Wallace slammed by clergy
Prominent Christians have criticised Australian Christian Lobby head Jim Wallace over comments he made on Twitter on Anzac Day.
“Just hope that as we remember servicemen and women today we remember the Australia they fought for — wasn’t gay marriage and Islamic!” Wallace tweeted.
After a barrage of criticism, Wallace later apologised for the timing of the comments but not their content, tweeting, 
“Ok you are right my apologies this was the wrong context to raise these issues. ANZACs mean to [sic] much to me to demean this day, not intended”.
At least two prominent Christians turned to Twitter to express their displeasure at Wallace’s comments.
“It’s so sad that people who should know better have to use ANZAC DAY to pick on people they don’t like. It’s unchristian in the extreme,” Uniting Church minister Reverend Bill Crews tweeted. Crews is the founder of Sydney youth and homeless charity the Exodus Foundation and is the minister at the Uniting Church Ashfield in Sydney’s inner west.
Emmaus Baptist Community Church minister Simon Moyle responded to Wallace’s comments with three tweets. Emmaus Baptist is in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg.
“For what it’s worth, I’m a Christian leader and @JimWallaceACL doesn’t remotely speak for me or any other Christians I know,” Moyle wrote.
“Jesus said, ‘Love one another in the same way I have loved you.’ JimWallaceACL isn’t showing that kind of love at the mo. He can do better.
“As a Christian leader, I deplore @JimWallaceACL’s comments re: Anzac Day & homosexuals & Muslims. Let’s reflect Jesus’ love for all.”
Appearing on Sunrise on Tuesday, Wallace compared himself to swimmer Stephanie Rice who he said had been unfairly persecuted after using the word ‘faggots’ in a tweet. He said he had only been using Twitter for a matter of weeks.
According to Twitter, he posted his first tweet on February 3, 2010.
Meanwhile, the people at Equal Rights Victoria have produced a YouTube video in response to Wallace’s comments and the ongoing government allowance for churches to legally discriminate against those who don’t share their beliefs..
Rob, sorry but the last I checked this article it was about his comments on ANZAC day not about internet filtering. With regards to the internet filtering I don’t know enough to comment but as I said earlier, we are all human. Regardless, his intentions are undoubtedly good and come from a desire to restrict access to abhorrent material. However let’s stick to the subject. My reference to the Orwellian police state was quite distinct. If you don’t understand it then I suggest you do some reading and good hard thinking. Don’t twist another person’s argument into your own in a vain attempt to vindicate your deluded and juvenile (i say that in the nicest possible way) theories. Dave, I am not really sure what you are talking about when you refer to someone having a history of inciting hatred and violence. Similarly, your fabrication of a ‘mission statement’ is ridiculous. Your barely existent argument is nonsense.
@Iain, sorry but your beloved Jim Wallace is one of the people pushing for the Government’s internet filter and internet spying legislation.
You know, the legislation that will allow a secretive Government selecetd group of people decide what you can and can’t access ont he internet; and record every transaction and website that you do actually do.
Sounds pretty Orwellian to me, and that is being pushed by Jim Wallace.
The man is an ignorant, religious fundamentalist. He lies, and presents mistruths as fact. He claims to represent all christians, when in actual fact he represents about 20 people.
Wallace deserves everything that is being thrown at him, and then some.
The man is the embodiment of all that is wrong with fundamentalist religion.
@Iain
The “Freedom of speech” is one thing but people have “Freedom of speech” to be critical when you have a stinking history of inciting hate and violence against people simply for existing.
If people are turning against Jim Wallace for his pattern of abusive comments, then that is their right. I am sure Hitler also had his hard days when people were critical. I know many Christians who are just as outraged as the rest of the community with the Australians Christian Lobby. And it is they who wish to make us a police state, look at the mission statement, to change the way every Australian interacts with each other is the act of a Taliban style police state if you ask me.
Oliver
But Jim Wallace seems to have so many bad days.
Jim Wallace is doing a great job in attempting to prevent corruption of values in Australian society. He has one of the toughest jobs in Australia and does it with dignity and integrity. Just because he made an insensitive comment that you don’t like doesn’t make it false. If it wasn’t for people like him Australia would quickly become an Orwellian police state where you are charged and sentenced for thought crimes against people with blue hair. You naive people with liberal (non existent) morality think that you are doing the right thing by enforcing people’s individual rights but you are too narrow minded to realise that you actually stifle free speech in the process. Grow up, have a shower, get a hair cut and eat some meat you knuckle dragging neanderthals. Jim Wallace is human just like you and makes mistakes just like you.
Jim Wallace deserves every bit of anger on display in my view. Stiring up hate against Same-Sex attracted couples and racist rants are deserving of punishment. I have heard lie after lie from the Australian Christian Lobby fabricating stories about Same-Sex attracted couples. It is time they felt the full force of what they have said.
Not wishing to start an argument beechy , nor justifying his comments … . he is entitled to his opinion as you are to yours … yep his comment are out of order . and timing disgracful .. a man in his position should know better agreed !but think the heated personal comments and vilification is just as disgraceful .. especially from those who should know better and profess themselves to be christian the most disappointing .Two wrongs dont make it right . its disappointing on all fronts.
@oliver … totally agree .. we d do all well to remember this :)
just remember when people are in a bad mood or having a bad hair day, they will post any obscenities on facebook and twitter. I bet most of you have done the same.
Because Amy, his comments were irresponsible, inappropriate and when people like that make such horrible, prejudiced comments there are unfortunately a lot of people who also think ‘yeah fair enough’
oh dear , we slame this man for not showing the true nature or heart of god and representing what it means to be christain but look at the hatred and bitterness with which we do it ?! conflicting somewhat !!!!
he is a man, he got it wrong .. think god loves him less ?? why are we so upset that he is portraying us badly when we do such a damn fine job of that ourselves .
pot calling kettle black i think .
I think if you are not happy with how you are rrepresented then stand up and be counted for sure ! however do it with grace and dignity not with character assasination and personal attacks .
“I’ve got nothing against gays”
Sure you don’t Jim, you only blamed “gays” as the source of child abuse from within the church…
http://www.davethehappysinger.com/blog/2011/04/26/acls-jim-wallace-at-fort-australia-being-gay-causes-priests-to-rape-children-2/
(He was recorded on video, available to view on the link above, claiming as fact that homosexuals are to blame for children being abused in churches, but it’s not the churches fault because they’re forced to allow homosexuals into positions of authorities which they otherwise wouldn’t. Nothing against gays then?)
If the ACL do not remove him from his position they should be seen as endorsing his position as their own and they should stop being looked to from the media for the “Christian View” because they clearly do not represent that and are nothing more than a group of bigoted discriminatory delusional lunatics. End of story.
It would be nice if Sunrise did some deeper research and quizzed him on his FORT comments when he said he has nothing against Gays…
He is a Taliban in blue suit, sick fanatic that has no place in a civilised society.
Julia Gillard should stop supping with this devil. He hates women, muslims, atheists and gays.
Sorry, that should read natural tribalness.
Len and Doctor Jonesy,
I admit to sipping a sinful sherry whilst writing that article and having bouts of protective racist thoughts and natural tibleness.
I have been completely honest about my feelings which are:
My friend admits that he is an economic migrant. He and family were previously informed how to bypass several Islamic countries, get off the boat, turn right and head for Centerlink.
I resent that, they continually ask for help I give it. That’s the Aussie way.
I’m not sorry for that.
I am tired of Jim Wallace claiming to speak for Christians when he is not, repeat not, endorsed by the major churches. I am a Christian and agree with very little Jim Wallace says. He does not speak for me.
Someone remind this idiot that our biggest day 25th Apr is when we landed at Gallipoli to invade a muslim country (Turkey).
In 1934 Ataturk wrote a tribute to the ANZAC’s killed at Gallipoli:
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours… you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well.
Peter, I agree with most of your comments and I’m guessing you mean that you’ve spent years trying to adjust your (previously narrower) views and trying to understand your friend’s culture, which is difficult for you. The way it is now, though, I think Len has raised valid concerns, and I hope it’s just a case of poor wording on your part.
Speaking of poor wording, however, maybe you should re-think that last line of yours. Although I see what you’re trying to say, the fact is many people do literally need a walking stick to get through life and by framing that as a character failure – even metaphorically – you are being incredibly ableist. I don’t think that was your intent at all and many people make such comments without fully considering them. I hope you’ll consider this in the future.
He seems to be very Christian to me, hates woman, gays, other theists, and atheists. Belives in a fairytale, can’t get more christian than that.
Peter. You seem to be quite conflicted there. I am not sure if your condemnation is worth a heck of a lot considering your explaining the years you have taken to be tolerant of your “Islamic mate”. You seem to be expressing quite a similar prejudice yourself. You speak of a difficult ways and culture. It is bizarre that you have had to toil so hard to see other humans as humans. And it is this, that I believe makes you slightly hypocritical.
This other guy is, of course, a complete liar and a bad egg. He even lied about how long he’d been using twitter for. Just saying
Jim Wallace – all about lies and hate.
He lied about his apology. He lied about how long he has been tweeting.
He brought his 96yr old father and Stephanie Rice into HIS minefield.
He blamed the responders, not the stimulus for their activity – His crap.
Our local Taliban has finally been outed.
Australia does not offer sanctuary to home grown terrorist.
Okay Jim, so your comments were taken “out of context”.
So, put them in context.
I’m sure we’ll all realise how wrong we were to point out the raging hypocrisy of your bigoted comments.
Jim Walace is a religious fascist who believes that he has a god given imperative to impose his narrow minded, bigoted world view on the rest of Australia.
His manipulation of the Australian Government must be exposed and resisted at all cost. He is a prime example of how hideously evil, covert religious fanaticism can become.
Wow .. now that’s really nice and ‘christian of you Jim!!!
Your religion offends me, you offend me and yes I refuse to believe I or my choice of lifestyle is immoral. AND no matter how hard you try to scream it from the mountain top, I will deny you that right to impose your draconian belief on me. I have that right!!
Gay people are not dictating the terms and availability of marriage to you, it is you who are doing this to gays, and denying the right to marry altogether because you and your bigoted intolerant followers imagine your disapproval of sexual preference gives you some sort of right to dictate our choices.
In no way shape or form are gay people telling you who you can and cannot marry, or what the nature of your married relationship should be. We are merely asking for our natural right to define our own choices for ourselves.
Authoritarian types like you imagine God himself gave you the right to dictate to other people how they should live their lives, but unless you’ve got some tablets carved in granite by God’s fingers or some other credentials proving God has given you this role I see no reason why the rest of us should give a flying f… what you or your little band of merry wankers think.
Feeding fear and hate and engaging in vitriolic attacks against minority groups is despicable and gutless. Of course bigotry tends to go hand-in-hand with racial discrimination so I can well imagine what your views would be on multiculturalism, Aboriginals (the traditional owners of this land) and for that matter any persons that were neither ‘White’ nor ‘Christian’. Shame on you!!!!!!
After six years of trying to get used to my Islamic mate, his veiled mother, their difficult ways and culture, along comes this ugly American styled fundamentalist with his deep southern type prejudice and finger liken persecution to undo and destroy all the good work some of us resentful Aussies are doing.
This professional homophobe, his paranoia with Gay Australian citizens and Islam, evokes the brutality of the Cossacks and the Crusades. ACL Director Jim Wallace is stocking the fires of hell with his dottiness and intolerance.
Sure, many of us are racist and resentful, especially older Aussies coming out of the White Australia Policy, but in our unique fair go for all, we are trying do what we can with our proud, inbred Anzac legacy in mind.
This cancerous brand of simplistic religios have created God in their own mean-spirited, frighted and humourless image.
The only pleasure they seem to feel is self-righteous indignation.
The ACL and George Pell have divided this country in half in their grubby-greed for our tax dollars. What a bloody shame! The perverted egos of Gillard and Abbott are to be abhorred and rejected also.
I admire the teachings of Jesus, but a pox on organized religions.
I guess some people need a walking stick to get through life.
Pathetic!
Labor and Liberal must stop moonlighting with these sick fuckers.
I love you all my children. Be it gay, be it Islamic. Don’t you worry my darlings. I have a special placed reserved for this so called ‘Christian’ – in HELL.
Grade-A douchebag, and liar to boot…
“I’ve got nothing against gays”. Yeah, right you fucking liar.