“Today it became clear to me that my personal Christian faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public square… They made it clear that my Christian faith and my association with a Church are unacceptable in our culture if you wish to hold a leadership position in society”
Andrew Thorburn
In the last decade, I’ve noticed a curious thing: people apologising for even appearing to be Christian. Almost always, it goes something like, “…oh, but I’m not religious.” As if they should be ashamed to be. What was once practically a given has become a dirty little secret.
And why wouldn’t it be? Because it’s beyond doubt, now: Christianity will not be tolerated in “diverse, tolerant” Australia. Christianity is the only religion that will instantly cost you your job.
Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy says the resignation of Essendon CEO Andrew Thorburn because of his involvement in a controversial church group is “ridiculous”.
“Controversial”, as in, it preaches orthodox Christian beliefs.
Guy also said Premier Daniel Andrews should not be telling the Bombers who to appoint as chief executive after the premier commented on the furore on Tuesday by saying he did not support the views of controversial City on the Hill church […]
“Those views [of the church] are absolutely appalling. I don’t support those views; that kind of intolerance, that kind of hatred, bigotry is just wrong,” Andrews said.
The Age
Remember: Andrews sends his children to a Catholic private school. He went to a Catholic school himself, and a Catholic college at university. He might want to recall the Catholic church’s views on homosexuality:
Homosexual desires, however, are not in themselves sinful… People tempted by homosexual desires, like people tempted by improper heterosexual desires, are not sinning until they act upon those desires in some manner.
Catholic Answers
This is precisely what the “controversial” City on the Hill church teaches:
“Lust is a sin, sex outside of marriage is a sin, practising homosexuality is a sin, but same-sex attraction is not a sin.”
ABC Australia
So, when should we expect Dan to frogmarch his kids out of their school?
But the real story here is not Dictator Dan’s hypocrisy, it’s the relentless cancelling of Christianity in Australia, even though it’s still the religion of a majority of Australians.
Thorburn was appointed as Essendon chief executive officer on Monday, but resigned a day later following criticism of his role as chairman of City on a Hill, which is part of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
Shortly after he got the Bombers’ role, public attention was drawn to sermons published on the church’s website.
Note that the sermon is from 2013. So, as soon as Thorburn’s appointment was announced, someone took it on themselves to trawl through nearly a decade of sermons, to find something, anything, that could be used to deny a Christian a job. Within hours, a Christian was sacked from his new job.
These people are inquisitors to make the Stasi blush.
Essendon president David Barham said on Tuesday he asked Thorburn to choose between his position at the church and his new role as Essendon CEO after the club learnt of the sermons posted on his church’s website.
“As soon as the comments relating to a 2013 sermon from a pastor, at the City of the Hill church came to light this morning, we acted immediately to clarify the publicly espoused views on the organisation’s official website, which are in direct contradiction to our values as a club,” Barham said.
“Essendon is committed to providing an inclusive, diverse and a safe club, where everyone is welcome and respected.”
The Age
Unless they’re a Christian.