The truth ,says the bible ,”will set you free “but when it becomes freedom to gag debate , Freedom to discriminate against minorities and urge commercial and business interests to do the same ,the writing is on the wall and it’s if not it should be .
Lay people ,(unordained )rarely get to walk it a church procession ,and yet they are actually at the head of the que when it comes to addressing critical matters in religious institutions because they cannot easily be silenced .Lay people such as Muriel Porter ,Michael Kirby and Rodney Croome and journalists are not vulnerable to being strangled with “dog collars” as rev Keith Mascord and his many clerical friends .
Burning and excommunication ,like live baiting look unkind and are avoided while the camera is rolling ,but quietly destroying someone’s life ,starving them out and gradually transforming society that consecrates prejudice and calls it “freedom “,has become the stock in trade for Australian conservative Christianity,but I think we have had enough.
Juila Baird’s article exposing the hard underbelly of Sydney Anglicanism attempting to destroy marriage equality in silencing contemporary understandings of the bible makes difficult reading for those of us who have read the narratives as part of a rescue story .
However ,if the parachute is not going to open ,is help is really not on the way then it’s better to deal with the reality .The plebiscite is assisting the smoke to clear and ultimately may put the warning on the packet .
Archdeacon Peter MacLeod-Miller St Matthews Albury NSW
