Blasphemy Laws

 

One of the great myths of our modern era is that we moved from an era of blasphemy laws to free speech. But this is just not true. What really happened, is that we were moved from a society where what is considered blasphemy just changed. And now this is ramping up, my friend David Pellowe is one of the latest people to come under such an attack,

“MY TURN: I am being legally punished for preaching the Gospel, and a “Christian” is determined to make me apologise.

MOST READERS will be at least somewhat familiar with names like Israel Folau, Lyle Shelton, Archbishop Julian Porteous and Rev Campbell Markham who have each been viciously attacked with anti-discrimination and other weapons of lawfare for the unpardonable sin of fearlessly preaching the Gospel.

And now I am humbled to be considered worthy to be added to that list of courageous men.

“They summoned the apostles and had them beaten. Then they ordered them not to speak in the Name of Jesus and released them. So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the Name. And every day both in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus was the Christ.”

 – Acts 5:40-42

A shockingly frivolous complaint against the Church And State ministry and me personally has since been made with the Queensland Human Rights Commission, falsely alleging that I vilified and humiliated an individual because of his race and religion.

Instead of following Scriptural commands for how to settle disputes amongst believers instead of inviting the world to judge us, the gentleman immediately resorted to blunt threats with legal weapons.

I’ve been forced to seek legal advice. The first step is I will have to attend a mandatory conciliation to deal with this accusation.

The process is the punishment.

But why did the gentleman complain?

It is my custom at the beginning of meetings I convene to perform an acknowledgment that the country belongs to God only. Indeed, I quote Psalm 24:1 which contradicts the claims of Aboriginal religion that the spiritual entity it calls “Country” requires deceased ancestors to permit someone’s arrival or travel through it.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.”

If that is “racist” and reasonably likely to humiliate or vilify individuals – and it most certainly is not – then how is contradicting Christian religion’s claims about Creation and spiritual destiny not also “racist”?

A lady accompanying the complainant (who shall both remain nameless to help focus on the issue being contested) asked the first question after the presentations from myself and the ACL Qld Director, Rob Norman, as part of our tour of Queensland to help brief Christians in preparation for the coming election.

The importance of the physical and social context – a private, ticketed meeting for Christians, held by a Christian political teacher and a Christian lobbyist and activist, in a Christian church, for the purposes of Christian political advocacy – is this.

If the debate and critique of religious and political truth claims cannot take place there without someone employing the power of the State to punish unapproved opinions with the cudgel of anti-discrimination proceedings, then where can contested ideas be honestly examined?”[1]

Isn’t it ironic that those accusing David of being un-Christian are acting so un-Christian by taking a fellow Christian before the law courts to settle a dispute about our faith, none-the-less.

This sort of travesty is becoming more and more common in our society today, and it is because the West has been overcome by an anti-Christian majority perspective that has brought back many elements of the old paganism that Christianity displaced. It should not shock us that in this kind of society it is those who boldly speak biblical truths that challenge our culture that would come under attack.

I encourage you, along with David, to consider supporting the Australian human rights law alliance. They are representing him pro-bono and you may find yourself in need of their services one day. Read David’s full article on what is happening to him, you will find in it a good warning about the culture we are in, but also encouragement for how to face this sort of thing.  

You may also have noticed that this is the second blog I have posted along these lines in the last few weeks. This sort of attack on Christians is becoming more and more common, and it sometimes even comes from those who consider themselves part of the faith. Pray for David, and pray that more and more of the Church would wake up to the way our society is going. And also pray for courage, the hard times many predicted are rolling on in, we will need it. Bless you.

List of References

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[1] David Pellowe, 2024, https://goodsauce.news/legally-punished-for-preaching-the-gospel/?utm_source=brevo&utm_campaign=240813%20GS%20Update&utm_medium=email