Monthly Archives: August 2010

I was at the Meet Your Candidate Forum run by the Australian Christian Lobby, supporting fellow Liberal Democrat, Shem Bennett. Here is his excellent speech:

I’m going to be brutally honest. When I was first invited to the Australian Christian Lobby’s forum I

wasn’t sure I should even come. After all, I’m a gay, I’m an atheist and the Liberal Democrats support

legalising same-sex marriage and voluntary euthanasia. I wasn’t sure what I’d really have to offer

Christian voters. I was raised in a strict Christian faith, though. So I thought back to my childhood and

the kinds of things that I was taught back then. I came to realise the Liberal Democrats actually have

a lot to offer Christian voters despite how different my personal beliefs are to the beliefs of those

here.

You see, the Liberal Democrats believe first and foremost in freedom for individuals from

government intervention. We don’t believe it is the role of government to try and legislate morality.

Individuals should follow their own conscience, their own beliefs and make their own moral

judgements. I believe this free agency and freedom of choice is essential in a healthy society. And in

my Christian upbringing this free choice seemed to underpin a lot of teachings, too. Humans are

granted the freedom to sin, or to follow God’s teachings, as they will. God does not prevent us from

sin; He lets us make our own choices. And since even God doesn’t try and stop us from being

immoral, why should government try to?

That said there is a big role for government to play in preventing crime- for example: stopping

murders, assaults and theft. These are violent and coercive acts that have a significant impact on

others. But while most Christians I know are morally opposed to lying, none support a law against

lying. And that is how the Liberal Democrats believe should it be for other moral questions such as

homosexuality, fornication, voluntary euthanasia and abortion. A good Christian will never agree

with such things- but I do think it’s possible for Christians tolerate those things being legal.

Turning to the issue of marriage, though. The Liberal Democrats understand that many Christian

faiths have strongly held opinions about traditional marriage. We would never seek to undermine

those views by forcing a church to marry two men together. But we do believe gay couples should

have the right to determine what level of commitment they want in a relationship and government

should keep a legal register of those relationships. We also understand, however, that some

Christians want a stronger form of legal commitment such as a covenant marriage so they can

protect the traditional idea of marriage as being for time and all eternity. People who want to enter

into stronger forms of marriage that exclude “no-fault divorce”, etc should have that right and the

government should provide them with legal recognition. We believe it is the right of individuals to

determine what form their relationships take and government’s only duty is to keep a register of

these relationships.

You see- unlike the Greens, Sex Party or other groups that support same-sex marriage we aren’t

anti-Christian, we’re just not pro-Christian either. We aren’t in favour of gay marriage itself, we’re in

favour of freedom. And that includes the freedom for Christian churches and schools to have all-

Christian staff. That includes the freedom to wear religious symbols in public. That includes the

freedom of elected officials to pray in parliament. And that includes the freedom for schools to make

decisions about staffing and curriculum and for parents to make choices about their children’s own

education.

The Liberal Democrats’ schools policy specifically seeks to empower parents and principals. We seek

to decentralise authority for school curriculum, staffing and class sizes from bureaucrats in Canberra

down to the local level. Schools- even public schools- should be able to have scripture class, employ

school chaplains and teach creationism if that is what parents wish. We also believe that education

funding should follow the students, not the schools, and should exist across the public and private

school sectors. Parents, especially those on low incomes, shouldn’t be penalised for choosing a

religious, special-needs or selective school environment for their kids. Parents that choose to home

school their children shouldn’t be penalised, either.

The Liberal Democrats also support a stronger role for private charity in providing for the needs of

people. Charities such as the Salvation Army and Anglicare do a great job of helping those in need.

As a result, the Liberal Democrats would never seek to remove tax-exempt status from Christian

charities. We’d also try to shift the burden of welfare away from government organisations like

Centrelink and more towards private charities.

So you see- it shouldn’t matter to Christians that I’m a gay atheist or that my party supports gay

marriage and voluntary euthanasia. We have different beliefs and I’m not even going to try and

convince you that my beliefs are right. But I hope I’ve shown that the Liberal Democrats do have

something to offer Christians. Not you because you are Christians but because you are individuals.

We believe individuals should be free to pursue their own lives to the best of their abilities and

should be free to make their own moral judgements, regardless of their beliefs. If you share that

belief then perhaps you’ll consider voting for this gay atheist on Election Day this Saturday.

I’m going to be brutally honest. When I was first invited to the Australian Christian Lobby’s forum Iwasn’t sure I should even come. After all, I’m a gay, I’m an atheist and the Liberal Democrats supportlegalising same-sex marriage and voluntary euthanasia. I wasn’t sure what I’d really have to offerChristian voters. I was raised in a strict Christian faith, though. So I thought back to my childhood andthe kinds of things that I was taught back then. I came to realise the Liberal Democrats actually havea lot to offer Christian voters despite how different my personal beliefs are to the beliefs of thosehere.You see, the Liberal Democrats believe first and foremost in freedom for individuals fromgovernment intervention. We don’t believe it is the role of government to try and legislate morality.Individuals should follow their own conscience, their own beliefs and make their own moraljudgements. I believe this free agency and freedom of choice is essential in a healthy society. And inmy Christian upbringing this free choice seemed to underpin a lot of teachings, too. Humans aregranted the freedom to sin, or to follow God’s teachings, as they will. God does not prevent us fromsin; He lets us make our own choices. And since even God doesn’t try and stop us from beingimmoral, why should government try to?That said there is a big role for government to play in preventing crime- for example: stoppingmurders, assaults and theft. These are violent and coercive acts that have a significant impact onothers. But while most Christians I know are morally opposed to lying, none support a law againstlying. And that is how the Liberal Democrats believe should it be for other moral questions such ashomosexuality, fornication, voluntary euthanasia and abortion. A good Christian will never agreewith such things- but I do think it’s possible for Christians tolerate those things being legal.Turning to the issue of marriage, though. The Liberal Democrats understand that many Christianfaiths have strongly held opinions about traditional marriage. We would never seek to underminethose views by forcing a church to marry two men together. But we do believe gay couples shouldhave the right to determine what level of commitment they want in a relationship and governmentshould keep a legal register of those relationships. We also understand, however, that someChristians want a stronger form of legal commitment such as a covenant marriage so they canprotect the traditional idea of marriage as being for time and all eternity. People who want to enterinto stronger forms of marriage that exclude “no-fault divorce”, etc should have that right and thegovernment should provide them with legal recognition. We believe it is the right of individuals todetermine what form their relationships take and government’s only duty is to keep a register ofthese relationships.You see- unlike the Greens, Sex Party or other groups that support same-sex marriage we aren’tanti-Christian, we’re just not pro-Christian either. We aren’t in favour of gay marriage itself, we’re infavour of freedom. And that includes the freedom for Christian churches and schools to have all-Christian staff. That includes the freedom to wear religious symbols in public. That includes thefreedom of elected officials to pray in parliament. And that includes the freedom for schools to makedecisions about staffing and curriculum and for parents to make choices about their children’s owneducation.The Liberal Democrats’ schools policy specifically seeks to empower parents and principals. We seekto decentralise authority for school curriculum, staffing and class sizes from bureaucrats in Canberradown to the local level. Schools- even public schools- should be able to have scripture class, employschool chaplains and teach creationism if that is what parents wish. We also believe that educationfunding should follow the students, not the schools, and should exist across the public and privateschool sectors. Parents, especially those on low incomes, shouldn’t be penalised for choosing areligious, special-needs or selective school environment for their kids. Parents that choose to homeschool their children shouldn’t be penalised, either.The Liberal Democrats also support a stronger role for private charity in providing for the needs ofpeople. Charities such as the Salvation Army and Anglicare do a great job of helping those in need.As a result, the Liberal Democrats would never seek to remove tax-exempt status from Christiancharities. We’d also try to shift the burden of welfare away from government organisations likeCentrelink and more towards private charities.So you see- it shouldn’t matter to Christians that I’m a gay atheist or that my party supports gaymarriage and voluntary euthanasia. We have different beliefs and I’m not even going to try andconvince you that my beliefs are right. But I hope I’ve shown that the Liberal Democrats do havesomething to offer Christians. Not you because you are Christians but because you are individuals.We believe individuals should be free to pursue their own lives to the best of their abilities andshould be free to make their own moral judgements, regardless of their beliefs. If you share thatbelief then perhaps you’ll consider voting for this gay atheist on Election Day this Saturday

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