I was reading an article about Victoria allowing Gay(Gay & Lesbian) couples access to IVF. It makes obvious sense and will be law worldwide very soon. It's only the hangover of a more religious society that keeps these types of policies controversial. Unlike the US, Australia is not an overly religious country and new age evangelists don't get much respect in general.
The article in the Herald-Sun, 'Open slather on family values' is just a PR piece by Family Association of Victoria spokesman, Bill Muehlenberg. It is ridiculous and moralistic crap from the religious right that drives me mad.
I especially love this comment:
Allowing lesbian couples to have access to IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies opens the way for open slather as far as the definition of "family" goes.
Read the article here: Open slather on family values
Anyway I did a search on this guy, Bill Muehlenberg and found a very funny link: Bill's new ministry It's on the Australian Christian Lobby website and Bill says,
During 2005 my family and I felt that God was leading us in a new direction...
and goes on to explain his new ministry.
The real cracker is this:
Like any other missionary, I am now in the position of having to raise my own financial support to cover the loss of 3 days of income per week! Our family has similar financial needs to most others in Australian society...
...Will you please ask the Lord if you should contribute towards this ministry in one of several ways:
A regular monthly contribution of some amount.
A commitment to regularly pay a ministry-associated bill, eg., Internet usage, newspaper subscriptions, mobile phone use, etc.
A one-off donation to cover establishment costs.
A donation "in kind", of equipment or skill (see below)
There are practical ways you can help as well. As I am now working out of home, one room will for now become my office. This will require some structural alterations, including doors to separate it from the rest of the family, so a carpenter would be very helpful! We can also use some office equipment, such as:
* a good, working 4-drawer file cabinet.
* a good, quality laser printer .
* a good working fax machine.
* a good working photo copier (if there is room!).
* an air conditioner.
For those of you with a lot of faith (and/or a lot of money), our home is actually pretty cramped at the moment. The ideal would be to build an extra room as an office, or to find an office to rent close by. (So any carpenters, millionaires out there, have a prayerful think about this!)
All this is a step of faith for my family and me but we believe it is the right way to go. Please ask the Lord if he would have you contribute in some way, no matter how small...
Oh, how I love these people so much. They make my dull, depressing day a little sunnier with each chapter they open in the land of sillyness. From the article I like:
Will you please ask the Lord if you should contribute towards this ministry in one of several ways...
which is evangelistic for 'GIVE ME MONEY'. The best though is,
For those of you with a lot of faith (and/or a lot of money), our home is actually pretty cramped at the moment...
Really good stuff.
2 comments:
I know, my ex boyfriend became "born-again" pentacostal a few years ago when we were together (we were both on 'done at the time). I went to Hillsong with him just for the experience and it is so money-driven. They have little envelopes on the seats ready for your cash or you can fill in your credit card details on the back. They sent out the money buckets three times in the course of the evening too. My boyfriend even thought that he could jump off the program and feel no detox symptoms as "jesus will deliver him" from having to feel that since he has so much faith. He is yet to be free from the addiction but now buys it illicitly because he has too much pride to go back on the program and be proven wrong. Now his response is "Christian's aren't perfect..." if I quiz him on what he's doing (we are still friends but broke up due to the obsession with his new-found evangelism). He would stop and preach at people on the street while I was with him. I'd be so embarrassed. He would put so much of his money in those little envelopes with the hope he'd get it back sevenfold or threefold or whatever it is that some christian told him.
I could go on for ages but I'm hanging out myself right now, just waiting.
By the way, do you mean you are on 60mg not 60ml right? That would be then be 12mls, am I right? I get so confused as I refer to it in millilitres while most say milligrams but then shorten that to mils to mean what I mean but they mean the amount of active substance. I refer to the amount of liquid. I know, I've just confused myself and I am bad at maths too. It's been a year since I stopped methadone and I was on 15mg/3mls when I stopped. That's a long story and as you can see I've relapsed since from the fact I admitted I'm hanging out and so my writing is also not up to par. I'm passing time. I stumbled on your blog just last night so haven't read much, but thank you - I wanted to find a blog related to all this but also Australian.
Thanks for your feedback.
Religion can be dangerous by preying on the vunerable, especially cults like Hillsong.
Don't feel bad about relapsing. I have just found more scientific/medical research that drug addiction especially heroin addiction is common for many people suffering from depression. We are NOT weak or scumbags but we are like diabetics who need medication. It's just our medication has been demonised by the religious and moralists.
I will write about it in my next post.
Take care and email me if you want to chat.
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