Christian lobby ‘is not representative’
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has come under fire from the Victorian Council of Churches (VCC) for misrepresenting the views of Australian Christians.
“The VCC expresses deep concern that media portrayal of statements from an established and narrowly focused lobby group is presented as being representative of the entire Christian Community,” VCC general secretary Theo Mackaay said.
“The community needs to know that there is a range of views held on many topics in the Christian tradition, just as there are numerous views in all areas of human endeavour.
“Some groups adopt a threatening stance in their commentary, seemingly to declare ‘debate closed’ when our nation needs as wide an engagement as possible to honour the diversity in our community.
“Australian Christian Lobby Pty Ltd is a voice … that presents a particular Christian view on a range of issues, usually based on a fundamentally conservative view of the Christian faith.”
The VCC executive expressed concern that journalists rarely sought the views of Christians beyond the ACL following the ALP National Conference where the ACL was almost the only Christian voice heard in coverage of the same-sex marriage debate.
Mackaay said the VCC’s member churches held a diversity of views and therefore the VCC would never try to articulate a single position on the issue.
“We don’t have a position on the issue of same-sex marriage,” he said.
“If you asked that question at one of our executive meetings you would find there would be some who would be horrified at the thought that same-sex marriage is possibly to be legislated, others who would think that every Member of Parliament, whichever party they come from, should have a conscience vote, and others still who would leave that entirely up to the parties.”
An ACL spokeswoman denied that the group presented itself as representing Australian Christianity.
“The ACL never claims to represent all Christians,” she said. “However … we know of a number of supposed VCC church supporters which have complained to VCC executive about the statement because they weren’t consulted or aware of the media release being put out by VCC criticising the ACL.”
The VCC has 30 member churches, including Anglicans, the Salvation Army, Churches of Christ, Roman Catholics, Wesleyan Methodists, the Uniting Church, the Quakers, and Orthodox churches serving migrant communities.
Sorry? A Christian organization with Pty Ltd in its name. Mmmmm? Ya lost me. CEO=JC+$5M=Alan Joyce? Nope… still doesn’t add up. What do they sell exactly? More importantly, who’s buying their crap? Jesus saves, but not at the ANZ.
[…] general secretary Theo Mackaay told The Star Observer that they acted when The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) was the only voice quoted in the media […]
@So What
The polls show the majority of Christians support Same-Sex Marriage. The ACL is a private company made up of just three Directors! A bus stop of fundamentalist, with most of them paid staff, simply does not compare to the majority of Christians who support equality, or even the hundreds of thousands that attend Mardi GRAS on a bad year.
The brawling minority mob at the ACL, has been told off by a major Christian group, representing thousands of Christians.
@so what?
The ACL represents the views of it’s 50 members, NOT that of tens of thousands of Christians across the country.
It is people such as yourself who continuously exaggerate the representative basis of the ACL that are adding to the power of this fundamentalist, marginal and non-representative minority.
The ACL is little more than a nut job christian version of the Taliban; and the sooner they are dismissed as the psyhcologically disturbed people that they are the better.
So the VCC has 30 member churches? That’s such a small group considering the ACL represents the views of tens of thousands of christians across the nation!! Why has the comments from a group like the VCC even been published here? The ACL would be the first to say they don’t represent every single church, as there are some christians who do support SSM although they are in the extreme minority.
Old news perhaps, but still needs to be said again. When the only Christians in the news are the ACL, then the only Christian voice that most people hear is the ACL, and people end up thinking that most Christians are like the ACL – which a(thank Christ) is just not true.
This is REALLY old news.
The Australian Christian Lobby stole the word Chistian from Christians. I see little difference between that brawling mob and the Taliban. Christians as the polls show, are some of our biggest supporters of our Civil Rights.