Continual Capitulation

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I am posting here a statement which I have directed to my own denomination on the issue of Voluntary Assisted Dying, in response to their approach to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act. I am posting this here, so there is a public record of my disagreement with my own denomination on this issue, and so that people will see that there are pastors who are opposing the continual capitulation of Christians in recent times on a broad host of issues. 

Here is the statement I have directed to the denomination: 

When is our denomination going to take a principled and proper stand on issues like this? Carinty and the QB board have correctly recognized that Voluntary Assisted Dying is unrighteous and cannot be supported, and yet they still intend to comply with some of the act? 

When is our union going to recognize that if you keep allowing the wickedness to advance, you are still going to have to make a stand eventually, but you will have lost a lot of ground in the process, and it will get harder and harder to do so. 

This line is concerning: "Carinity legally commits to meeting the minimum obligations for an entity required by the Act." Because that which is lawful is not that which is always just and right. If we oppose VAD, and we should, let's oppose it, vocally. Let's kick up a stink, let's allow the government to know that Christians do not appreciate being coerced to follow beliefs they find objectionable. This is something Baptists of the past did well.  

Why is Carinity allowing even this? Maybe it is time to rethink providing services on behalf of the government, if Christians are going to be put into a place of recommending to people where they can get access to things like VAD. 

More context:

"The decision therefore is that legally, while Carinity cannot dissuade residents from exploring VAD, Carinity do not agree with the VAD Act and chooses not to suggest or promote VAD to any resident or family member. No Carinity staff member or volunteer will participate in VAD, however, Carinity legally commits to meeting the minimum obligations for an entity required by the Act.

Practically this means that if a person within Carinity care requests information about VAD, Carinity employees and volunteers will not be permitted to act as authorised VAD practitioners or counsellors, nor take any official or unofficial VAD role in the course of their employment or volunteering within our organisation. If a Carinity resident requests information regarding the VAD Act, a process will commence that engages medical practitioners outside the Carinity services.

The implications of the QLD Government enabling the VAD Act are significant and the Carinity team, along with other Christian organisations in the industry, require considerable prayer for wisdom and discernment as we navigate the challenges before us."

I applaud 90% of this approach, but the other 10% undermines that. They ask for prayer, and we will pray, but you also need to stand. Wisdom and discernment should not be hard on this, you need to get together with every Christian supplier of this kind of service, and show the government what they will lose if Christians leave this kind of service industry over laws like this. Pray and use the significant influence you have to make some noise, publicly. 

I understand this is a tough position for the board to be in, but this is surely a moment to unify and say, "We cannot support this in anyway." One way in which laws can be changed, is by good people simply standing in unison and saying, "You can't ask us to do this, we can't do this."