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haste to affirm that homosexuality is perfectly normal, only those who resist the lie will be able to offer hope of healing. We may thus be called upon more and more to minister to sexually confused individuals in a staggering variety of abnormal liestyles, and we must do this in Christian love and graciousness.
The war is being waged on numerous fronts at the same time. The traditional family is one of the prime targets. At the start of 1994, I attended a community workshop about the "Year of the Family". After listening to several speakers who, almost without exception, used their time to glowingly endorse the "diversity of family units" in our new society, we broke up into smaller groups for discussion about our expectations for the year. When it was my turn to speak, I said that the traditional, married, two-parent family was still the best environment for children and that I hoped the year would help strengthen such families. At that point, one of the women in the group started shouting at me, accusing me of being prejudiced and misguided. She carried on so much that the leader of the group wouldn't even let me finish what I was saying. My suspicions were confirmed; the agenda here was purely humanistic and, even though I hadn't even mentioned God, godly values were not to be tolerated. (For the record, I am highly supportive of the many Christian men and women who are forced, for one reason or another, to raise their children on their own. They do the best they can, working harder under greater stress than married couples could ever imagine - but they are the very ones who prove the point. Single parenting may be a better option than a two-parent household full of violence and abuse, but it hardly compares to a loving, supportive marriage!)
In the whole area of marriage and family relationships, it is absolutely essential that we have a solid base that will not be threatened by humanistic ranting and raving, one that will not surrender to any future attacks on our way of life. Tribute must be given at this point to a wonderful magazine called "Above Rubies" which has defended motherhood (and grandmotherhood!) against feminist and humanist propoganda for many years. In some ways, by consistently upholding a radically different value system, this magazine has proclaimed a Christian subculture, although some would argue about the extent to which the editorial views of the magazine represent Christian thinking in general.
The buzz word of the day is "tolerance". 1995 was declared the Year of Tolerance. The whole idea is that any kind of behaviour is acceptable as long as no-one else is hurt. We are told that we must be tolerant of things we don't understand. If we don't like something on
T.V. we're supposed to just change the channel. If we don't like pornographic magazines in our newsagents, well we don't have to buy them, do we? No, I suppose we can walk around all day looking at the ceiling! (Please forgive my outburst of sarcasm!) But, as we are frequently told, we have no right to impose our morality on anyone else. We must have tolerance above all else. Ironically, the very people who insist that we cannot impose our standards on them, have actually imposed their standards on us! They have created a society that suits them, not us. In the end, their freedoms are our restrictions.
Of course, the curious thing about the new way of looking at things is this: there is still one thing that the tolerant society simply cannot tolerate. It cannot tolerate the Bible and the fundamentalists who still believe it. The reasons are obvious. The Bible doesn't allow for the basic premise that all religions are pretty much the same, nor that all cultures are equal in value. In fact, the Bible is adamant that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and the only hope of salvation. (John 14:6) It also uses that most "un-tolerant" and "un-nineties" of all words, sin!
But again I must emphasize that, by holding to the concept of sin, we are offering hope to all those people who know in their heart that things are not right. Is it a coincidence that suicides have increased so dramatically in a world where people are repeatedly told that their sinful behaviour is quite normal? "If this is normal," people think, "what hope have I got?"
The Bible has not been used as evidence in the public debate about family directions or, for that matter, anything else. It has, in fact, been declared inadmissible, a relic from the past. The assumption is that the nineties are enlightened times and that anything from the past is repressive and inappropriate. Therefore, biblical Christianity has been left "without a leg to stand on" and many Christians have shared my experience of being ridiculed and silenced for daring to express such narrow-minded, unfashionable ideas. The Bible cannot be tolerated in a tolerant society unless it can somehow be "defanged" to make it less dangerous.
Of course, the same attitude doesn't apply to Islamic fundamentalism. An Islamic family living in Australia may be forced to make some minor concessions but, under multiculturalism, they will not be expected to do anything radically contrary to their culture. Hence, their religion is protected by their culture. On the University campus where I did some part-time work, the question comes up constantly: "But how will this proposal affect the Muslim students?" Social functions are planned with Muslim students very much in mind, accommodation arrangements are modified to suit them and, in a host of other ways, they receive special privileges. The University is not saying anything about the truth or otherwise of Islamic beliefs; they are simply catering to a growing group of students who refuse to compromise their cultural laws. Our Christian faith, on the other hand, has had no such protection.
The culture of native Australians was scorned for many years; but now it enjoys a significant level of official protection. Some aspects of the aboriginal dreamtime religion seem superstitious and nonsensical to the western mind but, because their beliefs are seen as part of a valuable culture, they are vigorously encouraged in every possible way. Aboriginal art, music and theatre is now the boom industry of the nation. While it must be admitted that there are still serious problems of inequality between black and white in Australia, it cannot be denied that the government in the 1990's is working hard to preserve and promote aboriginal culture.
In multicultural Australia, culture is everything. Isn't it ironic then that our culture as Christians is being substantially eroded in a society which so prides itself on its multiculturalism?
Even witnessing (evangelising) is politically incorrect these days because it involves the assumption that the other person is not as enlightened as you. The world is loudly insisting that we adopt their "tolerant" view of things and stop trying to win other people over to the Christian faith. Yet preaching the Gospel in all the world is the central task of the Christian church. (MARK 16:15) It is a non-negotiable part of our lifestyle and, in a multi-cultural society, no-one should have the right to stop us.
Well I believe it's time the church stood its ground & said no to these trends on cultural grounds. If Muslims, Kooris, etc, are not expected to go against their culture, why should we? In a truly multicultural society, our Christian culture must be respected as much as any other. But it must first be recognized as a culture.
Religious beliefs can be debated and argued. People can change their minds about doctrines. If beliefs are all we have, we're in a very vulnerable position in Australia at the end of the twentieth century. But, if we see ouselves as a subculture, we can resist the world's attempts to mould us into their image. The Word of God can then set our identity and moral standards, not the world.
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