Catch the Fire Ministry Disappointed with Election Result

A recent post on the Catch The Fire Ministries website, by Pastor Daniel, shows his deep disappointment at the re-election of the Labor government. His main reason for disappointment seems to be that we now have two atheists running the country ( Julia Gillard and Bob Brown). I suppose it is this which makes him say it is a ‘very, very sad day’ for Australia and that we have put in place a ‘wicked government’.

Just because a leader is an atheist does not mean they are wicked. Or that they will run the country in a way that would be displeasing to God. The bible often talks about helping the poor and the needy. And unfortunately, sometimes it is the people who are not Christians who care more about the poor and the needy than the Christians do. I’m not saying this is the case with Julia Gillard and Bob Brown as opposed to Tony Abbott. But it is sometimes the case. It is also unfortunately the case that the Liberal Party often seems to care more for business and the economy than they do for people. And as Pastor Daniel points out, people on both sides of politics have a belief in God. So I’m definitely not convinced that a Labor government is necessarily ‘wicked’ or a ‘sad day’ at all.

It appears that Pastor Daniel had a dream, which he believed came from the Lord. In the dream, Julia Gillard conceded defeat. He apologises for the dream and says he must have been mistaken. No doubt if Julia Gillard had conceded defeat, he would have been certain that God was speaking to him. One problem with prophecies and prayers is it’s so easy for people to say they are mistaken when they get it wrong. But if they get it right, there’s no doubt in their mind that God was talking to them. How many times has Pastor Daniel told his readers that he has proof that God speaks to him, because what he prophesied has come true?

And speaking of prayers, apparently the many prayers of people helped keep Labor as a minority government rather than a majority government. I wonder what part prayers played in the big swing towards the Greens.

But what I found most interesting about this post was that ALL of the comments were in agreement with Pastor Daniel. I find it hard to believe that no-one has disagreed with him. So I’m guessing they only allow comments they like onto the website.

I realise that this is a very critical post. And I don’t like being so critical. But articles like this really annoy me. Atheists can do good things. Christians can vote Labour - or even Greens. And not all prophecies or visions or dreams actually come from God. And just because we think that a certain thing can happen in an election doesn’t mean that God is going to agree with us and answer our prayers.

Here’s a bit of shocking news for them. Some people were praying for Liberal to be defeated! Some were even praying for a swing to the Greens! Maybe God was answering those prayers instead.

The original article can be found here: http://catchthefire.com.au/blog/2010/09/08/australian-election-2010-we-might-have-lost-this-battle-but-we-will-definitely-win-the-war-in-jesus-name-by-pr-daniel/

Is Divorce Too Easy - Tony Abbott's Proposal

The Divorce - Jan Hendrink van der Laar

Australian Liberal MP, Tony Abbott, has proposed a system whereby couples that are marrying can choose to opt out of the no-fault based divorce that is now in place. Instead, they agree to only allow divorce if someone can be shown to be at fault.

A number of criticisms have been made of his proposal, including the possibility that it will leave people in harmful or meaningless marriages, or that it will lead to a situation where everyone is playing the blame game.

I think these criticisms have merit. Some marriages just are not healthy and the best thing is simply to end it, rather than continuing on with a marriage that may be damaging to a person’s emotions or even physical wellbeing. And I certainly don’t want to see a situation where people are just trying to blame the other partner for their bad marriage. When a marriage ends, particularly when children are involved, it is best to try and forgive the other person, and put the bad things behind you. This would be very difficult to do for people who are trying to show the other person is at fault.

However, divorce is too easy. Way too easy.

I think far too many marriages end when they shouldn’t. Because divorce is too easy, as soon as the first difficult time comes along, it’s simple just to opt for a divorce. Sometimes even friends may suggest a divorce or ask why a couple stays together, when the marriage obviously isn’t working. What could just be a temporary problem ends up being a permanent break. Marriages grow stronger as couples go through difficult times and work through problems. I fear that less and less people will be willing to do that nowadays.

Also, no matter how much a couple may tell themselves they will stay together after they are married, the fact is they know they don’t have to. And there is a difference between making a commitment for life and a commitment for – until we hit our first speed bump and need a divorce. A lifelong commitment requires a lot of thought before making a decision. A short-term commitment doesn’t. And the very relationship is different. How we act and live with someone who we have to be with for the rest of our lives is going to be different to the way we act with someone who we are married to for the moment.

But I say all this as a divorced person. I know how difficult some marriages can be. Not just difficult. Let’s face it. Some marriages can be – well, actually. I’m going to leave it there. Because I don’t like to talk about my marriage. I avoid the subject whenever I can. And I almost left this topic alone, because I knew it would mean thinking about it.

Let’s just put it this way. Some marriages are very bad. To create a situation where people have to stay in those types of marriages is not a good idea.

But it’s hard to know what the solution is. I think there has to be some way of getting out of a marriage, without playing the blame game, dredging up emotions and saying who is at fault. But I also think that divorce should be a lot harder than it now is.

And I don’t think Tony Abbott’s proposal will really help. It does goes back to the blame game, which isn’t nice. As an opt in system, it’s not going to make divorce anymore difficult for the people who are sure they will be together for life and don’t need it, or the ones who don’t want to be tied to someone for life and are not going to sign any contract that ties them down.

However, even though I don’t think Tony Abbott’s idea would work, I don’t think he deserves to be criticised. Divorce is too easy. And something should be done to make it harder for people. I don’t want to live in a world where a marriage contract is easier to get out of than a mortgage repayment. And I think Abbott should be praised for at least trying to find solutions.

Saints and Prime Ministers

Mary MacKillop


(This article was originally published at http://www.fringefaith.com/)

Prime Ministers and saints are not usually coupled together. Which is why I was quite surprised to find that Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, had told some nuns that he would speak to Pope Benedict XVI about the canonisation of Mary MacKillop.

Actually, I was more than surprised. I was annoyed.

Now I am definitely not the kind of person that thinks politicians should never speak on issues related to faith. In fact, the last time I was this annoyed with Kevin Rudd was when he said that he was just a garden variety type of Christian, and his faith would not be influencing his politics in anyway. If you’re a committed Christian, your faith should influence every aspect of your life. Politics included. That’s not to say you rule the country as a theocracy. But you can’t just set aside faith when you go to work for the day.

Anyway, back to Mary MacKillop.

The reason I was so annoyed was because I don’t see why the Prime Minister should have anything to do with Mary MacKillop’s canonisation. Yes, it would be nice to have an Australian saint. And I can understand him hoping that she is made a saint. But hoping that something happens is different to speaking to the Pope about it.

He’s a lapsed Catholic who now attends an Anglican church. He’s definitely not what you would call an expert on saints. He is the prime minister of the country where Mary MacKillop happened to live. That’s all. And Mary MacKillop’s canonisation should have nothing to do with him.

Now Pope Benedict XVI did tell Sister Anne Derwin that Mary MacKillop would be canonised, they were just waiting for the miracle. At least he didn’t say that all they were waiting on was Kevin Rudd to tell them what to do.

And I do think that Kevin Rudd saying he would raise the matter shows either a complete lack of knowledge of the actual canonisation process or a simple desire to win political points. It wouldn’t matter who spoke to the Pope about making Mary MacKillop a saint. Pope Benedict XVI is not waiting for people to tell him what to do. He is, as he said, waiting for the miracle. It has already been accepted that Mary MacKillop performed one miracle. And a second miracle has been put forward. The Catholic Church now needs to confirm that this second miracle has taken place. There is an investigation process underway and it must be completed before Mary MacKillop is canonised.

In other words, canonising someone is not just a matter of saying ‘Hey, I think this person should be a saint? What do you reckon?’ There is a formal process that must be gone through first.

I presume that Kevin Rudd knew that. So why say he would speak to the Pope? Just to show he cares about religion? To try and act more important than what he is? Or maybe just because the nuns asked him to and he didn’t want to say no?

But whatever his reasons, the fact remains that prime ministers should not be involved in the making of saints. And I honestly believe they’d be better off staying out of the process altogether. Especially when they’re not even Catholic. Nothing Kevin Rudd says to the Pope about Mary MacKillop’s canonisation is going to make one scrap of difference. And that’s the way it should be.