Australia

Five Reasons to Reconsider Voluntary Assisted Dying

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Benjamin Shuhyta shares 5 reasons why Voluntary Assisted Dying is not a good idea.

From The Gospel Coalition

Dying with Dignity? Five Reasons to Reconsider Voluntary Assisted Dying

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

A friend of mine shares with me how she’s watching her mother die slowly. The matriarch of the extended family, always feared dementia and initially joked to her children that she’d rather die. It may have started as joke, but it turned into a plea as her personality slowly retreated. Raw in her grief, her daughter’s angry question is posed by wives, husbands and children in nursing homes across the globe: ‘If it were a dog, you’d sooner shoot it than watch it suffer. Why should my mother deserve any less?’

You’d sooner shoot a dog than watch it suffer. Why should my mother deserve any less? 

My friend’s premise is valid: In NSW, ending life is already permitted in certain circumstances—for animals, including injured pets and wildlife. Euthanasia is the intentional and premature ending of a life due to the belief that the subject would be ‘better off dead’. It is best understood from a consequentialist ethic: That the result (an end to suffering) justifies an otherwise immoral method (the deliberate ending of life). As my friend’s rhetorical plea suggests, one response to the suffering of terminal illness is to permit the premature and intentional end of a human’s life.

In mid-October 2021, NSW MP Alex Greenwich presented a Bill to enshrine a modified form of human euthanasia into NSW law. A week later, his Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 was referred for parliamentary review, delaying any result by several months at least. As the Bill’s name indicates, the ethical considerations for euthanasia include whether the subject dies of their own will (in this case, voluntarily) and who takes the final step in the process (in this case, the patient, assisted).

Supporters of voluntary assisted dying are quick to point out that it’s not euthanasia: The patient not only requests it, but the patient also completes the act—armed with a prescription of lethal chemicals, the patient self-administers. Such a system, proponents say, gives autonomy and dignity back to the dying, saving them unnecessary agony, returning to them some of the power that disease has cruelly taken from them. The end justifies the means. However, for several reasons, this argument is not compelling.

Read the rest of the article here

Fred Nile: Support Our Teachers

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Rev Fred Nile supports NSW Teachers

Stands opposed to mass sackings

November 5, 2021

Dear Members and Supporters,

This coming Monday is a looming day of dread and anxiety for many thousands of teachers, support staff, parents and students across the State of New South Wales. From November 8 all teachers and support staff will be required to be double vaccinated or face termination.

As those familiar with school life would know November is a very busy and important time of year for both staff and student alike. Exams are taking place, reports are being compiled and end of year preparations are occurring. It is reported up to five thousand teaching staff across New South Wales will lose their jobs on Monday unless the Government changes course.

Poorer educational outcomes are inevitable if hardworking and passionate teachers are ripped out of the classroom and out of a job. Leaving aside the economic and mental strife of the teachers themselves it is the students that ultimately suffer.

I have written to the Premier, the Education Minister and the Health Minister and employing them to change direction. This unfair and unreasonable mandate must not come to pass.

Please sign and share our petition to save teachers in New South Wales. Send the State Government a message!

The Voluntary Euthanasia Band Wagon

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The NSW Parliament is considering a law to allow euthanasia to be legalised.

The Bill has been referred to a Legislative Council inquiry and so will not proceed for a few months.

There are always very emotive stories of how somebody suffered horrendously in the last few months of their life. Palliative Care specialist Dr David van Gent argues these things should not happen in Australia with its access to good pain control medications.

The End Is Nigh

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Photo by Snowscat on Unsplash

The End Is Nigh!

After months of lockdowns, restrictions, and unprecedented attacks on freedom, the Covid pandemic is nearly done. I am so looking forward to ditching the masks for ever – as soon as I put one on, I feel my whole body tense up.

I am thankful to be living in New South Wales which has generally gone through the panic with a lighter touch than other States. We have kept open borders and minimal lockdowns. Other States have scorned this lighter touch, but we are coming out earlier than those states.

So, God willing, by December there will be very few restrictions in force. We can get back to life as normal.

Covid has been a great disruptor over the last two years. Many have died, others have become extremely ill.

For christians, the Good News is that even in this messy tme, God has been with us and contrinues to be with us.Of all people, we have the right to be hopeful. 

As we move towards summer, Christmas, and freedom, remember that our God is greater – greater than the virus, greater than the Government, greater even than death.

Jo Nova:Suddenly Nuclear Energy is popular

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Jo Nova writes:

Suddenly Nuclear Energy is popular

The Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant (in German Kernkraftwerk Gösgen, abbreviated in KKG) is located in the Däniken municipality (canton of Solothurn, Switzerland)

The Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant  by Pareixk Federi

The global energy crisis is squeezing the green religion to its logical endpoint. As long as we pretend “carbon” is pollution, the only way out of the maze for badgered politicians is nuclear power. The renewables industry may have thought that beating us over the head with climate propaganda was going to make renewables dominant and profitable, but it may just push everyone into nukes instead.

With the gas price crisis, wind drought, and coal shortage, suddenly everyone is talking about nuclear power:

Nations Go Nuclear As Prices Spike & Renewables Fail

Michael Shellenberger

National leaders around the world are announcing big plans to return to nuclear energy now that the cost of natural gas, coal, and petroleum are spiking, and weather-dependent renewables are failing to deliver.

France was reducing nukes from 70% to 50% of its total power generation fleet, but not any more:

“The number one objective is to have innovative small-scale nuclear reactors in France by 2030 along with better waste management,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.

 “But the mood has now changed,” the paper writes today. “Macron said on Tuesday he would begin investing in new nuclear projects ‘very quickly.’”  — Financial Times.

Public support for nuclear energy rose 17 percentage points in France. “I do not want our country to lose its energy sovereignty under the pretext of an absurd energy transition copied from Germany,” said a conservative French presidential candidate seeking to defeat Macron.

Finland has joined France, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic in lobbying the European Union to categorize nuclear power as sustainable.

Yesterday, Japan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, defended his pro-nuclear policies in Parliament. Kishida came to power on a pro-nuclear platform.

Half of Australia wants nuclear power

The AUKUS “nuclear subs” announcement was a bolt from the blue after decades of Nuclear-free energy debates. But a recent poll shows Australians are rapidly growing to like the idea.  Of course, electricity prices have rocketed since 2015 too, adding to the shift.

In 2015, forty percent of Australians supported it, and forty percent opposed it, and one hundred percent of politicians avoided discussing it. Now suddenly, we’ve bought a couple of nuclear subs and in a blink 50% support nuclear power and only 30% oppose it.

Just like that, and with no discussion, suddenly nuclear power has potential. Imagine what the numbers would be if people actually discussed it?

The bottom line is that the West had better hurry.

China is the Fastest growing Nuclear Power in the world

As Jo Nova said in May:

China is poised to be the largest global nuclear power by 2030, overtaking the USA in the next nine years. In the last twenty years, China has increased its fleet of nuclear power reactors from three to 49, with 17 more plants under construction. That means it will soon surpass France which has 57 reactors. At the rate the USA is closing plants, China may hit the No 1 spot faster than expected.

China has a nuclear Belt and Road project too, Argentina, Iran, Pakistan:

Future projects are also being developed in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South America

Brown coal is still the cheapest kind of electricity there is, and we are mad not to use it, especially because it’s only $30 a MWh and  feeds plants and we have a 300 year supply sitting there in the ground.Rise of Nuclear Power in China. Graph.

Rise of Nuclear Power in China. Graph.

Out of Alignment

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Scrape! Crunch! It happened again, and at the worst possible time.

I was on my bike, pedalling around the corner on to the bridge, and the chain had come off the front cog. As cars and trucks approached, I quickly discovered that the safety fence was for me a danger fence, trapping me on the road. I quickly walked my bike back around the corner and managed to get to safety before any B-Double truck squashed me.

The problem was that the mechanism that pushes the chain from one gear to the other had got out of alignment, allowing the chain to go past the cog. Instead of smooth, silent travel, you get a noise and then nothing.

Having a chain out of alignment on a bike is not a big problem. It is inconvenient and annoying and takes a few seconds to fix, leaving you with dirty fingers. Adjusting a cable solves the problem for good.

When your life is out of alignment, there is a much bigger problem.

Most people are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve. They were created perfect and placed in a beautiful garden. God told them they could eat any fruit except the fruit of one tree. The inevitable happened and they were tossed out of the garden. What happened later is shocking. Their eldest son Cain killed his younger brother Abel.

Perfection to murder in a generation, and all because people had come out of alignment with God’s purposes. We see the ongoing consequences of this everywhere we look in the world.

How do we get back into alignment with God? You can’t fix the world, but you can fix you. Read the Bible and see how Jesus lived. Ask God to change your heart. Let God’s Spirit spark in you a desire for you to worship Him and obey Him. Join up with a group of believers, often called a church, to find out how other people follow Jesus.

Not as simple as adjusting a bike, but certainly worth the effort for a better life.

From The Babylon Bee

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Convicted Killer Sentenced To Life In Australia

NEW YORK, NY—After being found guilty of a series of grisly murders in the upstate New York area, convicted killer Simon Davis, a.k.a. “Stabbin’ Simon”, has been sentenced to life in Australia without the possibility of parole. 

Davis collapsed in the courtroom as the sentence was passed down. “NOOOOOOOO! Anything but that, please! Send me to Sing Sing! Alcatraz! Azkaban! Anywhere! But PLEASE! Not Australia!” 

Formerly a prosperous Western nation and beautiful vacation destination, Australia has more recently been transformed into a massive prison colony reserved for the worst of the worst, such as rapists, murderers, and people who go outside for some fresh air without permission.

“In this case, the punishment certainly fits the crime,” said Judge Stephanie Anders, who passed the sentence. “In Austalia, Davis will be forced to reflect on his horrific crime as he wanders through the bush, avoiding spiders, snakes, and coppers who want to bash his skull in for not wearing his mask over his nose.” 

The ACLU has filed suit, saying exile to Australia is unconstitutional as it is cruel and unusual punishment. 

The New Heavens and New Earth Church (Shincheonji)

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The New Heavens and New Earth Church (Shincheonji)

Last Monday I received a phone call from a pleasant- sounding man who called himself Ivers. He wanted to invite me to an online prayer meeting that is to happen next Monday. He said that the focus of recent prayer meetings has been Afghanistan and Covid . They have had people take part from many denominations. It sounded good to me, so I agreed.

Ivers then asked if I would like to talk to him some more later in the week to get to know each other better. We made an appointment to meet on Zoom. The day of the meeting he texted me to ask if I would be alright if a lady from their outreach team joined the conversation. I agreed.

So on Wednesday we had our Zoom meeting. Both Ivers and Dewi were very personable and friendly people. Dewi took the major part of leading the conversation. A pleasant 45 minutes, but there was something odd about them. Ivers looked like a robot or someone playing a role, and while Dewi was very friendly, she managed to speak in very general terms without actually revealing much about herself. You would describe it as a typical first meeting with people, but there was something not quite right.

I did ask the name of the church that they were a part of, and they told me it was a non-denominational church founded in Korea called New Heavens and New Earth Church.

The New Heavens and New Earth Church, it turns out, is a Korean- based cult and not the mainstream christian church they lead people to believe. It also goes by the name of Shincheonji which is the Korean word for New Heavens and New Earth. The group’s official name is Shincheonji, Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

The group was founded in 1984 by Lee Man-hee who was previously involved with a Korean cult called the Olive Tree. Lee teaches that he is the one true pastor who is to come at the end times. They do not come out and say that he is Jesus reborn, but it is hinted. He is the only person who can interpret the Bible correctly, and all the prophecies concerning the end times church in Revelation have come true in their church.

Amongst their heretical teachings, they deny the Trinity, they claim that the 144,000 witnesses in Revelation 7:4 are members of the so-called 12 tribes of Shincheonji, that angels are actually human beings, and that Revelation 7:2 “I saw another angel coming up from the East bearing the seal of the Living God” is a prophecy concerning Lee.

In Korea they actively target christians from normal churches by inviting them to Bible Studies where they indoctrinate participants with their unorthodox teaching. When a person joins the group, they are strongly encouraged to break off contact with friends and family members so that the group becomes their sole source of friends.

In Australia, the group targets University students, particularly those from overseas. In the UK, they have a group called Parachristos which has infiltrated Anglican churches and offered its Bible Studies to lure people.

This group shows all the standard heretical beliefs and practices of cults:

  • vague or generic description of their beliefs to those outside the group
  • theology which is outside the standard teaching of christian churches
  • the elevation of the leader as the only true source of authority and teaching
  • the description of the group as the only true church, and its followers as the only ones who will be saved

This all goes to show that christians need to be on their guard against such deceptive groups. The spiritual gift of discernment of spirits has never been more needed,

BREAKING: Religious Leaders File Huge Lawsuit Against State Governments to Restore Freedoms · Caldron Pool

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This is interesting. It looks like some churches are taking a stand for in-person worship to be classed as “essential.”

From caldronpool.com

BREAKING: Religious Leaders File Huge Lawsuit Against State Governments to Restore Freedoms · Caldron Pool

Internationally renowned COVID-19 expert, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University in California has provided an independent expert report in support of the action brought forward by the plaintiffs.

Three evangelical pastors, along with several Jewish congregations, have filed a joint lawsuit with the Australian Federal Government, seeking an injunction against the New South Wales and Victorian Government’s current COVID-19 lockdown measures.

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in the Federal Court, argues the state governments have selectively discriminated against religious groups in denying citizens the ability to congregate in Houses of Worship by arbitrarily deeming them “non-essential,” while allowing the public to gather elsewhere, such as in supermarkets and liquor stores.

The lawsuit will argue that Houses of Worship provide significant spiritual, psychological, and emotional support for communities, especially those who are suffering financially and psychologically from the impacts of the state government’s lockdown policies.

Furthermore, it will be argued that the governments’ indiscriminate selection of “essential” and “non-essential” venues under the Public Health Order is not supported by robust scientific or medical evidence.

According to the complaint, neither the NSW nor Victorian Governments have the constitutional or common law power to deny citizens their religious freedom which includes their ability to fulfill particular religious obligations and practices in their designated House of Worship.

Internationally renowned COVID-19 expert, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University in California has also provided an independent expert report in support of the action brought forward by the plaintiffs.

Lawyer Tony Nikolic said his clients were forced to appeal to the courts after the matter had been repeatedly ignored by the NSW state government, in particular.

“My clients have attempted to engage with the NSW and Victorian Premiers and their Ministers as well as various NSW, Victorian, and Federal Parliamentarians to have their grievances addressed in a diplomatic and respectful manner.

“Unfortunately, in the context of NSW, the NSW Government has been unwilling to engage with my clients in any meaningful dialogue. As a result, our only last venue for relief is the courts.”

Pastor Robert Ayoub, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said they have exhausted other options to no avail.

“Now we have. a legal option, where we take the matter to the courts and have it heard by a court,” Pastor Ayoub said in a recent interview. “We believe this is a respectful way to do things, and importantly, a legal way to do things.

“We’re not here to be vindictive, or dishonouring towards the government, we’re just seeking to be able to practice our religion freely, and we’re appealing to our government to allow. us to love our God and also love our neighbour, to love our community.”

The plaintiffs in the case have also backed The Moses Statement, an open letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the State Premiers, urging a reopening of churches across the nation.

The Moses Statement can be read and signed here.

The case will be heard in court later today.

The Ezekiel Declaration

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The Ezekiel Declaration is a letter/ petition written by several church leaders in Queensland and will be delivered along with thousands of signatures to the Prime Minister. It explains the concerns that many people have regarding vaccine passports and mandatory vaccination.

The text of The Ezekiel Declaration is set out below. If you wish to sign the letter, wither as a church leader or church member click here

To the Honourable Scott Morrison,

As Christian leaders, you should be aware that in accordance with scripture we regularly pray for “and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2).

We do write, however, to you regarding a matter of significant concern.  Namely, the proposed introduction of ‘vaccine passports’ into Australian society.  For many Christian leaders and Christians, this is an untenable proposal that would inflict terrible consequences on our nation.

We should initially note that we are not the first generation that has been confronted with the question of ‘vaccine passports.’  Writing in 1880, aware of the challenges that a smallpox epidemic brought to society, the Christian theologian Abraham Kuyper wrote,  

“Vaccination certificates will therefore have to go… The form of tyranny hidden in these vaccination certificates is just as real a threat to the nation’s spiritual resources as a smallpox epidemic itself.”

Kuyper, A. 2015. Our Program: A Christian Political Manifesto. (p. 249). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press; Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.

Between 1901 and 1905, Abraham Kuyper would hold the office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.  He evidently understood that a ‘vaccine passport’ would represent a measure that was equal to if not worse than an epidemic itself through the oppressive control over people’s lives.  As Christian ministers, we would also agree with Kuyper’s analysis on such a measure, and for several reasons.

First, the government risks creating an unethical two-tiered society.  While some individuals will receive the vaccination with thanks, others may have good and informed reasons for declining.  One such reason is highlighted in the statement of the health minister Greg Hunt: 

“The world is engaged in the largest clinical trial, the largest global vaccination trial ever, and we will have enormous amounts of data.”

Australian Department of Health

Free citizens should have the right of consent, especially when the vaccine rollout has been labelled as a ‘clinical trial.’  Imposing a ‘vaccine passport’ when the nation is already divided on the matter risks the creation of medical apartheid.  The result being that those who decline the vaccine are ostracised and alienated from aspects of public life.  History has never reflected well for those who would promote segregation.  As there has been no discussion that the precautionary measures will be retracted once the pandemic has concluded, there is a real concern that many of these measures will remain permanent.  A ‘vaccine passport’ would therefore represent the dangerous precipice of a therapeutic totalitarianism that does not promote liberty and human flourishing, but would rather only dehumanise and control its citizens all under the cloak of personal health and safety.

Second,  a good portion of the population are already burdened to the point of despair.  Granted, we understand why our leaders felt compelled to lockdown in March 2020. The threat was unknown and our ability to withstand it, untested.  However, it is now 2021, and the adverse effects of perpetual lockdowns are now being revealed. We understand needing to respond, but we are concerned with heavy-handed approaches that exceed people’s capacity to live a normal life. We are compelled to speak out on behalf of struggling people, the needy, the destitute, those being harmed by such strong measures (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The adverse effects of lockdowns are especially highlighted in the rise of people considering suicide.  The ‘Journal of Psychiatric Research’ published a paper in July of 2021 based on research done on Melbourne’s extended 2020 lockdown, some of their findings are as follows, 

“In September-2020, among 1157 Victorians, one-third reported anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms, one-fifth reported suicidal ideation, and one-tenth reported having seriously considered suicide in the prior 30 days. Young adults, unpaid caregivers, people with disabilities, and people with diagnosed psychiatric or sleep conditions showed increased prevalence of adverse mental health symptoms. Prevalence estimates of symptoms of burnout, anxiety, and depressive disorder were unchanged between April-2020 and September-2020. Persistently common experiences of adverse mental health symptoms despite low SARS-CoV-2 prevalence during prolonged lockdown highlight the urgent need for mental health support services.”

 Czeisler MÉ, Wiley JF, Facer-Childs ER, Robbins R, Weaver MD, Barger LK, Czeisler CA, Howard ME, Rajaratnam SMW. 2021. “Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during a prolonged COVID-19-related lockdown in a region with low SARS-CoV-2 prevalence.” Journal of Psychiatric Research 140 (August): 533-544. 

One in ten people considering suicide is a tragedy. As these lockdowns continue, it is evident that people are getting more desperate, with many people considering suicide as their means of escape. People are inherently social creatures, meant for human interaction and contact, not long-term isolation. But these policies are causing many people to feel lonely, and increasingly isolated.

In Japan, according to Japanese research, during their second lockdown “suicide rates increased by 49% among children and adolescents, and 37% among women.” The reason this information from Japan is relevant is because it shows that their second lockdown was far worse than their first on people’s mental health. We have been in cascading lockdowns for about 18 months now, this will be taking a toll. 

This psychological effect is not theoretical.  Another recent ABC news report documented the effects of lockdowns on alcohol consumption.

“1 in 5 Australians increased alcohol use during the lockdowns, “We know the statistics. We know that 93 per cent of hospital admissions at the weekend are alcohol-related. We know domestic violence is hugely related to alcohol consumption. We know it’s bad, and people are realising that.” 

ABC News

By changing the goalposts from the original objective of ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’ to now requiring a proposed ‘vaccine passport’ in order to live a normal life, the government is putting immeasurable pressures on ordinary people. If the ABC is correct and 20% of Australians are drinking more during lockdowns, What will be the societal cost of adding a ‘vaccine passport’ which will potentially alienate already desperate Australians and turn them into second class citizens. 

Jesus tells Christians to count the cost, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28). Jesus is here using a secular principle to make a spiritual point, and whether you are making a spiritual or secular decision you must count the cost. There are many people in our communities, not just in our churches, who are facing the costs of these policies and growing increasingly concerned about them. 

Much more can be said on this point, the effects on missed cancer diagnoses and other illnesses by people staying home from the doctors, the effects on children’s missed and inconsistent education, youth graduating into a closed economy finding it difficult to find work. Poverty is the leading cause of poor life outcomes, and these lockdowns are pushing people financially to the brink. The addition of a ‘vaccine passport’ into Australian society may be the nail in the coffin to many people who are already at the point of desperation.

Third, conscience should never be coerced.  The conscience is one of the innermost expressions that animates an individual, and that allows them to worship God as well as obey a legitimate governing authority.  The conscience is the immediate contact of God’s presence in a person’s soul, and so an individual forced to act in a way that is objectionable to their conscience will never be at peace, either before God or before the state.  A government that endeavours to force or coerce an individual who is striving to honour God, will find that they only encounter resistance.  Regarding the need for a free conscience, Kuyper writes, 

“Conscience is therefore the shield of the human person, the root of all civil liberties, the source of a nation’s happiness.”

Kuyper, A. 2015. Our Program: A Christian Political Manifesto. (p. 73). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press; Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.

A government should never coerce conscience, but rather respect the important function that it carries in aiding a person to worship God freely and live obediently before the state. As we have noted, Jesus commands Christians to count the cost, and many believers do not feel that we have all the information necessary to make a decision on this vaccine at this point in time. We respect that many people have made this calculation and decided it is best for them to get the vaccine that is their right, and we do not seek to abrogate it. But those who are not ready, or hesitant, are so for very valid reasons. Their conscience binds them to wait, and their Saviour advised them to not make decisions before they have counted the cost. This is a principle of wisdom, that everyone applies to many aspects of their lives. We would therefore ask that the Government not coerce the conscience of many Australians through the use of a ‘vaccine passport.’ 

Fourth, making vaccination the basis of participating in normal life would make no logical sense in terms of protecting others. A “CDC study shows 74% of people infected in Massachusetts Covid outbreak were fully vaccinated,” especially noting that four of those who were vaccinated were admitted to hospital. As we have said, we respect people’s right and choice to be vaccinated. But this type of data, published by America’s leading body of disease experts, causes people to wonder about the effectiveness of the vaccine along with concern about coercive measures by which to have it administered.  As it is evident that vaccines do not prevent infection, to restrict a person’s access to society based on a medical choice is questionable.

Fifth, we as Christian leaders find it untenable that we would be expected to refuse entry into our churches to a subgroup of society based on their medical choice.  Only our precious Saviour, Jesus Christ, has the authority to regulate the terms of corporate worship.  These terms tell us that we are to make no distinction between those who call out in faith, neither on race nor medical choice.  We are also under obligation to proclaim the gospel to all men.  Our strongest conviction is that this gospel message is the greatest news ever to be pronounced, and includes nothing less than God’s free gift of saving grace, and the offer of eternal life to all who would respond in repentance and faith. To refuse people access to this message would betray our Saviour and everything he calls us to uphold. Any expectation to enforce a ‘vaccine passport’ on our churches would be met with passionate resistance.

May you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,