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Miracle Election Win but the Fight is Not Over – Martyn Iles on 20Twenty

by | Mon, May 20 2019

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Martyn Iles with post election newspapers

Pre-election polls were predicting a win for Labor in Saturday’s Federal Election.  This had many Christians and conservatives worried, as a number of Labor’s policies aimed to take Australia further away from the Judeo Christian Biblical values this country was founded on.

Martyn Iles, from the Australian Christian Lobby, was a particularly outspoken voice in the lead up to the Election.  He took a break from the Christian Schools National Policy Forum where he was speaking at to talk to Neil Johnson on Vision Christian Radio’s 20Twenty program about the outcome of the Election and what this means for those standing true to Christian values in our increasingly secular society.

“One of the main policy differences between the Liberal and Labor Party going into this Election was on faith based schools.  The Labor Party said they were going to change the Laws in such a way, it would have made it impossible for Christian schools to select staff on the basis that they uphold their ethos – on the basis that they are Christians or they are willing to uphold the ethos of the school in what they say or do.   So, Christians would lose their right to be Christians in that respect.”

“They were also going to change the Law in such a way that if they teach Biblical doctrines or they continue to teach a Christian understanding of controversial topics like sexuality and gender or any controversial topics, they would be open to lawsuits.”

Scott Morrison Facebook win announcement

While a Liberal win might appear to be a win for Christian values, the battle to win the hearts and minds of everyday Australians is not over.

“A lot of people will be pleased with the outcome, especially just in the religious freedom issues alone, but the fight is not over.  There is a bit of a reprieve there, in the sense that some very serious Policy attacks on faith and faith based institutions.   We’ve dodged them, but this is not the end.”

“We’ve been dealing at the ACL with all the things we’ve been dealing with under the status quo.  The attack on parental rights is something that is still ongoing, particularly through the States.  The pro-life cause is still set back massively in many States.”

“The religious freedom promises that the Coalition have put forward are flaky and inadequate.  They’re not going to have the courage to push that too hard if Christians don’t make it very clear that we’re a constituency that’s prepared to step up and act on those issues.  So, there’s a huge path that lies ahead.  It is by no means the end, there is much to be achieved.”

“I just trust that the Christian world out there doesn’t stop praying and doesn’t stop acting just because it’s not one minute to midnight, it’s now two minutes to midnight.”

Continue listening to Neil’s discussion with Martyn Iles in the audio clip below.

Tune into 20Twenty and join the conversation with Neil Johnson, weekdays on Vision Christian Radio. Click here for your local times.

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