Date sent: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 00:15:10 -0700 To: rmmorris@connect.ab.ca From: Ralph and Margaret Morris, rmmorris@connect.ab.caHere is an urgent prayer request which I received from a friend in Australia.
From: "John Wyndham", wyndhams@one.net.au
To: "Bishop Robert Forsyth", robforsyth@sydney.anglican.asn.au
Subject: Fw: Evangelism To Be Banned in Australia
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001
Hi,
This perhaps need to be investigated.
Blessings,
John
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Kirkwood, kirkwood@cpi.com.au
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2001 12:15 PM
Subject: Evangelism To Be Banned in Australia
This letter is addressed to Christians, those who love our Lord
Jesus Christ.
3/2/01
VERY URGENT
Dear brothers and sisters, and Leaders of the Church.
Many Christians in Australia are now starting to become aware that a
twin bill called "The Racial and Religious Tolerance Bill" and "The
Model
Bill"
have recently been written and tabled on 14th December in the
Victorian State Parliament and is due to be put up for voting on 1
March 2001. (A similar Bill is due to be tabled shortly in WA.) I AM
FINDING THAT OTHERS ARE AS DISTURBED AS I AM ABOUT THIS BILL and
have written to members of parliament about it already. BUT MANY
HAVE STILL HEARD NOTHING OR VERY LITTLE ABOUT IT, and others who
have, are not doing anything about it because they don't realise the
SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CHURCH IN OUR STATE AND NATION AT THIS
VERY HOUR. This bill has some good things in it and, on the surface,
it is a desirable bill because it purports to defend the rights of
all kinds of minority groups. It purports to reduce discrimination
against ethnic and religious groups, and also those of homosexual
bias (subtly). But IN REALITY THIS BILL IS SO SHOCKING, THAT IF
PASSED, WILL ENACT INSIDIOUS LAWS WHICH WOULD HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO
MAKE
IT
'ILLEGAL' FOR CHRISTIANS TO EVANGELISE. Christians could then be
tried, prosecuted to the tune of $6,000, or even jailed for 6 months
if convicted of making a statement that could be construed by a
disaffected person as "intolerance" and offensive to their rights
and beliefs. To say for
example,
"Jesus is the only way to God", could end a servant of the Lord in
jail.
We
believe that this bill is aimed at silencing all Christian churches
from evangelising, and at muzzling the church from speaking against
homosexuality
and other godless practices in our society. The bill even makes
provision for a third party listening in to a conversation between
two people, to
file
a complaint or bring a charge if he takes offence at what is said,
or construes it as discrimination or vilification. This can even
happen in
the
privacy of your own home. If a Christian, or any other person, is
charged the attitude taken by the courts on these matters of so
called discrimination is, "guilty till proven innocent", which is
contrary to the Westminster code. The other shocking thing is that
they would not be
allowed
any justification. The 'intent' of what a Christian, for example,
has said (eg to aid a homosexual get help from God) would not be
considered at all
in
the question of aquittal. One could have a defence lawyer but it
would be useless. How insidious! This has been the situation in
communist
countries.
The Bill looks so good on the surface, but is very, very subtle in
it's intent. It very cleverly omits any 'direct' reference to
Christians and evangelising.
A similar bill is about to be tabled in WA.
A copy of this Bill can be obtained by ringing State Gov't offices
on 1300 366 356 to order, or downloaded from www.dpc.vic.gov.au
-Click on 'Racial and Religious Tolerance Paper' under 'Highlights'.
(This bill is in PDF format, so you need Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on you computer to read it. If you don't you can download
it by clicking then on the 'Adobe web site' attachment shown at the
bottom of the page you are now on.) -Then click on the 'racial.pdf'
button at the bottom of this page, and you will be there.
Last April, while in Ethiopia, an AOG pastor, Ps Danny Nalliah of
Catch
the
Fire Ministries, had a dream that he saw a newspaper headlines which
read, "EVANGELISM BANNED IN AUSTRALIA!" On waking up, he felt
disturbed and prayed. Pacing the floor, he asked, "Lord what is
this?' After waiting on the Lord, he felt the Lord saying to him,
quote, "there is an evil tide rising up against the church in
Australia, but if my church becomes proactive and rises up, she
shall stop the disaster that is coming on the nation of Australia.
But if my church choses to sit back and be reactive
(to
what Satan is doing), she shall pay a heavy price to get back her
position in the land. If my people will leave their differences and
humble
themselves and repent on behalf of the sin of the land, I will hear their cry
and I will send my glory and visit the land." The Lord then said to
Ps Danny
that
he was to launch a prayer and repentance campaign in Australia. Then
Satan's
strategy against the church in Australia would be revealed. Well
this is what has happened. Part of the devil's strategy to hold back
revival was revealed in Dec 2000. (The above quote from the Lord's
voice was taken
from
the launching address Ps Danny gave at the "Rise Up Australia"
prayer campaign.) How did Ps Danny find out about this bill? An
associate of his was witnessing by doorknocking. One of the people
in the houses, who was A VIC STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL, SAID, "AFTER
THE 28TH FEB I COULD TAKE YOU
TO
COURT FOR DOING THIS." This was before the bill was tabled on 14th
Dec
2000.
The associate rang Ps Danny in a panic. So Ps Danny became vigilent
for bills and discussion papers put out by parliament and soon found
"The Racial and Religious Tolerance Bill" and "Model Bill". It is
because Christians had already begun to unite to pray that this
strategy has been exposed. Many believe that God has given us a
warning and a wake up call through this man's dream. Irrespective,
now is the time to act. The time is short. The matter is urgent. I
do not believe I, and others like me, here, are over-reacting.
People have said, "It would never happen here!" Not so!
Independently, others like "Saltshakers", an Australian
interdenominational
Christian agency that interprets issues in society to the church,
has put out a very insightful 2 page paper of warning on this bill.
To obtain a
copy
of this paper, ring Peter Stokes on (03)9894-8780 or Email him at
pstokes@ozemail.com.au and he will send it to you. You will then be
able
to
Email it to others. My concern is becoming very great, because I am
finding
that as I talk with others, that many Christians still do not know
about this. Some pastors I have spoken to, like my own, are aware of
this and
are
doing all they can to get their people to pray and to write letters
to parliament, while others have taken this whole situation as
matter of
fact,
and seem too busy to do
much about this. Some have not even bothered to urge their people to
pray and write. Others have merely added a small note in their
church bulletin, but have not stressed the urgency of this very
hour. We are yet given a small window of time to close the flood
gates of the enemy. If the pastor is busy, he needs to delegate the
matter to a responsible church member
who
can catch the cry of our Lord's heart to stir up the Christians to
be "proactive". YOUR FUTURE AS A LOCAL CHURCH IS BEING THREATENED!
IT IS THAT SERIOUS.
Please help oppose this bill and inform the members of your
Congregation, and as many Christians as possible of other
denominations, about this
urgent
matter.
Encourage them to do three things:-
3 So also appoint an appropriate person to visit your local State
Members
of
Parliament, both lower and upper house. (for addresses phone 13 23
26).
At least the Vic State government has invited comment from the
public. I'm sure the gay community are taking advantage of this
opportunity to write
and
express their views. It has disturbed me to know that the Equal
Opportunities Commission is saturated with gays, with no reps at all
from the Christian camp.
If you are an oversees Christian citizen reading my plea in this
letter, would you also write a letter of concern, on the behalf of
Christian brothers and sisters in Australia, to Victorian members of
parliament. If the domino falls here, in Australia for God's people,
who will be next? If letters come from overseas, those responsible
for this wicked bill are likely to back off. Would you also get
intercessors to pray for the State
of
Victoria and for Ausralia. All Christians need to be awakened and
encouraged
to express their views about this evil bill. The situation looks
serious.
No
letters will be accepted after 28 Feb 01. The Victorian Labor
government
is
taking the approach of accepting this bill. They seem set on pushing
it through. As far as I am aware, the position the shadow cabinet of
Liberals are taking on this bill is undecided. I met personally with
the Shadow
Atty
Gen, Mr Robert Dean last week. He seems somewhat sympathetic to the
Christian position. The Liberals have sufficient numbers in the
upper
house
to vote against and thus defeat this bill. WE MUST IMPRESS IT ON THE
LIBERALS TO OPPOSE IT. When you encourage people to write, get them
to use their own wording, in their own handwriting, but not to
mention their church. It carries more weight to write as an
individual. One letter from
an
individual is worth 100 signatures, and stands for about 1,000
silent individuals in society, in the mind of politicians. Get
letter writers to head their letter with, "Racial and Religious
Tolerance Discussion Paper", and "for the urgent and personal
attention of...", because, often, only their secretary reads those
letters. Encourage people to ask for a reply. But encourage them to
get started ASAP with their letters. Encourage them
to
be tactful in their wording. Please photocopy, and Email this letter
and
the
enclosed info and pass it around, esp to other fired up and key
people,
who
in turn will also spread this. But do it quickly. Also photocopy the
sample
letter and use it to help people in your church to write letters.
This letter highlights the main issues of grave concern about the
bill. CHURCH PEOPLE MUST WAKE UP AND STAND UP NOW! IF NOT WE WILL
LOSE THE DAY! This is the word given by the Lord to Ps Danny
Nalliah. If you are in any doubt about what I am urging, please read
the bill for yourself, but do it quickly. Time is running out! Also
encourage people to join for prayer
about
this. Make sure that the
'intercessors' in your church know about this. There are combined
meetings for intercessors of all Christian groups at 7pm on 1st Fri
of each month,
at
Hawthorn Campus, Melbourne University, Auburn Rd, Hawthorn. (Melways
ref 59-F2). This prayer campaign is called "Rise up Australia", is
a genuine move of God, is a strategy for revival in Australia, and
is a result of
the
dream given by the Lord to Ps Danny Nalliah when he was in Ethiopia
in
April
2000. So far 50 churches are represented in these ongoing meetings
for prayer and spiritual warfare, but it is hoped that more
denominations with
a
heart for revival will join this budding movement. It began in
Melbourne
in
Sept 2000. The plan is for these meetings to be risen up in every
state of Australia. Ps Danny started one in WA last month. You can
also ask for a free audio-tape on the strategy the Lord has given to
Ps Danny for revival in Australia. For details please ring Michael
Barbieri from 'Catch the
Fire
Ministries' on 0411 421 681; or (03) 9783 2110 Thankyou for joining
the fight and for passing on the word to other key people across
Victoria, Australia, USA, Canada and the world. There is no time to
"temporarily put this matter on the shelf ". Let's create a tidal
wave of letters to the gov't and shadow cabinet members. Names,
addresses and Email addresses of other members of Vic State
parliament can be obtained at: www.parliament.vic.gov.au and then
clicking 'MP's', then 'legislative assembly' (lower house) and also
'legislative council' (upper house) . You can also Email your
concern to assembly@parliament.vic.gov.au or fax to 61 (03) 9650
7245.
Yours Faithfully,
Please pray for Australia! A massive revival is coming, but Satan
wants to stop it. As God's people pray Christ and His word will not
be put down but exalted in the nation.
The following is a sample letter written by myself. This letter
contains
the
main points of concern that would need to be
raised when writing submissions to parliament. It is written with
it's audience, the politician, in mind. But remember to GET PEOPLE
TO WRITE BEFORE 28TH FEB. Can you please photocopy this and give to
as many
Christian
people as possible to help them know what to say, but get them to
write as individuals in their own words, in handwriting, and not to
mention their church group or it will lose impact in the minds of
politicians.
"SUBMISSION-RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE BILL-DISCUSSION PAPER
It seems odd that a Bill of this nature would be put forward in a
country which is one of the most tolerant of other cultures in the
world.
Australia
is not a country known for religious violence, like Arabia, Sudan or
parts of India, where radical groups persecute and even martyr
people from
other
religious groups with impunity. On what grounds are academic,
artistic or scientific comments exempted when very offensive remarks
could be made without penalty? But the average man is muzzled from
expressing his views
if
he fears he will offend. Where is the equality in that? Then there
is the yardstick of "reasonable observer" to decide what is
vilification when an allegation is made. This would be subject to
the views of the magistrate handling the case-no objective
evaluative criteria. This undermines the whole upholding of justice.
What is disturbing is "no account being taken
of
intent" when judging a case of alleged vilification, and even more
disturbing is "guilty until proven innocent" which is a reversal of
the Westminster code. This makes a defence lawyer of no effect and
therefore again undermines justice. Our Freedom of Speech is being
effectively taken away with a few strokes of your pens when you vote
on 1 March. Have you really thought about the ramifications of this
Bill? Do you know what you are doing to the common people of
Victoria?
As to "comments overheard by a third party", this means that I could
be conversing with a friend over some matter in a café which could
be
overheard
by another who takes offence. He could take action against me and I
have
no
grounds of reply? This is going to make people very suspicious and
secretive
with everybody and will have the effect of dividing even legitimate
minority
groups. Even in the privacy of one's own home a third party could
take offence at something they said and construe it as vilification
and bring a charge. This empowers and encourages those who might
want to 'control' others. It is every person's right to speak
freely on their own property and is a matter of conscience. This
Bill is an invasion of privacy. Any definite expression of a firm
belief in one particular religion could be construed as vilifying
all other religions. This Bill is the thin edge of the wedge in
destruction of our freedom of speech. I hope I have touched your
good conscience.
Please reply to my letter and tell me your honest position on each
of the above matters so I know how to vote in the next elections.
To all pastors and leaders of churches of all Christian
denominations as well as all concerned members of the Body of Christ
in Victoria in particular, Australia, and overseas:-
1: pray (1 Tim 2:1-4), but not just to pray at home, but also to put
shoe leather to faith (James 2:20) and
2: write letters of concern and objection (see sample letter at the
end of this letter) to the following:- -Opposition Leader, Mr Dennis
Napthine LP (PO Box 293, Portland, Vic 3305; Email
denis.napthine@parliament.vic.gov.au ) -Shadow Attorney General, Mr
Robert Dean LP (Office 4, 418 Princes Hwy, Narre Warren, Vic 3805;
Email robert.dean@parliament.vic.goc.au ) -Shadow Minister for
Multicultural Affairs, Mrs Helen Shardy LP (560 Glenhuntly Rd,
Elsternwick, Vic 3185; Email helen.shardy@parliament.vic.gov.au )
-Premier and Minister forMulticultural Affairs, Mr Steve Bracks ALP
(PO
Box
524, Williamstown, Vic 3016;
Email steve.bracks@parliament.vic.gov.au )
-the Vic Attorney General, Bob Hulls ALP (the person believed to be
mainly responsible for this bill) (PO Box 554, Niddrie, Vic 3042;
Email rob.hulls@parliament.vic.gov.au ) Peter Stokes of Saltshakers
says, "writing letters to politicians should
be
the absolute minimum required of every Christian on this issue.
Visiting your local State Members of Parliament, both lower and
upper houses, is really necessary."
in the cause of the Gospel of Christ,
Ian Nott,
very Concerned Christian,
Werribee City Church, Victoria, Australia.
Ps Danny
Nalliah also endorses this letter.
Dear Mr -----
I am writing to register my views about this Bill. It
is ambiguous in many places, it would restrict freedom of speech and
actually places the Australian citizen in a position where one would
question what actions and conversations are legitimate. The Bill
does not define what is involved in racial or religious
vilification. How can I cause an offence against what
is
not clearly defined? If this Bill were to become law one could be
caught
up
in a trial without expecting it. The wrong people could be indicted.
With respect
Yours faithfully
--------"