The recent plebiscite on same-sex (or any gender) marriage has raised a number of issues for Australian society, and indeed, for Western societies in general. A key concern is that of the basis upon which Western laws operate. Over the last two hundred years or so, the notion has grown that Western secular societies operate best in a context of maximised freedom standing on a thin moral base. Paradoxically, this has led to those who are most vehement in favour of homosexual rights to be most coercive when it comes to legislation.
There is more to it than meets the eye of the beholder... A few years ago when I was on talk back radio, a young lady phoned in from interstate. She told me she was a Muslim and wanted to ask some questions. To provide some context I asked where she had gone to school. She named a Christian denominational school that she had attended for 12 years. I next asked had she ever read a Bible. She hadn't.
Many Australian Christians in recent years have sensed that the society around them has been transformed almost out of recognition. Values that their parents and grandparents took for granted are today openly derided. Marital fidelity and family values have diminished, at the same time as divorce and non-marital cohabitation have increased. The very institution of marriage has been called into question, with more and more Australian public figures each year calling for marriage to be redefended to include same-sex couples.
Not all pain can be effectively managed, whether physical or psychological. In the face of unmanageable pain, some people express a clear desire to end their life.
For most of us, witnessing great suffering by another person, particularly a loved one, prompts a strong desire to find a way to end that suffering. That is why many of the
people who have a desire and willingness to give assistance to these wishes do so out of compassion and love.
In March 2014, an Adelaide father faced court on an aggravated assault charge for smacking his 12-year-old-son.
The father - an Air Force pilot "of excellent character and work ethic" - shared custody of his son with his former wife, whose approach to parenting he considered "very laissez-faire."
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