The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era.
The events of the last five years must surely be making the ‘broad church’ of the Coalition question whether the time has come for their own Reformation.
It’s all very well to listen to a range of views but that doesn’t mean you should let the nutters call the shots which is increasingly what is happening.
When Australians voted overwhelmingly for marriage equality, there were still several MPs who refused to accept the vote of the people.
Bob Katter, Keith Pitt, David Littleproud and Russell Broadbent voted No. Barnaby Joyce, Tony Abbott, Andrew Hastie, Michael Sukkar, Kevin Andrews, Scott Morrison, Alex Hawke, George Christensen and Rick Wilson all abstained from the vote.
Surprisingly, that group contains three party leaders (four if you count Katter), and another who is touted as a future leader of the Nats.
When it comes to taking action on climate change, the broad church gets even more ridiculous. Who could forget the jubilation on the floor of the house when Abbott succeeded in dismantling an effective policy on carbon pricing that was achieving its goal of emissions reduction while compensating consumers and trade-exposed industries.
Now the debate and policy direction seems to be being led by Craig Kelly who appears in the media daily and floods social media with increasingly hysterical rubbish disparaging anyone who thinks we should reduce carbon emissions. Yesterday’s effort suggested that “if you are a climate Alarmist” shooting Santa’s reindeers “becomes a MUST for those calling for zero emissions.’’
His deliberate misinformation knows no bounds. Two days ago he posted this incredible observation:
“2018 – COLDEST OF LAST 4 YEARS
Even before the December satellite global temperature readings are finalised, it’s now clear that 2018 will be a colder year than either 2015, 2016 or 2017.
I wonder if this cooling trend will continue in 2019 and beyond?”
Cooling trend??? The hottest twenty years on record have all happened in the last 22 years with the last four years topping the list but because 2018 didn’t beat the record the previous three years set, Kelly considers this a cooling trend.
Aside from dubious policy direction, we have been subjected to an unedifying avalanche of allegations about bullying, harassment, intimidation, misogyny, infidelity and expense rorting committed by the moralising men of the broad church.
This cannot continue.
Unless the Coalition go through a purging Reformation, these anachronistic, self-entitled male bullies, and the compliant women who facilitate them, will be consigned to the scrap heap of history and it will be completely their own fault.
By the time my grandchildren are grown the planet will either be dead or recovering – I hope with all my heart it’s the latter. If not, I apologise in advance to them for allowing our leaders to ignore the obvious
I have reached the other end of my life and wonder what I will see before I leave this mortal coil.
Decided action on cleaning up our global act? An end to the incessant noise and nonsense from the reality deniers? True equality between genders and all people, acceptance of our kaleidoscope of hues?
I want to know that the world I leave will be in good hands.
And the leaders of all major religions are all doing their usual Xmas bleat of the persecution of those with faith and the need for protection of their institutions. After watching the history of religion on the Teev, I am more and more convinced it is freedom from religion we need not freedom of. The countless and needless loss of lives over the centuries, proving nothing but the inexorable quest for power, is an damning indictment on all of them.
The Church has always served the needs of the wealthy, ruling class. When it fails to do so, it changes. New churches are formed.
For me, the good part of the church is the community coming together to offer practical help to those that need it and the companionship of knowing your neighbours. (And I do love a good hymn if I block out the words and just enjoy belting it out on the piano and singing loudly)
The dressing up, chanting, ritual, ceremony and worship (and fear and threats) are hangovers from a time long past with old men desperately trying to keep power over their ‘flock’.
Craig Kelly got really angry with a group from the Uniting Church who got together to paraphrase some Xmas carols to plead for action on climate change. This is what he wrote on facebook…just before he called for Santa’s reindeers to be shot to curb methane emissions. The man is seriously weird.
GREEN CARPET-BAGGERS HIT NEW DISGRACEFUL LOW
Fancy hi-jacking a church to peddle a political message of even greater monetary subsidies for your industry – subsidies that will cause hardship and poverty to others.
And then exploit a group of gullible, clueless and brainwashed (but otherwise well meaning) people to sing songs (full of untruths) that pervert the meaning of Christmas.
It just shows how disgraceful these green carpet-baggers are.
If they want to lobby for more subsidies, that’s their right – but to do it inside a church, while perverting the meaning of Christmas tells you everything about these green carpet baggers.
We need leaders who understand climate change is not political.
It is something we humans triggered and we humans can mitigate.
The planet does not care if we vote left or right.
Of course all of the above is probably something a lefty would say.
I am just wondering how the people of the Uniting Church feel about being labeled as “gullible, clueless and brainwashed (but otherwise well meaning) people” by a failed furniture salesman who, by virtue of running in a safe seat, got elected to parliament and has only stayed there through the intervention of two PMs to disenfranchise the preselectors of Hughes.
Scott Briggs, who offered the guy who would have beaten Kelly $350,000 to pull out and threats of media assassination if he didn’t, even “conceded to Cr Johns and other local party members that Mr Kelly should be rolled but said the backbench MP “holds the power” due to the Morrison government being in minority.”
Re Scott Briggs….
“Liberal Party heavyweight Scott Briggs — a close friend and political ally of Scott Morrison and a former professional colleague of new Immigration Minister David Coleman — is driving a bid to win a visa-processing contract understood to be valued at up to $1 billion.
The Prime Minister could be involved in the process to sign off on the contract through cabinet or the expenditure review committee following an independent tender process being run by the Department of Home Affairs.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/scott-morrison-ally-scott-briggs-leads-bid-for-1bn-visa-contract/news-story/3e583bd674857105dc0bbedcdd39b3b1
Bring on the inquisition…..
I have ceased believing these numpties couldn’t get any worse.
Gosh, I wonder who will get the contract?
I had a look Kelly’s farcebook page. He’s not weird, he’s deranged.
@Kaye Lee: As Bonaparte said,”Never disturb your enemies when they are making mistakes”.
@Keitha Grenville: Don’t apologise for the past, act for a better future by campaigning at every opportunity to remove this RAbbott Turdball Morriscum NLP misgovernment and banish them to a well deserved poltical obscurity for for a t least a generation.
Give a Girl a Go!!!
The attempt to buy off Craig Kelly’s challenger with a Liberal Party job worth $350,000 for six months work on the understanding that he withdrew his challenge is being investigated by the AFP. The Commonwealth Electoral Act was not designed to be manipulated by the Liberal party :
Bribery s. 326
Now, how are they going to cover this one up ?
Re 326, seems to me that this section applies to attempts to ‘buy’ the vote of an MP – and only the vote of a MP acting as an MP. As I understand it, Kelly’s vote in the HoR is not in question. He (Kelly) is not being ‘bribed’ to vote one way or the other.
Can’t see how it applies.
Thank you Kaye
I made a few comments on Kelly’s FB page. I provided a reference to Katharine Hayhoe. Professor Hayhoe provides a very helpful short article which nicely knocks out Kelly’s stupidity.
https://www.quora.com/How-do-climate-scientists-know-that-climate-change-is-real-and-caused-by-humans/answer/Katharine-Hayhoe?share=10071b34&fbclid=IwAR0dpNt2SZUdnkvcg2rHFw-idNiiNaRm8p-oYJjQe84UXP3WX3FZhYDnIqQ
While the politicians are busy making fools of themselves, small companies, local councils, and individual citizens are getting on with the job. Even if the idiot politicians do absolutely nothing, the move to renewable energy will continue to accelerate.
Brainwashed, corrupt loons like Craig Kelly just put their stupidity and crookedness out there for all to see. It might look like they get away with it, but they won’t for much longer. The backlash will catch them by surprise because they have their eyes so tightly closed.
As for religion… the more irrelevant it becomes, the more strident and extreme certain parts of it become. We are seeing the great dying of religion… at long last. It can’t happen soon enough as far as I’m concerned. One day all people will look back in great embarrassment for those who would lie to themselves by insisting they know something that they don’t really know. We will all wonder how it could be that those people commanded any power and got away with spouting inanities while persecuting others.
Meanwhile the numbers of those in extreme poverty continues to drop, disease declines, literacy (especially for females) improves, lifespans lengthen, violence decreases, people become more moral and have greater empathy for others, the internet has given ordinary people friends all over the world and access to knowledge beyond anything ever seen before. Population growth is already decelerating and will cease then population numbers will soon fall.
Today my brother and I watched the DVD of Bladerunner 2049 which I bought after having seen the movie earlier this year at the cinema. I kept marvelling at how sophisticated audiences have become. We watched the original Bladerunner a few days ago. The older movie was a major accomplishment, pushing the envelope in intelligent filmmaking, but the new movie made the original look clumsy. Bladerunner 2049 is rich in questions of who we are, what makes us us, why we do what we do, what are we doing to our planet? The depth of the movie is only really appreciated on the second viewing (I suspect a third viewing will reward even more). The fact that such large numbers of people appreciate such films is very ecouraging.
Even such box-office money-makers as The Avengers: Civil War that you’d expect to be mere one-dimensional splash and action have deep themes running them, such as: What is justice? Who should administer it? The absurdity of “might makes right”. The uber-patriot, Captain America is angst-ridden and operates outside the law, while being attacked by Iron Man who is normally the anarchic rich-kid genius, but now insists on abiding by the law and the wishes of the people. It has deep questions and philosophy driving the crash-and-bang action.
Things are changing in unexpected and encouraging ways.
Miriam
The first DVD I bought was Bladerunner.
Due to personal circumstances have not seen Bladerunner 2049. Worthy for my movie collection?
I often feel we are teetering on the edge; so easy, in spite of our knowledge and progress, for the numbnuts, of whom too many hold power, for us to fall into darkness. Although, even if enough of us survive the greedy, the vindictive or dogmatic with our knowledge intact, maybe there is a new future. Won’t be here to see what happens next, to know for sure humans can reach higher, such progressive evolution won’t be fast enough for many of us.
Anne Twomey is doubtful the bribery clause applies to internal party preselctions
Diannaart, yes. Blade Runner 2049 is, in my opinion considerably better than the original Blade Runner movie, and I love the first movie. The new movie has many themes which become much clearer on watching it a second time. It feels like it’s a continuation of the original movie 30 years later. Well worth adding to your collection. If you can’t afford it right now, please email me.
Thank you, Miriam
Your review really helps. Looking forward to watching it now.
For example, I only bought the first of the Matrix movies. But have all the Alien series, except for the dumb idea of Alien V Predator, which still rankles.
🙂
As you point out, the history of the Reformation was so much more than merely having an impact on the church. By luck, I came across a book about Martin Luther which is so well written and researched, I have no hesitation in recommending it even if there is no interest in religion.
http://ericmetaxas.com/books/martinluther/
The synopsis is worth a look, if you are time deprived.
https://dailyreview.com.au/eric-metaxas-martin-luther-man-rediscovered-god-changed-world/73569/
Regrettably, that’s all I’ve got on this one. Any suggestion of reforming a church full of opportunistic godless dimwits just seems a tad ambitious. Perhaps a box of matches and some accelerant. We do still burn heretics, don’t we? All the other misdemeanours warrant a flogging, from memory. Mind you, the amount of flagellation going on in the ranks of the LNP, maybe it’s best self-administered.
http://www.the-ten-commandments.org/the-ten-commandments.html
Thank you Ms Lee and commenters. Take care
Diannaart, you have mail. 🙂
Thanks, Kaye, the church does not think men and women are equal, the church believes god deliberately made it so, as the church is by men for men,. the church cannot brook questions on the maleness of their belief system.
It is obvious that women are equal to and better than men at ‘men’s business’ making the church wrong.
Therefore some churchmen are prepared to hide such truth and accept the existence of exceptional women.
This has satisfied many of the exceptional women who are so ‘frightened’ of being the token or ;quotaed’ they become more manly than then men.
The church cannot exist without women believing they are not equal.
Will society reach the critical mass to reform or sink the church?
Yes, when the third world runs out of priests, we stop funding the indoctrination schools and politicians can be question on their beliefs..