Further reflections on the diabolical ‘anti-conversion’ bill:
Now that Victoria has voted to criminalise prayer, counsel, and care for those struggling with unwanted sexual attractions – among other things – we are all outlaws. At least those who actually care about other people, want to be able to help others, and want to be able to share truth and affirm things like biology and reality.
Will this finally be the wakeup call we all need? Guess what folks? The time for playing games is now over. Given that Christians are the main group being targeted here, we need to be aware of what is really going on. We either commit to standing for Christ regardless of the dire consequences, or we renounce our faith altogether and admit it was all just a charade. We must choose now.
And it is times like this where the men are separated from the boys – the wheat from the tares. Already the milquetoast Christian brigade has come out claiming the bill is very specific and limited, and we should not make a big deal of it. Yeah right. These are the same clueless wonders who went along with the militants who promised us that ‘Nothing will change’ when they pushed through the destruction of marriage.
The activists lied of course, and way too many undiscerning and gullible believers went along with it. Now just a few years later Christians who pray and discuss matters of sexuality with those seeking help can be sent to prison for ten years and/or be heavily fined.
As to the bill itself, it was always shambolic and fraudulent. It relied on just over a dozen stories of those who claimed to have been hurt by ‘conversion therapy’. What was wilfully overlooked were all those who have been harmed by the homosexual lifestyle, and all those who have in fact been delivered out of it.
One very important document which offers some much-needed truth here is Free To Change. The stories of numerous ex-gays are presented there. Yes they exist. They are real people. But the activists, Labor, and most Libs do not want to know that they exist. See their amazing stories here: https://www.freetochange.org/ex-lgbt-stories-of-change/
All up there were 78 ex-LGBT people who took part in the survey for this booklet. Some of the findings of the survey of these 78 people include the following:
-That suicides were averted.
-Professional and religious counselling were much used.
-Many changed their orientation.
-The changes are long standing. https://www.freetochange.org/survey-results/
But these inconvenient truths were NOT wanted nor even given a chance to be heard. Andrews, the radical left, and the sexual militants already made up their mind on the results that they wanted, and no contrary facts and data would get in their way as they pushed through their ideological agenda.
So now we have one of the most draconian versions of this type of legislation found anywhere in the world, and all of us who opposed this radical agenda have become criminals overnight. Of course many people – including myself – had warned for quite some time just how bad this bill was, and how damaging it would be.
Many could be mentioned here. Back on December 14, 2020 John Anderson AO tweeted: “A law before the Victorian parliament seeking to outlaw parental, therapeutic or religious discussions on issues of sexuality and gender is the biggest threat to our democratic freedoms in Australia’s entire legislative history.”
A month prior to that an important piece by Mark Powell appeared entitled “Ten Problems with Victoria’s Conversion Therapy Bill”. It concluded this way: “All this is quite frankly, unbelievable. And incredibly, the mainstream media have been deathly quiet regarding it. Such is the power of the LGBTIQ juggernaut. They have become he/she/it who must be obeyed. Otherwise, it’s off to the gulags.” https://caldronpool.com/ten-problems-with-victorias-conversion-therapy-bill/
Many others could be mentioned here. As I said in my article yesterday, even non-religious law groups warned about how bad this bill was. But their advice was totally ignored: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2021/02/05/we-are-all-criminals-now-in-victoria/
I closed that article with a “Declaration of intent.” I said this: “Here’s the scoop Dan: If troubled folks come to me to discuss their sexuality, and if they ask me for prayer, I will discuss these matters and I will pray. So crucify me already. Here I stand, I can do no other.”
In reply, some folks worried that activists would come along and do this, just to entrap me. I said that this is certainly a legitimate concern. I and others – be they pastors or counsellors or bloggers – will have people approaching us asking for help and prayer – some legit and some not. The other side loves to do these sorts of things, since lies and deception are part and parcel of how they operate.
And even those who come with genuine requests for help can easily change their minds later on, take offence, and then report us to the authorities. So in addition to a willingness to stand up for what is right and to defend truth at all costs, we also need to be very wise, cautious and discerning.
While we do not want to be paralysed by fear here, neither do we want to be reckless and lacking in due prudence. But such is the situation that we now find ourselves in: there will be those – likely even aided and abetted by the Labor Government itself – who will seek to come to us under false pretences, asking for help, and then turn us in.
In Nazi Germany, Communist Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union we of course saw the same sort of thing happening routinely. Who knew that Victoria would choose to go down this same path? Who knew that so much of the West would descend into similar levels of tyranny and anti-Christian persecution?
Well, many of us actually have been warning about this very thing for years now – even decades. And now that it is all of a sudden getting to be fully upon us, some folks are finally starting to wake up. Indeed, just in the past 24 hours I have had a number of people asking me, ‘What can be done?’ As I said to one such questioner:
There is much we can do. However, we should have been doing much more decades ago, instead of waiting until it is almost too late. Some of us have been warning about these things for 30 years and more. But most of the warnings fell on deaf ears. But we can still all act. If you are a Christian, you can pray – and pray like never before. We can sound the alarm and alert others to what is happening. We can get really serious, and even run for office ourselves. There are so many things we can do. See here for example for some generic thoughts: http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/09/19/but-what-can-i-do/
And here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2020/11/19/what-is-your-area-of-influence/
One last thing needs to be done. We not only should let all those who voted for this diabolical bit of legislation know what we think, but we also need to commend those who voted against it. As to the latter, here are the nine upper house members who opposed the bill:
Bernie Finn (Liberal) bernie.finn@parliament.vic.gov.au
Beverley McArthur (Liberal) Beverley.McArthur@parliament.vic.gov.au
David Limbrick (Liberal Democrats) David.Limbrick@parliament.vic.gov.au
Tim Quilty (Liberal Democrats) Tim.Quilty@parliament.vic.gov.au
Clifford Hayes (Sustainable Australia Party) Clifford.Hayes@parliament.vic.gov.au
Tania Maxwell (Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party) Tania.Maxwell@parliament.vic.gov.au
Stuart Grimley (Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party) Stuart.Grimley@parliament.vic.gov.au
Jeff Bourman (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party) jeff.bourman@parliament.vic.gov.au
Catherine Cumming (Independent) Catherine.Cumming@parliament.vic.gov.au
Please thank them for doing the right thing and standing against the radicals. As can be seen, only two Liberals did so (and no Nationals). Somewhat surprisingly, seven cross-benchers also voted against it. I hate to say it, but except for these two brave and principled Libs, the Nationals and Liberals in Victoria are basically useless. They might as well just join with Labor and the Greens. So many of us are so fed up with these spineless cowards and useless wonders. No wonder they remain in Opposition!
A few further thoughts on the way ahead. Some have said that we can turn all this around at the next state election. But this is increasingly unlikely. First of all, it is very hard to undo legislation once it has been passed. But also, consider these facts: Victorians voted Andrews and Labor back into power in 2018 with an increased majority! The Lib opposition was weak as water. Still is, it seems.
And by the time the next election rolls around late in 2022, Victoria could be so far down the tubes by then that an election will offer no hope. And given that only two Libs voted against this deplorable bill, all sensible conservatives and Christians rightly will have to ask: ‘Why in the world should we vote for this mob? They are useless. They are simply pale imitations of Labor and the Greens but with a slightly more free-market approach.’
So the way things are now going, it seems most likely that Labor will once again waltz back into power in two years’ time. Until we get some decent opposition, we are doomed to have this dictator for life. This is an extremely bad situation to be in.
In sum, only a miracle can save Victoria now. Thankfully we Christians do serve a miracle-working God. So we need to pray like we have never prayed before. Only divine intervention will be able to save us at this stage.
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