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Papers provided by the

Church and Nation Committee,

Presbyterian Church of Victoria

Members of the Committee have written and continue to write articles on a broad range of subjects, with most published in Australian Presbyterian, the national journal of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
The subjects covered include:

Pro Life and Family Issues

   1. Abortion
   2. Relationship Registers and Civil Unions for Homosexuals
   3. Assisted Reproductive Technologies
   4. Family Matters
   5. Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning

Islam

   1. Islam
   2. Religious Vilification

Church and State

Climate Change

Evolution and Atheism


PLEASE NOTE: On this page we list our articles on Pro Life and Family issues. The other issues are dealt with on succeeding pages as indicated by the tabs down the left hand side of your screen.

Disclaimer:

“These papers are made available on this website for the purpose of helping to ripen mature Christian opinion but the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria or its Church and Nation Committee.”

1. Abortion

a) Abortion – A Background Briefing

Author: John Ballantyne
Date Published: 17th August 2007
Abstract:
This briefing paper will argue, among other things, that the church should:
• call on society to value at all times the sanctity of human life;
• proclaim the Bible’s Sixth Commandment against the taking of innocent life;
• oppose any changes to our laws that could threaten the safety of the innocent and the vulnerable in our human family, be it the unborn, the sick, the disabled or the elderly.
Opposing abortion, as the Presbyterian Church of Victoria does, is not an easy or popular position in today’s society.
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b) Submission on abortion to Victorian Law Reform Commission

Author: David Palmer
Date Published: 4th October 2007
Background:
The author was invited to a consultation being held by the Victorian Law Reform Commission in relation to a reference received from the Victorian Government for options on the decriminalisation of abortion.
In this paper the Church’s principled opposition to abortion is clearly set out including its Biblical basis and as well 12 questions posed by the Commission are answered with concrete suggestions made for reducing the current distressingly high level of one abortion to every three live births
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c) Abortion back on the agenda in Victoria

Author: David Palmer
Date Published:13th August 2007, Online Opinion
Abstract:
Ms Candy Broad, member for the Northern Victoria Region in the Legislative Council (i.e. the Upper House) in the Victorian Parliament has introduced her Crimes (Decriminalisation of Abortion) Bill 2007 into the Upper House. The purpose of the Bill in amending the Crimes Act 1958 is threefold:
1.     to remove the offence of unlawful abortion in relation to procuring a woman’s miscarriage (Section 65 of the Crimes Act 1958);
2.     to remove the application of the offence of child destruction to an abortion (Section 10); and
3.     create a new section to restrict the right to perform an abortion to a medical practitioner or someone acting under the direction of a medical practitioner (new Section 34AA).
The press report Ms Broad as saying most Victorians believed abortions were completely lawful but the outdated laws remained.
This statement is of dubious value: most Victorians are concerned about late term abortions and if confronted with the statistic of more than one abortion for every three live births, would say 20,000 abortions each year in Victoria were too many.
This article attracted 391 comments over a three month period.
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d) The case for decriminalising abortion is not so simple

Author: David Palmer
Date Published: 3rd July 2008, On Line opinion
Abstract:
As noted in Ms Anne O’Rourke’s recent On Line Opinion article “Abortion: the silent majority”, the Victorian Law Reform Commission has recently produced a report for the state government on options for decriminalisation of abortion.
Ms O’Rourke says three cheers for the Law Reform Commission - they got it right. “The religious right” don’t represent “the silent majority” and therefore have no reason to complain when their submissions got scrapped by the commission.
But, it is not as simple as that.
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e) Ad Hoc Interfaith Committee Letter to the Victorian Law Reform Commission

Authors: Various
Date: 7th November 2007
Content:
Following the VLRC’s call for submissions on its reference from the Government in relation to the decriminalisation of abortion, the Ad Hoc Committee wrote to the Chairman of the VLRC setting out its principled opposition to the decriminalisation of abortion.
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f) Letter to Victorian Government Ministers re Abortion

Authors: DJ Palmer
Date: 18th June 2008
Content:
I am writing to you on behalf of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria.......
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g) Open Letter to Parliamentarians re Abortion

Authors: Ad Hoc Interfaith Committee
Date: 3rd September 2008
Content:
We, the undersigned share grave concerns about the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008. We acknowledge the deeply conflicted and vulnerable state of many women struggling with unexpected pregnancy who feel that they have no option except to choose an abortion. But as a matter of human solidarity with the unborn and with women, we are opposed on moral grounds to abortion as the taking of innocent and vulnerable human life. We oppose abortion on demand, that is the destruction of nascent human life without limits, for which the Bill provides........
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h) Making our Mark

Authors: DJ Palmer
Date: 25th October 2008
Content:
In this article the question of how the Victotian Government's radical legislation on Abortion and Assisted Reproductive Technolgy can get into and be approved by Parliament is addressed, an assessment of  the value and impact of contributions of Christian groups and individuals to the debate and eventual outcome is made and is concluded with some lessons for ongoing Christian political involvement.

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Relationship Registers and Civil Partnerships for Homosexuals

This proved a contentious topic for the committee and a number of papers and articles are included setting out several points of view.

a) Civil Unions and Relationships Register

Author: David Palmer
Date Published: 6th July 2006
Summary:
This 11 page review article describes the Tasmanian Relationships Act 2003, the ACT Civil Unions Act 2006 (disallowed by the Federal Government) and the UK Civil Partnership Act 2004 and then proceeds to critique the positions taken by the Evangelical Alliance, the Australian Christian Lobby, Saltshakers and Life Ministries. The position advocated is support for a Tasmanian style relationship register.
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b) Civil Unions

Author: David Palmer
Published in the April 2007 edition of Australian Presbyterian
Summary:
This summarised the arguments of the review article, “Civil Unions and Relationships Register”
From the final two paragraphs:
For my part, I support such a relationship register. As citizens who are Christians we must focus on the main game. The main game is protecting the institution of marriage. Army generals understand that to secure their positions it often becomes necessary to give up lesser indefensible positions. Signing a relationship register is nothing like a marriage.
It is possible to be overly fearful of the homosexual lobby and the gains it has and may yet still make. Christian marriage as the God given, God glorifying union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life has a tremendous attraction to it even for secular people. As Andrew Cameron, Moore College ethics lecturer has written, “The way to answer (the homosexual lobby) is over the long-haul, by living out God’s revealed alternative, by gently asking them to repent and rethink their view of sex and relationships—and by literally defending to the death our freedom to keep speaking about these things.”
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c) The Status of Marital Status

Author: David Phillips
Date Published: 17th August 2007
Content:
This paper written by Dr David Phillips of Festival of Light argues against support of a relationship register on the basis that such a register amounts to approval of the homosexual lifestyle.
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d) No Surrender

Author: Peter Barclay
Published in the May 2007 edition of Australian Presbyterian
Abstract:
This paper written by Dr Peter Barclay arguing against support for any legal recognition of homosexual relationships.
From the Conclusion:
People should be able to dispose of their assets in any way they choose. We do not have to support legislation legitimising the homosexual lifestyle for this to occur. A series of legal enactments by the states and territories is a way of addressing many of the perceived inequities3233. Indeed many judges seem to give same-sex couples privileges the existing law does not give them34.
Given the enormous power of the homosexual lobby, it is unnecessary for any other body to work at improving their status. They are quite capable of doing it themselves. The small percentage applying for recognition of their relationships in all areas where pro-homosexual legislation has been passed, indicates that legal rights is not being sought by a substantial proportion of the gay community. What they want is some sort of approval of their lifestyle.
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e) Decisions of the General Assembly of Victoria

Meeting as a Commission, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in May 2007, agreed not to oppose a Tasmanian style Relationship Register and “affirm(ed) the scriptural pattern of marriage and the raising of children as established in the text “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24), while also noting that there are a number of clear texts indicating God’s judgment upon homosexual activity, which is described as unnatural and detestable: Genesis 19, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:18f and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
The Commission of the General Assembly further “direct(ed) the Church and Nation Committee to act in the event of Federal and/or State legislation touching on same sex relationships, preferably in concert with the Australian Christian Lobby, church leaders and agencies of other denominations to defend marriage as already enshrined in Marriage Amendment Act 2004 defining marriage as “the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life”, and seek with a clear, single minded focus, to deny every attempt to “undermine, confuse and mimic” marriage, bringing into public view our Christian understanding”

f) Ad Hoc Interfaith Committee letter to the Premier of Victoria

Authors: Various
Date sent: 25th February 2008
Content:
Following the Government’s second reading speech for its Relationship Bill 2007, the Ad Hoc Committee wrote to the Premier requesting the Bill be withdrawn and arguing in favour of a Bill based on inter-dependent relationships rather than sexual relationships.
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3. Assisted Reproductive Technology

a) Letter to Premier

Author: Rt Rev GD Lawry, Moderator, GAV
Date Published: 27th September 2007
This letter was occasioned by the report of the Victorian Law Reform Commission to the Government recommending that ART be made available to lesbians and single women, changes to the law regarding surrogacy and the opening up of adoption rights to homosexuals.
Abstract:
These are matters that are of fundamental concern for the right of a child to an identity and family relations, the right to know and be cared for by both his or her parents, and the right to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis.
These matters are also of concern because they imply a right to a child, and thus the commodification of children, and because they effectively privatise adoption through declaration of parenthood on birth certificates, and they transfer a matter related to child welfare to informal “clinical ethics committees”.
These matters are of such concern to members of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria that I have decided to write to you to express our concerns about the Commission’s proposals.
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b) Submission of the Ad Hoc Interfaith Committee to the Premier

Author: Various
Date Published: 5th December 2007
Abstract:
These are matters that are of fundamental concern for the right of a child to an identity and family relations, the right to know and be cared for by both his or her father and mother, and the right to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis.
These matters are also of concern because they imply a right to a child, and thus the commodification of children. The VLRC proposals would also further confuse the child’s personal and parental identity, replacing it with an arbitrary declaration of parenthood.
A major overall concern is that the VLRC recommendations represent a significant attempt to move the Victorian community away from the biblical and traditional paradigm of the family founded upon the marital relationship of a man and a woman.
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4. Euthanasia    

Advertisement placed in The Age and Herald Sun by the Ad Hoc Interfaith Committee

Author: Various
Date Published: 14h June 2008
Abstract:
Open Letter to Members of Victorian Parliament
We (the undersigned) appeal to honourable members of the Victorian Parliament to reject the Medical Treatment (Physician Assisted Dying) Bill 2008. The Bill permits doctors to prescribe a drug not for the care of the patient or the treatment of illness, but to intentionally end the life of the patient. The Bill has a very wide scope; it affects not only those who are dying, but also those who have an advanced chronic illness.

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Dying to go

Author: David Palmer
Article published in July 2008 edition of Australian Presbyterian
Abstract:
Euthanasia is again in the spotlight. At the present time the Australian Senate has before it a Bill on euthanasia, Rights of the Terminally Ill (Euthanasia Laws Repeal) Bill 2008 sponsored by Greens senator Bob Brown, while in Victoria the Legislative Council has before it Ms Colleen Hartland MLC’s Medical Treatment (Physician-Assisted Dying) Bill 2008.
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The issue of dying

Author: David Palmer
Date Published: 26th June 2008, On Line opinion
Abstract:
In Victoria this week, the Legislative Council was to have had the 3rd reading and vote on the Greens member, Ms Colleen Hartland MLC’s Medical Treatment (Physician-Assisted Dying) Bill 2008 (PDF 168KB). Perhaps indicating that she may not have the numbers, she has requested that the third reading be put back a week.
Having had an opportunity to read the Bill as well as Ms Hartland’s eloquent second reading speech, I would like to open up public debate on this matter of euthanasia, if only because there is so little appearing in main stream media at the present time.
The issue of dying, whether from a terminal condition or advanced incurable disease, is always something that tugs at our heart strings, particularly for family members and close friends.
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Press Release

Author: David Palmer
Date Published: 10th September 2008

The Victorian Legislative Council voted today to disallow Medical Treatment (Physician-Assisted Dying) Bill 2008.
The Presbyterian Church of Victoria commends the decision...................
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5. Family Matters

     ....... no entries.

6. Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning

a) A Discussion paper on Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning

Author: David Palmer
Date Published: 20th July 2002
Summary:
In recent months, the very public airing of the possibility of spectacular cures for various acute injuries and chronic degenerative diseases, such cures arising out of embryonic stem cell research has led to the Federal Government introducing legislation into the Parliament to permit embryonic stem cell experimentation and therefore the destruction of embryos, whilst at the same time to ban human cloning, whether for so called therapeutic or reproductive purposes.
The Government’s proposal for embryonic stem cell experimentation is linked to the presence of 70,000 frozen embryos associated with the various IVF programmes in Australia and the argument that there is no moral distinction between letting a spare embryo die naturally and using it for research.
This paper canvases the issues involved and represents a plea that embryonic stem cell research not be permitted, largely, but not exclusively upon ethical grounds. The paper also draws attention to the possibility for cures based on the alternative, ethical acceptable research based on adult stem cells.
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b) Submission to Lockhart Review on Human Cloning

Author: David Palmer
Date letter sent: 10th September 2005
Summary:
I am writing of behalf of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and apologise for the lateness of my response.
Back in 2002 the Presbyterian Church of Victoria registered its plea that embryonic stem cell research not be permitted, largely, but not exclusively upon ethical grounds. Whilst we were disappointed that the Parliament chose to approve embryonic stem cell research through passage of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002, we were heartened by the approval of the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002, to the extent that human cloning was prohibited, even if only for a three year period with the current review consequently taking place.
We want to make our position as a body of Christians crystal clear.
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