Woke Bigotry and Hate on Display In Australia. Former banking boss Andrew Thorburn was forced to resign as chief executive of the Essendon Football Club after just 30 hours in the job. Nothing he said or did, but because he was associated with an organization which, in 2013, said something the new woke religion finds blasphemous.
Thorburn has never once publicly expressed a view on same-sex relationships or anything controversial about social policy issues.
His sin was by association. Thorburn is involved with City on a Hill, a Bible-believing church in Melbourne that continues to hold out against the prevailing cultural winds on sexuality. …
Essendon president David Barham cited two important points. One is that the views that were of concern were “not … views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally.”
His sin was attending a particular church. … It was not that he had acted in a discriminatory manner against any of his employees during his (extremely) short tenure at the Essendon Football Club. He never did that, so far as we know.
The second important thing that Barham noted in his public statement was that the furore over Thorburn’s appointment was because of a sermon preached at the City on a Hill church in 2013. That is not a typographical error. In 2013, a sermon was preached that condemned abortion in no uncertain terms. Another stated that “homosexuality is a sin”.
These sermons are from almost a decade ago. They are not Thorburn’s sermons. He may never have even heard the sermons. The connection between Thorburn and these 2013 sermons is tenuous at best.
Yes, he is the chairman of the wider City on a Hill group of churches. But how are these words uttered years and years ago connected to his role as a football club chief executive?
How can the words of another person, words Thorburn never endorsed, be used against him? Some people have found a way to do so, and Thorburn is no longer the chief executive of the club he says he loves. …
Step 1:
[Israel Folau, who was sacked by Rugby Australia for posting comments about his religiously driven views of homosexuality on social media,] showed us that Australians, especially prominent Australians, are no longer welcome to voice their opinions if they aren’t in lock-step with the new moral orthodoxy. That means the voices of conservative Christians, Muslims and others with traditional moral views are no longer welcome.
Step 2:
The Thorburn debacle takes things a step further. As he noted in a public statement on his LinkedIn profile, his “personal Christian faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public square”. Further, Thorburn states that “my association with my church (is) unacceptable in our culture”.
The newest religion is the most intolerant:
Thorburn’s resignation is a sign that Australians, especially those in prominent positions or those who aspire to the same, cannot be seen in the company of those deemed to be bigots [by the woke priests].
Who is marginalising whom here? Will the true bigot please stand up!
As it happens, there is a law for this. Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (RRTA) … This law defines unlawful religious vilification as conduct that ‘incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of’ another person or class of persons on the basis of their religious belief or activity.
Who is vilifying whom here? Surely Premier Andrews’ characterisation of City on a Hill’s teachings as ‘hatred’, ‘absolutely appalling’, and falsehood dressed up as ‘bigotry ’could incite contempt, revulsion, and ridicule for City on a Hill, and for the Anglican Church of which most of its congregations are a part. …
In Victoria, even praying for someone who is struggling with their sexual or gender identity has recently been made illegal, so Christians should not expect the state to be sympathetic to their plight. The state government will not be weighing in any time soon to defend Christians from public outpourings of hatred, contempt, revulsion, and ridicule.
So this woke bigotry is also illegal. But these days the law is selectively enforced by woke-leaning bureaucrats, rather than applied equally to all. Don’t expect the Victorian Premier to get hauled before the courts for his illegal comments.
Actually I am enjoying the fracas surrounding Thornburn’s appointment. He was a full-on wokester at the NAB, chock-a-block full of inclusion and diversity when it was not so common amongst corporations.
God has a sense of humor after all!
The Australian’s Editorial Board:
Australia’s robust, liberal democracy has long prided itself on freedom of speech, thought and religion, as well as tolerance. Our society is sinking into dangerous territory when it becomes acceptable to dismiss an employee not on the basis of performance but because of the views of a church in which they are involved. …
The saga lends weight to [Thorburn’s] view that “personal Christian faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public square”. If so, it is no longer a proper public square. …
Mr Thorburn is no proselytiser. He is correct when he says people with different views on complex personal and moral matters should be able to live and work together with respect. That is part of the strength of a liberal, pluralistic society.
And they call it “progress.”
hat-tip Stephen Neil
