August 2009 Journal Summary 

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Summary of the articles and information in the Journal.

 

Editorial (full version below)
On July 10 we launched our new web site. We trust you will find it both informative and useful in helping you Make A Difference.

Beyond same-sex Marriage to Polygamy
Peter Stokes writes about the recent promotion of polyamory.

News & Action
NSW same-sex adoption; Update: Charter of Rights; Committees deliberating; SA: Equal Opportunity Bill; Channel Ten loses advertising.

Senate Inquiry: same-sex 'marriage'
The Greens have proposed a law to legalise same-sex 'marriage'. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young introduced a private Senator's Bill on June 24, 2009.

Euthanasia - Philip Nitschke - Tasmania
Not content with advocating euthanasia for terminally ill elderly people, euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke recently told a Perth meeting that he thought euthanasia should be available for 'elderly people afraid of getting old and incapacitated.'

Global Warming: Senator Fielding's Challenge
Senator Steve Fielding has decided to investigate the 'science' of global warming for himself, however, is struggling to find answers to his three challenging questions from Al Gore and Penny Wong, Climate Change Minister.

Number crunching and the new 'GREEN' Bible!
Peter Stokes asks, "Can we assess the importance of issues in the Bible by the number of times they appear?"

Food for Thought
Roger Fields, President of Kidz Blitz Ministries, tells us what he's "just a little bit more focused on."

It's a crazy world!
UK scientists have created human sperm from embryonic stem cells... And there's more.

Hate Speech
Dr Lachlan Dunjey breaks down the hate speech claims made by the Scarlet Alliance against the Salvation Army.

Update: Hate Speech and Hate Crimes
Victoria - Hate Crimes; Federal - Hate Speech.

The Pill - Demographics and Abortion
Jenny Stokes reports on the effect the contraceptive pill has on demographics and its abortifacient effect.

NARTH: Changing sexual orientation
The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality has published a comprehensive review of all the research regarding homosexuality and the effects of therapy that assist homosexuals to change an unwanted same-sex attraction.

Google News Archive Search
Using Google News Archive Search.

Britain spends £6 million increasing teen pregnancy!
Research funded by the Department of Health shows that the Government-back sex education scheme in Britain has significantly increased the likelihood of teen pregnancy amongst the group who attended.

President Obama endorses homosexuality
Last month US President Barack Obama explicitly endorsed homosexuality by issuing a "Proclamation" during homosexual pride month.

Faith Foundation - global interfaith program
The latest initiative of Tony Blair's Faith Foundation is Face to Faith, a global education program aimed at getting young people of all faiths 'dialoguing with each other' and 'learning from each other'.

World News
India: Babies and Homosexuality; USA: Safe Schools Advocate; UK: Teacher reinstated; UK: Reception for London Pride; USA Episcopalian Church

 

Full Editorial - August 2009

On July 10 we launched our new web site. We are very grateful to Nathan Keen who worked for many weeks to set it up and to Jenny who oversaw the detail and re-edited many of the pages taken from our old site.

We trust you will find it both informative and useful in helping you Make A Difference.

The front page contains quick links to current campaigns, latest news and many other key pages. There is a quick link to help find your own MPs, to sign up for our E-News Updates and to make a donation.

With more than 450 'pages' it has been a huge task and when something evolves over many years it is easy to forget just how much information is there. It is also increasingly difficult to keep it all up-to-date. So it will be some time yet before we can say the process of change is completed. If you find something that is out of date or a link that does not work, please email us.

Over recent months we have been sending out more Media Releases. We have signed up with a national media distribution system.

Following a Media Release and E-News email we sent opposing homosexual access to IVF and surrogacy we found out how efficient our system is because we received a surprising number of emails from people who did not agree with us.

We have since been conversing with a number of homosexuals via email and it is interesting to note the number of times the same tired phrases and theological errors are thrown at us. Yet when we try to engage with them, as we always do, and ask for clarification of their stated 'facts' and for positive reasons why homosexuality should be normalised, the silence is golden. Well, almost. If they do respond they almost always avoid the question and simply proceed to throw another straw man into the debate.

So many of their 'facts' can be tracked back to incorrect information contained on numerous pro-homosexual websites.

I had one homosexual tell me that the Bible condones incest between a mother and son because Adam and Eve only had two sons. I didn't know what had prompted the statement until I discovered that very same statement on a lesbian website.

What a pity they don't do their research, but the old saying is still true today, 'don't let the truth get in the way of a good story'.

All they had to do was turn to Genesis 4:5 which states, "After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters." Yes, by today's standards there seems a problem of sibling incest, but a little more research in the Old Testament can easily answer that one too.

Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15 "always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you." But because people so often simply trot out what others have said, we need also to be ready to ask those great questions Greg Koukl, of Stand To Reason (str.org), taught at Summit Worldview school: "What do you mean by that?" and "How did you come to that conclusion?".

We will often find they have no idea what they really mean and have to admit they simply "read it somewhere".

We need to know the answers, but it also helps to know where the questions come from and if they are genuine. We trust our new website will help you do that.

Yours, in the service of Jesus the King

Peter and Jenny Stokes