It has been shown there is no safe way of introducing a law allowing euthanasia that won’t result in risking the lives of others not wishing to be killed. Five government-sponsored inquiries in England, Canada, USA and Australia into the consequences of legalising euthanasia have been published and all reached the same conclusion that such law would always be unsafe.  This information was given to each of the South Australian MPs and yet the bill was only defeated by 2 votes.  Other cogent arguments were presented and were brushed aside.  How can it be that MPs can be presented with such information and yet still push for legalisation?

Imagine a society where integrity and conscience are slowly destroyed.  The end results are terrifying. The challenge to conscience is also in a very real sense a challenge for our nation, our people.  It has been said that requiring men to violate and disregard their conscience results in the loss of virtue and undermines the basis for self-government.  Surely we realise it was ethical failure that has caused our global financial crisis.  Do we expect an ethical conscience in our governments?  <read full article>

WORD OF THE KINGDOM
by Dr John Yates
Paul says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim)”(Rom 10:7). The word in our hearts and on our lips is the Word which created the universe (Heb 1:2), became a human being, died on the cross, rose from the dead and is coming again to judge the world. Inside of you is the power by which God calls all human life away from evil and to Christ. This is that Word which has the authority to revive the church and transform society so that men and women gladly returneverything they have to its source in God. Men and women of all other religions and ideologies struggle to believe that God is fully interested in speaking to them, but we know that in Christ the Word of God completely embedded himself in creation to make himself wholly available to us. To reflect this infinite commitment of the Word and his supreme sacrifice is the call and challenge of the Christian life. <read the full article>

HAITI, A NATION IN MOURNING
I cannot recall a nation on earth who had suffered so much loss than the earthquake on Jan 13 that had wrought on Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere with a population of 9 millions.
A New York Times journalist on site had this to report, “For most of the past 20 hours I’ve been hiking the earthquake-rubbled streets of Port-au-Prince. Tuesday night, when we had less idea of the scope of the devastation, there was singing all over town: songs with lyrics like “O Lord, keep me close to you” and “Forgive me, Jesus.” Preachers stood atop boxes and gave impromptu sermons, reassuring their listeners in the dark: “It seems like the Good Lord is hiding, but he’s here. He’s always here.” Why, then, turn to a God who seems to be absent at best and vindictive at worst? Haitians don’t have other options. The country has a long legacy of repression and exploitation; international peacekeepers come and go; the earth no longer provides food; jobs almost don’t exist. Perhaps a God who hides is better than nothing.”
However, according to TV evangelist, Pat Robertson, God was actively engaging with the Haitians and the earthquake was the latest string of curse received by Haitians for a historical pact they made with the devil. He went on to add that perhaps a national spiritual re-awakening will grip the nation and something good will come out of it.
May I suggest a more biblical view on this earthquake. It  is about a loving God who is stretching out his hands to us all the time whether in Port-au-Prince or in Perth.
Jesus Christ was deeply moved in spirit and troubled when he was in the company of mourners after the death of Lazarus and he wept. Once there were some people who approached Jesus for His agreement on the just punishment given to a group of rebels by Pilate he shocked them in reply by telling them that they would likewise perish. He added that even those who were innocently found at the tower in Siloam when it all suddenly collapsed and crushed them to death were just as guilty and deserving death as all who lived in Jerusalem. Unless you repent, you will all perish.  Luke 13:1-5
There is hope for all who are living, unless we repent and turn from our sinful ways and seek God we will suffer the same fate.
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Timothy Tay

Letters to the Editor:
... you got to the heart of the matter in just a few short sentences with Luke 13:1-5. That scripture answers that age old theological/philosophical question framed with the faulty premise “why do bad things happen to “good” people” – the answer given by Jesus Christ invalidates the faulty premise of this perceived “innocence/goodness” and mercifully shifts its emphasis to a sovereign, holy and loving God who simply says all of us; whether we be Haitians or any other nationality:  “repent, lest you likewise perish”. Though you might think this too censorious, I contend that if the Haitians have made a “pact” with the devil - likes of Pat Robertson and his “Total Blasphemy Network” (TBN) have made an international treaty with him. He ought not to boast before the Lord – his own “earthquake” may be just around the corner. God is merciful and good, holy and just, and not desirous that any should perish – may God grant us the grace to believe this, come what may…
R Moss, Parkwood
email ChurchinPerth editor


Tower of Babel: Men's Unending Quest to be the Master of Universe
Let us be clear that in creating mankind God had intended that we were to have pre-eminence over all His creation (Gen 1:26-28). The origin of sin happened when the serpert tricked Eve and Adam in believing that they could be like God simply by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree that would give them the knowledge of good and evil. By so doing they broke the only one rule God gave to them (Gen 2:16-17). Evil does not exist apart from God but when mankind chose to rebel through disobedience to God evil came alive. Ever since been ejected from the Garden of Eden mankind had struggled on to be their own master of the universe. Nothing is more pronounced in this quest than to build the tallest edifice that reaches out to the heavens. The Tower of Babel was the first attempt along this path and today the 828m tall Burj  Dubai  is mankind’s latest and boldest attempt.    
Incidentally, building the tallest buildings often started well but ended in controversy, here are some examples:
*Empire State Building, symbolic of the rising influence of New York, was completed at the depth of the Great Depression
*World Trade Centre did enjoyed some years of glory but all that was taken away in matters of hours in 2001
*Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas twin towers were built as the economic meltdown hit Asia hardest in the 1990s and even today it is still considered by many as a white-elephant project - a legacy of the Malaysia Boleh can-do era of former PM Mahathir
*Taipei’s 101 was to be the pride of Taiwanese in the face of growing world attention on mainland China but ever since its completion in 2004 the nation struggled to grow and the Global Financial Crisis just added to their woes

On November 25th 2009 the Dubai government shocked the world with the announcement that it was asking creditors of Dubai World, a large state-owned conglomerate of companies and owner of Dubai Burj, for a six month standstill on debt repayments.

There is a tree in the Garden of Eden which is called the Tree of Life.
And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 3:21-24

The good news is that we can re-gain access to the Tree of Life (Rev 2:7,22ff).
To be like God (Gen 3:5) as the serpent enticed Eve to do is in itself not a bad thing, in fact, we are urged to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1-2), but certainly we are at our own peril apart from God.

Timothy Tay

email ChurchinPerth editor

News & Comments:
Mar 5 Britain making haste to un-Great itself
-Christians who want to be Christians are demoted or fired
-Legislation to criminalise Christian speech and practise whilst gay and muslim rights are protected
-Muslim heading BBC religion broadcasting
Watch this CBN's broadcast
It is one thing to pass a law that permits evil but it is something more to pass a law that compels evil.  We have not been here before in a civilised society.
(submitted by Dr L Dunjey)

There is one thing higher than Royalty: and that is religion, which causes us to leave the world, and seek God. Queen Elizabeth (1923)

Feb 15 Riverview Church is still growing with life even without their senior pastor, Phil Baker, since June 2009 when he underwent a major surgery and now in recuperation. Ps Phil had over the years instilled leadership skills onto his staff members and these have handsomely paid off through their loyalty, commitment and teamwork during his absence. The leadership team under Ps Haydn Nelson, Executive Minister, is keeping very close to the ethos of Riverview with their usual practical teaching and lively worship (some observers even mentioned of added spiritual dimension to it all) that not only kept the regulars coming back but had also drawn in several newcomers to their regular services. The Christian community in the city at large is missing Phil Baker who had in the past had been a significant contributoer in city-wide campaigns and for his leadership and vision-castings. Ps Phil, the Church in Perth is praying for your full recovery. Thanks be to Jesus Christ, the builder of His Church (Matthew 16:18), for jealously guarding one of His own in Perth.

Jan 27 Riots in Jos not Religious but Satanic and Criminal claimed the Anglican Archbishop, Benjamin Kwashi. "Why are Muslims and Christians unable to live together in peace on the Jos? Why is there a continuing recurrence of violence? What seems to be a recurring decimal is that over time, those who have in the past used violence to settle political issues, economic issues, social matters, intertribal disagreements, or any issue for that matter, now continue to use that same path of violence and cover it up with religion. We must pray against the powers of hell.", he writes in his hard-hitting article appearing in Christianity Today.

Jan 19 Regionalised 'Allah' Illogical, Inconsistent and Untenable claimed Rev Jerry Dusing, head of Sabah SIB. the largest Malaysian founded Christian denomination as he rejected the directives coming from the Malaysian Prime Minister Department to resolve the issue that gripped the nation since Dec 31 High Court judgment. "The intended concession also goes against the spirit and intent of the Prime Minister's 1Malaysia concept of forging unity and harmony among all races and religions by mutual respect and acceptance," Rev Dusing said.

Read also: Why I Use 'Allah' by Ps Eu Hong Seng

Jan 8 Three Malaysian Churches fire-bombed early this morning in respond to the High Court ruling on Dec 31 regarding the use of the name, Allah, in church publications (see Jan 4 report below). A government-sanctioned march by Muslims in protest of this judgment had gone ahead today in Kuala Lumpur.

Woman prayed outside the AOG Metro Tabernacle Church that was set on fire by arsonists.
(source: Malaysian Insider)
<more>




Jan 5 Singapore's former PM Lee (LKY) on the rise of evangelical Christians in Singapore: Most Chinese here are Buddhists or Taoists... I’m one of them, so it is a tolerant society. It says, whatever you want to believe, you go ahead. These youngsters, the educated ones, now they are all English-educated, their mother tongue is the second language. Therefore, they begin to read Western books... So they begin to question: What is this mumbo-jumbo, ancestors and so on? And then (there are) Christian groups who go out and evangelise. They catch them in their teens, when they’re malleable and open to suggestion. And they become very fervent evangelists themselves. My granddaughter is one of them. She’s now 28. My wife used to tell her (to look for someone to marry. But my granddaughter says) God will arrange it. They (evangelical Christians) know that if they get politically active, they will incite the Buddhists, the Taoists, the Muslims, the Hindus. (source: The Malaysian Insider)


Jan 4 Chaos In the Name of Allah after the High Court of Malaysia ruled that the prohibition by the Home Ministry on a Catholic newsletter use of the name is constitutional. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak called for calm after Muslims demonstrated against the court ruling. Oppostion party PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, have reportedly said it was permissible for followers of Abrahamic faiths to use “Allah”. However, Nasharudin Mat Isa his deputy, disagreed, "The court decision is not only against the Constitution but it also goes against our faith, and this cannot be accepted". And among the governing party, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, a deputy minister in the administration of Prime Minister and the son of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had protested against the High Court ruling. Dr Mahathir himself has disparaged the judgment, calling for the use of “Allah” to be strictly governed lest it inflames the Muslims. However his daughter, Datuk Marina Mahathir, described those mourning the “loss” of the word “Allah” as 'idiots', "A confident Muslim will not walk into a church, hear a liturgy in Malay or Arabic where they use the word 'Allah' and then think that he or she is in a mosque. A confident Muslim knows the difference,” she wrote in her blog. <more>

The word is derived from “The Sole Deity” in Semitic languages, which include Hebrew, Syriac, Aramaic, and pre-Islamic Arabic. Islam is a system of belief, not a race, nation or language. To equate everything Arabic with everything Islamic is misleading, as they are two different things. Plus if the authorities really did go to schools with Islamic curricula, they would know well that pagan Arabs, before the birth of Muhammad, called their gods Allah and goddesses Allat. Yes, it should be in your religious history textbooks. Look it up.
Ruby
Jakarta Post

<more church news>