SYDNEY (LifeSiteNews) — In a stark demonstration of the collapse of legal balance towards religion in Australia, a Christian group that held a public prayer march through King Street in Sydney, Australia, has been attacked by politicians and investigated by the police.
Video footage of the prayer march, which was shared on social media, features a number of men reciting the Lord’s Prayer. In response to the gathering Sydney police deployed officers to what was described as an “unauthorised protest” including approximately 30 people. No arrests were made. It remains unclear why this was considered an unauthorized protest, or what illegal act the men might potentially have committed.
Christian lives matter group walks through of LGBTQIA area of Sydney’s newtown while reading Bible verses aloud: hate speech?
Thousands reacted calling it an “intimidating and threatening action that need to be stopped” and “christo-fascists straight out of the 1930s”. pic.twitter.com/Oaes4LeOaX— Chriscoveries (@Chriscoveries) March 3, 2023
Darcy Byrne, a local mayor who was previously found to have used a vote to improperly “quash allegedly defamatory comments about him… on social media,” was quick to make accusations against the Christians, while at the same time saying that everyone is welcome in the community and that tolerance is to be highly prized.
Byrne said: “I’ve been briefed about the homophobic demonstration by extremists in Newtown last night. We opened Pride Square to send a message that all people are welcome in our Inner West community. A handful of small minded bigots can’t change that.”
It remains unclear how attacking Christians in this way serves the agenda of making everyone welcome.
The men were responding to a segment on the television program “The Project,” which was designed to confront Christianity and make jokes about Jesus. That was the trigger, but it is more revealing to look at what the response actually was.
The Lord’s Prayer heavily emphasizes the need for forgiveness between people. It does not include any reference to sexuality at all, let alone LGBT-related activities. It thus remains unclear how reciting the prayer could be interpreted as “homophobic” and “extremist.”
Indeed, the Lord’s Prayer is read at the beginning of each sitting day in the lower and upper houses of the Australian federal Parliament. Is this an “unauthorised protest” undertaken by homophobic “extremists?” If so, the Australian federal police have been strangely silent on the matter.
There is a tradition of separating church and state in Australia, although the protections are less clear cut than in the United States. Section 116 of the Australian Constitution indicates that the state is required to stay out of religious matters:
The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion.
Although this has been interpreted narrowly by the High Court as preventing the federal government from establishing a state religion, there is a general assumption that religion and state are to be kept separate. This has become extremely important to social cohesion in the country because intense and sustained migration has led to the formation of large Muslim and Hindu populations.
While the Christian group was praying for forgiveness for themselves and others, pro-LGBT activists took a different route. Some described the men as “Christo-fascist radicals,” the meaning of which is not readily apparent. Some shared photos of the alleged “ringleader” and his wife on their wedding day, in an attempt to maliciously expose their personal details. One man complained about “these black-hooded muscle-bound lads,” whom he said were “chanting cultish slogans on an unpermitted protest of provocation.”
The growing aggression towards Christians is troubling enough, especially as it eats away at the cultural foundations of the nation’s institutions, which heavily rely on Christian traditions (especially looking after those who are oppressed). The kind of attacks being leveled at Christians would certainly not be tolerated if directed at any other religious group. Imagine, for example, the outrage if there were similar criticisms of indigenous Australians’ religious practices.
Yet perhaps the worst aspect is the collapse of language and meaning. The Lord’s Prayer is about tolerance, the exercising of conscience, and love of God. That is what the words say. But in this corrupted political environment it is claimed that what the words mean is just the opposite – a message of hate and intolerance.
When words lose all meaning, having a rational and sensible debate becomes impossible. The costs of that to our basic humanity are high.