Should Australia vote for a Atheistic Prime Minister? This is the big question around the Christian community in Australia. Two sides of the argument exist:
1. Some would argue that we need to separate Church and State, and so whether a Prime Minister is a Christian, Buddhist, Humanist or Secularist is irrelevant, as they make policies that are not affected by personally held belief systems.
2. Others would argue that any Prime Minister or politician makes policy decisions that, deep down, are affected by the belief system of that politician. Therefore, a Christian is desirable within the political arena in Australia, because that leader would make policy decisions that would not contradict the foundational beliefs of Judeo-Christian religion.
Well, this is a blog, so I will give my personal opinion. You can of course, make your own constructive comments below. If I had the choice to vote between someone who holds to my belief system, and someone who doesn't then I would choose someone who does. If there is someone who I believe will make good policy decisions, that will not contradict my Christian beliefs then that is the person I would vote for. If the policy thrusted upon the Australian government, was Religious Freedom of Speech, or Abortion Laws, or Same-sex Marriages, or even Immigration policies and rights of International Students, then someone who upholds the values of the Kingdom of God I would prefer.
Now, does this mean, this is necessarily Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott? Well, that's up for debate. I don't know where he sits with many policies, because he just spends his time 'bagging out' the Australian Labor Party. Would he uphold Christian values and ideals?
So what about the Australian Labor Party. I will say it bluntly. I am not keen on voting for Julia Gillard who is a professed Atheist. This relates obviously to believing in point 2 mentioned earlier. If you profess to hold to point 1, then you have a wider choice.
So in the next Federal Election, should Australia vote for a Atheistic Prime Minister?
Some links worth reading:
* http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/stories/201007/s2941974.htm
* http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/julia-gillard-risks-christian-vote-with-doubts-on-god/story-e6frg6nf-1225885897505
* http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=22182
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Hi Pete! I also found this article helpful, so thought I should share it: http://armyofpriests.com/2010/06/29/3-reasons-why-australias-christians-shouldnt-panic-about-our-new-atheist-prime-minister
ReplyDeleteBut Tony Abbott is a Catholic, so he isn't a real Christian is he Pete?
ReplyDeleteNow if the policies of the Labor party are more closely aligned with the values of the Kingdom of God than the Liberal National Coalition who do you vote for? Then again, the Greens policies are probably closer again when it comes to asylum seekers, refugees, the underdeveloped world and the environment.
ReplyDeleteBesides all that you don't actually get to vote for Gillard or Abbot or Brown - you get to vote for an individual who may be a member of one of those parties.
So Pete, you are not going to vote for an atheist to be Prime Minister OR for a Catholic to be Prime Minister, you are going to vote to elect a person who will have a voice in the party with which they are aligned, and an opportunity to voice their opinions in parliament.