We vote for people to represent us - not to represent the Lord

When Kevin Andrews represented the Lord and not us

The first legal voluntary euthanasia in the world took place in the Northern Territory. Bob Dent calmly said goodbye to the world as he pushed a button on an apparatus which delivered into his blood circulation a series of three drugs. He died peacefully. He died with all his mental faculties intact. He died with dignity.

That was as far as it got. Through a private members bill, Kevin Andrews successfully worked to have the Northern Territory’s voluntary euthanasia decision overturned by the federal parliament.

He argued that:

• voluntary euthanasia may not be voluntary, ignoring the fact that volition is absolutely integral to Phillip Nitschke’s method as used by Bob Dent;
• palliative care is the viable alternative to suicide, ignoring the fact that Bob Dent and others commit suicide because their palliative care fails them;
• if an easy method of suicide was available, people who were not terminally ill would use it. Of what business is it of Andrews to keep people on Earth who don’t want to be here?   

Andrews was on God’s business. He and his colleagues believe that God does not approve of voluntary euthanasia. National surveys consistently show that at least 70 per cent of the public approve of adequately controlled voluntary euthanasia. Democratically elected people hijacked our democracy in support of their emotional attachment to a belief based on absolutely no evidence.

John Howard and Kevin Rudd mix it with the enlightened

In our fast-moving society, the once inspiring atmosphere created by gothic arches, organ music and stained glass windows is no longer enough. The new medium is the large auditorium and the electricity generated by up to 3,500 people holding up their arms and crying out to a big guy in the sky to make them lucky, while those on the stage work the crowd often to a throbbing musical beat.

In contrast to the usual indoctrination in classes spread over years, crowd dynamics fast-track the simplistic Pentecostal message. That message is sold as a quick-fix for a feeling-lost problem. In this context, discovering Jesus is somewhat analogous to a bachelor meeting a spinster at a dance.

The leaders of this new look say that they are simply being more relevant to people’s desires. They say that people don’t desire sacrifice as preached by the old church but really desire success and will obtain it by "discovering God’s amazing financial plan for you".

As expected, this eccentricity has been imported from the USA where 53 per cent of the population believe that God made Eve from one of Adam’s ribs and the president prays daily for guidance in his war plans. Hillsong in Sydney now has a greater attendance than the total for all the Anglican churches in Australia.

John Howard got up on stage at Hillsong in front of a huge euphoric congregation and sucked in the atmosphere as if he was the star performer at a rock concert. The man was not there just to promote himself. Here he was at home. This was his mob.