marriages’, polygamous marriages have been permitted in Brazil and pressure for their legalisation is strong in Canada and elsewhere
-Businessmen, athletes, commentators, teachers, doctors and nurses, religious leaders and others in several countries who have spoken in support of traditional marriage have been vilified in the media, denied employment or business contracts, and threatened with prosecution.
The booklet closes with a call to action:
We all know and love people with same-sex attraction. They are our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, friends and neighbours. They need love and support like anyone else. But pretending that their relationships are ‘marriages’ is not fair or just to them. As Christians we must be willing to present the truth about marriage, family and sexuality and to do so charitably and lovingly.
I recommend that you all have a full read of this helpful booklet. And I wish that various Protestant groups would be doing similar things. Far too many are not, and are just sitting this one out. They naively think that all this will not impact them. They could not be more mistaken.
As I have written so often, homosexual marriage is a game changer – it changes everything and impacts everyone. For starters, see this: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/05/15/homosexual-marriage-everything-will-change/
We live in very dark times. The Christian faith and Western civilisation are both at risk of collapsing. And the final outcome really does come down to you and me. Will we stand in this very dark hour and be salt and light, or will we simply capitulate and compromise?
Charles Colson in his 2011 volume, The Sky is Not Falling: Living Fearlessly in These Turbulent Times, said this: “Our culture will collapse as surely as that of ancient Israel when they turned away from the protective and life-sustaining principles of God. But collapse is far from inevitable because the church has in its purpose, worldview, ethos, and mission everything needed to turn culture around.”
Exactly right. This is a winnable battle. But it will require time, effort, sacrifice and a willingness to face increasing persecution. And it will take all of us to get involved. Will you be counted in that number? Will you stand for what matters most? The choice is yours.
16 Replies to “Standing Fast for Faith, Family and Freedom”
Bill, I’m pleased to see that your weekend went well, and this post is an encouragement to me to stay in the fight.
As always Bill keep up your good work!
We really need good people like you to encourage us as it is so easy to give up in our busy lives.
So true that now could be a life-changing time for our civilisation.
God bless
What is really behind the gay movement?
Little is being discussed about the real intent behind the Sodomite movement and we should not lose sight of it.
The real intention of the movement is Satan’s attack on the image of God. Every individual since the time of creation has been a descendent of Adam and Eve who were originally created in the image of God and from the very effulgence of Him, James 3:9. God is the Father of all of us and every time Satan looks upon mankind he sees the image of God, against whom he rebelled.
Therefore it becomes evident to those who know God that Satan will do all he can to destroy the effulgence (glory, brilliance) of God endowed upon mankind and intensified in the sons of God, 2 Cor. 3. Same-sex attraction is an attempt to decimate the sanctity of God blessed opposite-sex marriage and spit in the face of God.
Those who embrace same-sex marriage embrace Satan and his agenda and also desecrate the image of God. It is impossible for Christians to participate in or condone this perverted movement that is sweeping across the planet and infiltrating the churches. Be not deceived; all individuals and nations which embrace this movement will, like peoples in past ages who did embrace it, be removed swiftly from the face of the earth.
This matter is not about equal rights or love rights or tolerance etc, it is about Satan’s jealousy and his desire to desecrate all that God has blessed.
Dr. Bob Chapman
At Church this morning, we were urged to contact our local MP and urge him to vote NO to any legislation which would redefine marriage as other than that between a man and a woman. I was just so pleased, as I have been praying that indeed, the Church would present us with the official policy of our denomination.
Personally, I have already written to our local (Labor) member, and did so as soon as I heard that this was rearing its ugly head yet again.
God bless you
Joan
Hi Joan, Great effort. I have done the same.
The key truth is Christians in Australia can stop SSM if they are serious and wanted to.
If every Christian advised their Federal Politician they would never vote for them again if they vote to support SSM, then SSM would be dead in it’s tracks.
Regrettably most Christians are apathetic.
regards
Phil
I agree Dr Chapman’s last statement “It’s about Satan’s jealousy and desire to desecrate all that God has blessed”
I hope you can stop it. Christians in Britain were steam-rollered by a government that had already made up its mind to introduce ssm, irrespective of opinions. Now soon we will be labelled as extremists by the Home Secretary, who has made no promises to protect the traditional-marriage supporter. I imagine if British churches are told to perform ssm then many will withdraw from marriages altogether, thus forcing gays and Christians alike into registry offices….forced equality, and the Devil still scores points. Then gays will be demanding “church blessings” and kicking up a stink when they don’t get them. The whole thing never ends.
I will never accept that two men or two women can be married. Never. The purpose of this assault on marriage is to destroy it. Homosexuals used to deride normal people for their breeding and their vows of fidelity. Now they pretend they want to ‘marry’. Pull the other one.
I am always reminded of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who stood firm and refused to bow to the false image even to the point of their threatened death in the fiery furnace and how they were miraculously and publicly saved.
Re complacent people, in his letter letter written on April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. said – “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” King asserted that the white church needed to take a principled stand or risk being “dismissed as an irrelevant social club.”
I am inclined to think that the Presbyterian church’s stand to withdraw from the marriage act should ssm become legal is a good response to a bad situation, but I am concerned that not enough is being done to prevent that bad situation from happening in the first place. I am with all of you, ssm is not inevitable, we must continue to fight it tooth and nail on all levels. This is what people don’t seem to understand, as Christians it is not about “them and us”, but the best for all people. While God has not abandoned those who reject Him, we can’t wash our hands of them either, just yet, no matter how much we feel like it. because there will always be innocent children dragged into this somehow.
Would appreciate your thoughts on that suggestion first mentioned in this post, please Bill.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
In their Pastoral Letter “Don’t Mess With Marriage” the Catholic bishops skirt their responsibility to educate the Catholic faithful as to the Biblical morality of homosexual practice; I am wondering why. It is directly relevant to the discussion. The Bishops, incorrectly in my view, cited Catholic tradition as their authority; not the bible. They seem to have forgotten that all Catholic morality comes from the bible and having forgotten that, the bishops have excused themselves from any obligation to mention the relevant Biblical teachings. They bend over backwards to avoid giving offence and in doing so they compromise the truth. This business about the great dignity and worth of every man which can never be taken away is rubbish. A person can lose their human dignity quite easily. For a person to willingly engage in some form of unnatural sexual activity or for a person to avoid the responsibilities of divine office are both instances of behavior which is beneath the dignity of a human person created in the image of God. The document “Don’t Mess With Marriage” is a lost opportunity to teach the truth as found in the bible and to inform Catholics that no government on earth has authority to overturn a law of God. There is a distinct possibility of this sinful state becoming law in Australia while the Catholic bishops of the land remain impotent, their authority apparently choked by fear. In my view the document does not do justice to the Word of God. St John Fisher pray for us.
B.T., sometimes the best way to discourage those who trash that which is good, for whatever reason they do it, is to strengthen the knowledge of truth’s beauty and thereby dispel and disarm the ignorance that is often the reason for such an action. But while this should probably always be our first step, I agree with you it must go further to the denunciation of lies and destructive practices if their proponents will not turn when they are shown the truth but persist in their blind folly. But all too often in our warfare we find it difficult to go to the beginning and appreciate the fact that some people are simply on the wrong side of the argument because they have never seen things as planned by God in the beginning, nor have they ever been taught how to think in such a way that they could come to the correct conclusions. We have so much to undo, the deliberate dumming down and brainwashing of an entire generation.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thank you Ursula, much appreciated.
B T Walters criticises the booklet “Don’t Mess with Marriage” for not mentioning the relevant Biblical teachings. Please bear in mind that the booklet was written not only for Catholics, but also for “all Australian”, as the cover of the booklet says. As such, the booklet was written from a perspective of deductive reasoning that all Australians could appreciate, whether they are Christian or not.
B T Walters also says that the Catholic teaching about the great dignity and worth of every person is rubbish. What the bishops mean is that every person has intrinsic dignity and worth because each of us is made in the image and likeness of God, and Christ died for the redemption of all people, both collectively and individually. This is what the Catholic Church means when she refers to the intrinsic dignity of the human person.
B T Walters appears to be a Catholic, since he or she seeks the intercession of St John Fisher. I suggest that as a Catholic he or she show more charity towards our bishops, who are entrusted with a sacred office.
I concur with Bill Muehlenberg that the booklet was quite impressive, and I thank him for writing such a favourable article about it.
Until we define marriage it will remain a misnomer. For example: is marriage a contract between two people? Is it a contract between two people with the consent of the people? Is it a contract between the two families of the bride and groom? No? Then what is it?
Here is a clue: it is a license. A license – for what?
Answer: to have or adopt children. Ok, now that we understand why the government issues a license(to have or adopt children), we can understand why our society needs to guard the institution very carefully.
Now we should peruse the adoption laws to understand what society deems ‘for the welfare of children’. More importantly, why LGBTIQ are frothing at the mouth to get their hands on marriage and why all previous generations have kept them away from it.
It is said, to defeat the enemy – you must first know the enemy. So, let us get to work and protect our children just as our parents did and stop all this nonsense of so called “gay” marriage and put the children first and last as opposed to pampering to the lewd few and or the corrupt minority, our children deserve better. Lest we forget what they fought and died for. After all, children are their great and great – great grandchildren placed in our care. Their fight is now our struggle; their sacrifice is now our inspiration; their quest is now our challenge; their blood is our sanctity; their aspirations are now our desire: We shall fight on and never surrender because the welfare of our children is at stake!
It is a war of attrition, and they believe they can just wear us down and tire us out, so that we will eventually raise the white flag of surrender. For example in Australia there have been over a dozen bills to introduce their war on marriage into Australian law.
Bill, I’m pleased to see that your weekend went well, and this post is an encouragement to me to stay in the fight.
As always Bill keep up your good work!
We really need good people like you to encourage us as it is so easy to give up in our busy lives.
So true that now could be a life-changing time for our civilisation.
God bless
What is really behind the gay movement?
Little is being discussed about the real intent behind the Sodomite movement and we should not lose sight of it.
The real intention of the movement is Satan’s attack on the image of God. Every individual since the time of creation has been a descendent of Adam and Eve who were originally created in the image of God and from the very effulgence of Him, James 3:9. God is the Father of all of us and every time Satan looks upon mankind he sees the image of God, against whom he rebelled.
Therefore it becomes evident to those who know God that Satan will do all he can to destroy the effulgence (glory, brilliance) of God endowed upon mankind and intensified in the sons of God, 2 Cor. 3. Same-sex attraction is an attempt to decimate the sanctity of God blessed opposite-sex marriage and spit in the face of God.
Those who embrace same-sex marriage embrace Satan and his agenda and also desecrate the image of God. It is impossible for Christians to participate in or condone this perverted movement that is sweeping across the planet and infiltrating the churches. Be not deceived; all individuals and nations which embrace this movement will, like peoples in past ages who did embrace it, be removed swiftly from the face of the earth.
This matter is not about equal rights or love rights or tolerance etc, it is about Satan’s jealousy and his desire to desecrate all that God has blessed.
Dr. Bob Chapman
At Church this morning, we were urged to contact our local MP and urge him to vote NO to any legislation which would redefine marriage as other than that between a man and a woman. I was just so pleased, as I have been praying that indeed, the Church would present us with the official policy of our denomination.
Personally, I have already written to our local (Labor) member, and did so as soon as I heard that this was rearing its ugly head yet again.
God bless you
Joan
Hi Joan, Great effort. I have done the same.
The key truth is Christians in Australia can stop SSM if they are serious and wanted to.
If every Christian advised their Federal Politician they would never vote for them again if they vote to support SSM, then SSM would be dead in it’s tracks.
Regrettably most Christians are apathetic.
regards
Phil
Some things to do:
http://marriagepetition.acl.org.au/
http://marriage.fava.org.au/
I agree Dr Chapman’s last statement “It’s about Satan’s jealousy and desire to desecrate all that God has blessed”
I hope you can stop it. Christians in Britain were steam-rollered by a government that had already made up its mind to introduce ssm, irrespective of opinions. Now soon we will be labelled as extremists by the Home Secretary, who has made no promises to protect the traditional-marriage supporter. I imagine if British churches are told to perform ssm then many will withdraw from marriages altogether, thus forcing gays and Christians alike into registry offices….forced equality, and the Devil still scores points. Then gays will be demanding “church blessings” and kicking up a stink when they don’t get them. The whole thing never ends.
I will never accept that two men or two women can be married. Never. The purpose of this assault on marriage is to destroy it. Homosexuals used to deride normal people for their breeding and their vows of fidelity. Now they pretend they want to ‘marry’. Pull the other one.
I am always reminded of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who stood firm and refused to bow to the false image even to the point of their threatened death in the fiery furnace and how they were miraculously and publicly saved.
Re complacent people, in his letter letter written on April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. said – “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” King asserted that the white church needed to take a principled stand or risk being “dismissed as an irrelevant social club.”
I am inclined to think that the Presbyterian church’s stand to withdraw from the marriage act should ssm become legal is a good response to a bad situation, but I am concerned that not enough is being done to prevent that bad situation from happening in the first place. I am with all of you, ssm is not inevitable, we must continue to fight it tooth and nail on all levels. This is what people don’t seem to understand, as Christians it is not about “them and us”, but the best for all people. While God has not abandoned those who reject Him, we can’t wash our hands of them either, just yet, no matter how much we feel like it. because there will always be innocent children dragged into this somehow.
Would appreciate your thoughts on that suggestion first mentioned in this post, please Bill.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
In their Pastoral Letter “Don’t Mess With Marriage” the Catholic bishops skirt their responsibility to educate the Catholic faithful as to the Biblical morality of homosexual practice; I am wondering why. It is directly relevant to the discussion. The Bishops, incorrectly in my view, cited Catholic tradition as their authority; not the bible. They seem to have forgotten that all Catholic morality comes from the bible and having forgotten that, the bishops have excused themselves from any obligation to mention the relevant Biblical teachings. They bend over backwards to avoid giving offence and in doing so they compromise the truth. This business about the great dignity and worth of every man which can never be taken away is rubbish. A person can lose their human dignity quite easily. For a person to willingly engage in some form of unnatural sexual activity or for a person to avoid the responsibilities of divine office are both instances of behavior which is beneath the dignity of a human person created in the image of God. The document “Don’t Mess With Marriage” is a lost opportunity to teach the truth as found in the bible and to inform Catholics that no government on earth has authority to overturn a law of God. There is a distinct possibility of this sinful state becoming law in Australia while the Catholic bishops of the land remain impotent, their authority apparently choked by fear. In my view the document does not do justice to the Word of God. St John Fisher pray for us.
B.T., sometimes the best way to discourage those who trash that which is good, for whatever reason they do it, is to strengthen the knowledge of truth’s beauty and thereby dispel and disarm the ignorance that is often the reason for such an action. But while this should probably always be our first step, I agree with you it must go further to the denunciation of lies and destructive practices if their proponents will not turn when they are shown the truth but persist in their blind folly. But all too often in our warfare we find it difficult to go to the beginning and appreciate the fact that some people are simply on the wrong side of the argument because they have never seen things as planned by God in the beginning, nor have they ever been taught how to think in such a way that they could come to the correct conclusions. We have so much to undo, the deliberate dumming down and brainwashing of an entire generation.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thank you Ursula, much appreciated.
B T Walters criticises the booklet “Don’t Mess with Marriage” for not mentioning the relevant Biblical teachings. Please bear in mind that the booklet was written not only for Catholics, but also for “all Australian”, as the cover of the booklet says. As such, the booklet was written from a perspective of deductive reasoning that all Australians could appreciate, whether they are Christian or not.
B T Walters also says that the Catholic teaching about the great dignity and worth of every person is rubbish. What the bishops mean is that every person has intrinsic dignity and worth because each of us is made in the image and likeness of God, and Christ died for the redemption of all people, both collectively and individually. This is what the Catholic Church means when she refers to the intrinsic dignity of the human person.
B T Walters appears to be a Catholic, since he or she seeks the intercession of St John Fisher. I suggest that as a Catholic he or she show more charity towards our bishops, who are entrusted with a sacred office.
I concur with Bill Muehlenberg that the booklet was quite impressive, and I thank him for writing such a favourable article about it.
Until we define marriage it will remain a misnomer. For example: is marriage a contract between two people? Is it a contract between two people with the consent of the people? Is it a contract between the two families of the bride and groom? No? Then what is it?
Here is a clue: it is a license. A license – for what?
Answer: to have or adopt children. Ok, now that we understand why the government issues a license(to have or adopt children), we can understand why our society needs to guard the institution very carefully.
Now we should peruse the adoption laws to understand what society deems ‘for the welfare of children’. More importantly, why LGBTIQ are frothing at the mouth to get their hands on marriage and why all previous generations have kept them away from it.
It is said, to defeat the enemy – you must first know the enemy. So, let us get to work and protect our children just as our parents did and stop all this nonsense of so called “gay” marriage and put the children first and last as opposed to pampering to the lewd few and or the corrupt minority, our children deserve better. Lest we forget what they fought and died for. After all, children are their great and great – great grandchildren placed in our care. Their fight is now our struggle; their sacrifice is now our inspiration; their quest is now our challenge; their blood is our sanctity; their aspirations are now our desire: We shall fight on and never surrender because the welfare of our children is at stake!