Not all Christians

Rev. Meredith Williams writes: Re. “On marraige equality and the plebiscite” (yesterday). I am a good Christian who goes to church every Sunday. In fact I am a Minister of Religion. And I object to being lumped in with right wing Christian people on this and many other issues. We don’t all think, speak and act alike. My understanding is that the Bible records no words of Jesus on the subject of homosexuality, and nowhere denounces the mutual, faithful, exclusive and life-enhancing love of two consenting adults of the same gender. (The Bible does, however, strongly condemn abusive, violent, enslaving and irresponsible sexual behaviour, mostly perpetrated by heterosexual males.) I eagerly look forward to the joy and privilege of celebrating the marriage of same-gender couples, and I believe I will have this privilege in the near future.

On asylum seeker policy

Peter Schulz writes: Re. “Of all the things we have taken from asylum seekers, the worst by far is hope” (yesterday). In spite of the many valid points Manne makes, his article is still stuck in the amoral narrative that Howard and Abbott have established as the ‘new normal’ in Australia. Everything is judged in terms of its effectiveness alone. A bit like saying we agree with Hitler’s policies because they were effective. So Manne describes McAdam as a ‘legal idealist’ and Molan as a ‘military realist’. Whatever happened to the idea of doing something because it is the right thing to do, morally and legally – especially in a country that talks up its Christian heritage (or is that just a Muslim-bashing term)? I thought boarding boats on the high seas at the point of a gun was called ‘piracy’. I thought signing international agreements meant honouring them. I thought calling yourself a liberal democracy meant treating everyone fairly and with respect, governments not lying to the people and not criminalizing whistle-blowers who expose the lies. Silly me.