WHAT CHRIST SAID WAS NOT JUST ABOUT FOOD - IT ALSO APPLIES TO SPIRITUAL CONSEQUENCES OF VACCINES!

There was a time when Jesus was chided by authorities for not washing hands! These authorities were not concerned about hygiene or virus control, they were concerned about spiritual purity. What Jesus said in response to them has powerful relevance for how some people feel about the spiritual implications surrounding the current corona-virus, the so-called covid “vaccines”, and how authorities are enacting alleged necessary lockdowns and travel restrictions to deal with it.

¶ Now when the Pharisees gathered to Him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of His disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.)
Mark 7:1-4a

Even though the conversation was about the ceremonial washing of hands, Jesus chose to state a principle by making a point about the eating of foods to show that spiritual defiling was not about what went into a person’s body that could defile a person’s soul, but what came out of their heart.

(And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” ¶ And He called the people to Him again and said to them, “Hear Me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”
Mark 7:4b-5; 14-15

 

THE PRINCIPLE FOR DEALING WITH COVID-19

For those concerned about the spiritual implications of the COVID-19 vaccinations, the point made by Christ is an important one. “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him!” (Mark 7:15) The principle that Jesus made clear was that the salvation of a person’s soul was not revoked because they put something physical (such as food, drink, or medication) into their body.

When Jesus spoke of having a relationship with God, He frequently spoke of it using food metaphors (a metaphor is a ‘word picture’ which represents something else). For example, Jesus described Himself as ‘bread’ —

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” ¶ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.
John 6:31-35

To be saved, which means to have your sins forgiven by God and to be reconciled to Him and to enter into eternal life beyond this life, involved ‘eating the Bread from Heaven’ Jesus said (John 6:51). This is celebrated and commemorated regularly by most Christian congregations every time they partake of Holy Communion together.

¶ And as they were eating, He took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is My body.”
Mark 14:22

Metaphors are a powerful way to communicate a truth and when used in the Bible they are obviously not meant to be understood in a wooden-literal sense – otherwise we would end up making some ridiculous interpretations of Scripture such as claiming that God was actually a rock (Psalm 18:2); a banner (Exo. 17:15); a cup (Psalm 16:5) a shield (Psalm 28:7); and, a fortress (2Sam. 22:2). But metaphors are not the only literary device used in the Bible to illustrate a truth. The Bible also uses types. A type is a pre-figure of something that could be a person, an event, a ceremony or a ritual, that will find its true significance in an ‘antitype’ person/event to occur in the future. The study of Biblical types is known as typology. For example, the Cross of Christ was pre-figured as a type in the annual ceremony called Yom Kippur (“the Day of Atonement”, Lev. 16:4-10). This is where two goats were brought before the High Priest and lots were cast to determine which one should be sacrificed and which one should be set free. The goat that was sacrificed for the sins of the people was a type of Christ. The goat that was set free was a type of those who put their faith and trust in Christ as their Saviour. 

Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel [‘the scape-goat’]. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
Leviticus 16:7-10

‘Marking’ in the Old Testament was a practice to be used to indicate which sheep from the flock belonged to the LORD (Lev. 27:32-33). A herdsman could also ‘mark’ additional sheep to be given to the Lord as an offering. This was a type, a prefiguring, of those whom the Lord was to redeem through Christ. Moses also commanded the Israelites to indicate their loyalty to the LORD by keeping a mark of their loyalty always on their hand, and between their eyes (Exo. 13:16). When Israel abandoned the LORD, Ezekiel the prophet was instructed by God to metaphorically ‘mark’ those who had not abandoned the LORD – 

And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”
Ezekiel 9:4

Israel’s lowest and darkest spiritual ebb was at the time when God sent His Son into the world (Gal. 4:4). Sadly, the religious leaders of Israel by this time had long abandoned the LORD. If there was ever any doubt about this, read what Christ said to them in Matthew 23! They looked religious, but there were hypocrites and apostates (those who have abandoned loyalty to God and His Word).

¶ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. ¶ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Matthew 24:25-28

Jesus particularly condemned the religious leaders encouraging people to wear ‘phylacteries’ (Mtt. 23:5) which was a small leather pouch tied around the hand or around the head in a wooden literal application of Exodus 13:16. In the closing book of the Bible, the Lord revealed to John that this practice, by those who were apostate Jews, had become a symbol of their rebellion to the Lord (Rev. 13:16-17) and had falsely become a prerequisite for them to enter into the temple to buy their sacrificial animals to partake in the Jewish religious ceremonies (from which the priests profited!). (Without this New Testament background knowledge to the Book of Revelation many people have made outlandish and highly speculative interpretations of what this ‘mark of the beast’ means! Refer to my article for more on this.)

 

DO CHRIST’S STATEMENTS ABOUT SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS OF EATING FOOD APPLY TO THE SPIRITUAL CONCERNS ABOUT THE COVID VACCINES?

Are those people who are objecting to the government measures to combat the effects of the COVID19 virus — including the various lockdowns, travel restrictions, and the push for people to be vaccinated doing so for biblical reasons? For some their resistance is caused by concerns about their governments becoming dictatorships by enforcing unnecessary lockdowns, restrictions, and compulsions. And they have a good point. Governments have been unable to demonstrate that such measures actually the achieve the positive outcomes they claimed would result.

POSTSCRIPT:

For others their concerns are with COVID vaccines. Are they safe? What are their long-term effects? Does it change our DNA? Do they contain a tracking-chip? We now know that the big pharmaceutical companies claimed that the mRNA injections were proven vaccines. But there were not. Tens of thousands of those “vaccinated” have suffered serious medical injuries - and many, have actually died after being vaccinated. Most of these negative effects of the mRNA vaccines were not reported by mainstream media outlets, and if anyone shared such things on social media, there posts removed and in many cases, their accounts were frozen. 

Both Kim and I have both been doubly vaccinated. We willingly check-in by QR code everywhere we go. We comply with all State and National Governments’ travel restrictions. We do all of this for the sake of our conscience as we strive to love God and, what we thought was, “to love others.” But the result was that Kim was blighted with a heart injury that continues to effect her. She now suffers from tachycardia. After my third mRNA jab, I had two brain haemorrhages, and a permanent and continual brain bleed which led to me being hospitalised - and then forced into involuntary and forced retirement. 

 May God be merciful and grant strength and protection to those who are on the frontline of combatting this global pandemic.

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION TO SOCIETY’S WOES

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION TO SOCIETY’S WOES

Dr. Louis Pasteur, Pioneer Biochemist

By the late nineteenth century, the rate of women dying during child-birth had reached epidemic proportions. Louis Pasteur proposed a simple solution and wrote it up as a scientific paper for medical doctors to consider and at least trial. But unfortunately, for the tens of thousands of women who died, they didn’t! Their main reason for rejecting it was that it was “too simple”! But by the early twentieth century the rate of women dying during child-birth had reached alarming heights. In desperation, someone read Pasteur’s paper and thought that it was at least worth a try. And it immediately and dramatically reduced the rate of birthing mother morbidity! Pasteur’s solution? Doctors and nurses need to wash their hands before they delivering a baby! Sometimes complex problems really do have simple solutions.

A photo of a sickly mother and baby taken in the 1890s. Both Mrs Gilmer and her baby died a few days after this photo was taken.

But oh, that God would speak and open His lips to you,
and that He would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For He is manifold in understanding.
Job 11:5-6a

Our society is also faced with seemingly complex problems. We have an alarmingly high rate of suicide, a growing alcohol/substance/drug abuse problem, a disgracefully high rate of domestic abuse, the highest rates of internet pornography ever, a disgracefully high rate of sexual abuse of women (note the recent #metoo movement) and children (note the recent Royal Commission in Australia), appallingly deteriorating mental health, and a rise in family breakdown and marital divorce. To make matters worse, many of those institutions which used to prevent or alleviate these problems are themselves in decline, struggling for resources, or closing. These include – various clubs, charities, and sadly, churches.

¶ “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.
Leviticus 25:35

Fortunately though, this is not our situation – which means that we are still equipped to help our society prevent or alleviate some of these ills it battles with. And while our society’s problems may seem too complex and too big to overcome, I hope to show you that the simple A.F.L. solution is precisely what our society needs (and is looking for) and it is the church which is actually best positioned to deliver it.

COMPLEX PROBLEMS ARE OFTEN SOLVED WITH SIMPLE SOLUTIONS 

The story goes that a town was having a continual problem with people being swept downstream its main river. At first it was just kind-hearted passers-by on their bush-walks who dived in to help the screaming person battling to avoid drowning. But there were so many of them, that the Council voted to employ a life guard and station them at the riverside. But soon he too was unable to keep up with the demand of saving drowning people being swept away to their deaths by the river. The Council voted to fund the building of a permanent ambulance station near the life-guard’s station to make things more efficient in getting the drowning victim to the hospital as quick as possible. But even more people had to be rescued. The Council decided to fund the building of a hospital next to the ambulance station to further improve efficiencies. They then hired a General Manager and an administrator to help run the precinct. Pretty soon though there were government funding cut-backs, so it was decided to make the life-guard’s position redundant so that the other positions could remain being funded. As the now retrenched life-guard gathered their things and headed up the river, they took a leisurely walk over the foot-bridge and noticed a $5 plank of wood was missing which is why all these tourists were falling into the river. After obtaining a replacement plank and installing it in the bridge, a government report later identified that the only cause they had been able to find for so many near-drowning victims was  the direct link to employing a life-guard since when his position became redundant the drowning incidents suddenly stopped! This is not meant to be a parable about how government works, rather, it is meant to highlight that by sometimes going “upstream” from a problem it is possible to find a very simple solution!

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Second Timothy 2:7

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION

I think we, our church, has something that we regularly enjoy and a vexed world desperately wants – and needs! I think the fact that we treat it all too casually at times, means that we don’t treasure it enough, or realise how much we should share it. In fact, we are sometimes so cavalier with these treasures that we leave them lying around gathering dust. Let me explain.

Everything we do as followers of Christ flows out of who Jesus is. 

¶ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,
Second Timothy 2:8

As we consider who Jesus is and His attributes of kindness, mercy, justice, intolerance of evil, deep spirituality, thankfulness, concern for the marginalised, compassion for the weak, and mercy for the broken, we too begin to develop these traits. I think we could classify nearly all of Christ’s attributes under these three headings: acceptance, forgiveness, and, love. I would conclude by highlighting what should be immediately obvious about these three groupings – that it is precisely the lack of these three qualities infiltrating the lives of every broken person in our society which is at the root of all society’s woes, despite society thinking they already enjoy them.  

By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35

HOW A.F.L. MEETS EVERY PERSON’S MOST BASIC NEEDS

Without genuine acceptance, people feel alone, misunderstood, rejected, and prone to social anxiety. Jesus accepted people – especially the outcast and marginalised. He demonstrated acceptance of people who had only every really experienced rejection for most of their lives. He went to the hiding demoniacs (Matt. 8:28). He waited in the heat of the day for the scorned woman – and talked freely with her (Jn 4). He honoured the prostitute who washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair (Luke 7). He touched the lepers who hadn’t been touched for so long (Lk. 7:22). Christ’s acceptance involved the giving of time, dialogue, and appropriate touch. The world offers fake acceptance when it confuses acceptance with endorsement. Christ’s acceptance of the woman caught in the act of adultery, did not involve accepting her as an adulteress but as a woman created in the image of God. Acceptance by Christ never involved Him tolerating a person’s sin.

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
John 8:10-11

We, the accepted by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s acceptance of those who feel lonely, ugly, awkward, unwanted, or unworthy.

Forgiving is confused by the world for acquitting. To be acquitted is to be found innocent. Christ does not find any of us innocent! This is why we each need His mercy which enables us to be pardoned. Without genuine forgiveness a person often just throws themself deeper into sin in the hope that it won’t hurt anymore. The final instalment of the Godfather movie Trilogy powerfully illustrates how futile this can be. The murderer is wracked with guilt so murders again and again and again all the while hoping that he won’t feel guilt anymore to no avail. 

We, the forgiven by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s forgiveness toward those who feel guilty, ashamed, unclean, or unworthy.

Love is a verb (a doing word) which produces a feeling. The world swaps these around and comes up empty every time. Consider First Corinthians 13:4-6. Count how many actions flow out of the decision to love are in that passage. The world confuses lust, infatuation, or desire for love, and then wonders why they “fall” in and out of it so often! Christ’s kind of love involves commitment and a cost. It is other-focussed. It is grounded in rightness, goodness, and truth, rather than mere attraction, lust, or desire. Christ’s cross is the ultimate example of love and we who have experienced Christ’s love cannot but help to have our hearts transformed and lives realigned to care for others in committed way that will cost us.

We, the loved by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s love toward those who feel empty, lost, unneeded, or unworthy.

Ordinarily I would close these weekly pastoral epistles by urging us to reflect each of these traits this Sunday. But there’s no time to waste. We need to commence right now – and keep doing them each Sunday for as long as there is breath in our lungs! The solution to society’s biggest, most complex ills, are as simple as A. F. L. – Acceptance | Forgiveness | Love.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Andrew

WE DON'T WRESTLE BUT WE DO WRESTLE

In Narnia, Winter had had come to stay. In Middle Earth, the shadows of darkness were casting their evil doom over the lands. This shadowy evil, administered by Wormtongue, had already poisoned and possessed the King of Rohan, Theoden, and caused him to be weak and powerless both in mind and soul. In Tasmania, the real Wormtongue has continued this Middle-Earth-like strategy of stupification by weakening the minds and souls of those, like Theoden, are supposed to govern for the welfare of those they are responsible for and to. It would be utterly foolish of those who have any genuine spiritual insight to be fooled into thinking that this current Tasmanian State Political agenda was anything other than a devilish strategy to destroy the lives of the vulnerable.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12

This invisible Wormtongue has craftily tricked his minions into utter delusion. Those of us who understand the ancient spiritual art of discernment, stand aghast at the bold yet ridiculous claims that black is white, murder is compassion, a baby is not human, gender has nothing to do with marriage, and good morals is a purely religious concept that has no place in a secular society. Whenever those who practice the ancient arts of discernment and objective wisdom raise concerns about this deadly trickery, the Wormtongue whispers into the inner ears of his underlings and his whisper is given voice:'These Christians belong to ancient past that has no place that has no place in our modern era...' 'These Christians are being arrogant for trying to force their ancient morals onto the rest of society...' 'These Christians are largely comprised of grey-haired middle-aged men, therefore they should be ignored...'

¶ God-devotion makes a country strong;
God-avoidance leaves people weak.
Proverbs 14:34, THE MESSAGE

Those who hold to ancient (even eternal) truths and practise the other ancient of art of case-making are mocked, ridiculed, and maligned. Wormtongue knows that his agenda of death cannot be made to sound reasoned or reasonable unless he plays some sophisticated (literally) word games and delivers some fanciful stories. Thus, murder, which has always been universally regarded as an act of evil, is deliberately lost in the discussion as Wormtongue instead prefers to refer to it as compassion. Compassion?! The very word means to journey with someone in pain ('com'= with + 'passion'= pain) yet Wormtongue's other diabolical strategy of Schooling Rather Than Educating almost guarantees that most people can't detect his hideous ruse with the language.

¶ Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
First Chronicles 21:1

Tasmania is beset with several serious crises. Theses include: Australia's highest unemployment rate; the nation's worst educational outcomes (including the nation's worst literacy and numeracy standards); the lowest level of private sector investment; the nation's highest suicide rate of 15-24 year olds; the nation's lowest incomes (per capita); the nation's highest welfare dependency rates; the highest rates of personal indebtedness; the highest rates of family breakdown; and the nation's worst health outcomes. Any government faced with such urgent social and economic emergencies would be forgiven for doing all it could to focus its energies on solving them. But Wormtongue has somehow managed to dupe the agenda-makers into promoting the very cause of these despicable blights with yet another word-game - calling his grand agenda "socially progressive" (when it is in fact, extremely socially regressive!).

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Second Corinthians 11:14

Wormtongue hates it when the Church stands up to him. He will ventriliquise his tired old mantras, 'Christians should say out of politics!' 'How does any of this hurt you!' through his puppets. And just to further distract everybody, he begins to tell exceptional stories. These are stories of people who are happy to be murdered, or happy to end the life of the babies, or happy offended that the rest of us will not accept that square are not round (since none us wants to 'offend' anyone). Meanwhile those who practice the ancient spiritual art of wisdom know full well that lies are being told and that exceptional stories do not form the basis of public policy for the greater good of all.

so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Second Corinthians 2:11

It may be Wormtongue's weakest and most pathetic reason for justifying his insidious agenda of non-life, but he still promotes it whenever he senses it will go unchallenged. It sounds like this- But how does it hurt you? (As if our individual pain is the basis for what makes for good legislation). Of course, abortion, euthanasia and calling same-gendered relationships: marriage, doeshurt/affect/impact us all. And it does so in at least three ways. To illustrate with some real stories, I offer the following.

The New Mexico Civil Rights Commission found a Christian photographer guilty of sexual orientation discrimination for declining to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony. The photographer has been fined $6,637.94.

The state of New Jersey revoked the tax exemption status of a Methodist church for refusing to allow two lesbians to perform a civil union ceremony on its grounds (the site has hosted church and worship services for 139 years). The state agreed with lawyers who said the church is guilty of discrimination and "could no more refuse to accommodate the lesbians than a restaurant owner could refuse to serve a black man."

Two obstetricians in North County, San Diego declined to artificially inseminate an unmarried woman for religious reasons. Lambda Legal, a gay-only issues version of the ACLU, sued the two Christian doctors for religiously motivated discrimination because the woman was a lesbian. The case has been dragged through the California legal system for the last five years.

In Canada, where same-sex laws have been around, the assault on religious liberty is even greater. Because he wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper opposing same-sex legislation, Pastor Stephen Boission was fined $5,000 and told to "cease publishing in newspapers, by email, on the radio, in public speeches, or on the internet, in future, disparaging remarks about gays and homosexuals." In other words, he is silenced from his free speech rights, forever. He can't even publish his own opinions on homosexuality on his website – they'll be removed.
Same-Sex Marriage: How It Will Affect You, Alan Shlemon

How will Wormtongue's socially regressive policies of non-life affect each of us? They affect us by -
(i) Our individual liberties; (ii) Our parental rights and liberties; and, (iii) Our religious liberties (as some of the stories above illustrate). Whenever legislators formulate any public policy into legislation, they must do the greatest good for the greatest number. None of the current non-life policy agendas satisfy this criteria. With so many pressing problems bearing down on our State, withstanding them is not merely an ancient Christian response (which it is), it is also a decent humanitarian response. Because Christians especially care for the whole person - not just their "soul" - but their physical, mental, social, AND spiritual well-being, we dare to withstand Wormtongue and his liegemen.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
First Peter 5:8-9

It's why we see teaching children to read, write, calculate, reason, and create as a vocation, not merely a profession. It's why we see tending the sick, frail, injured, or dependent, as a vocation, not merely a profession. It's why we see those who manufacture, produce, farm, mine, and create, as being in a vocation not merely a job. And it's why we see those in politics as removing the obstacles for people in these various vocations from fulfilling their callings. This is why we wrestle.

¶ "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
¶ "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16

Our wrestling is not to be thought of as merely tackling Wormtongue's vassals on their turf - no, we wrestle Wormtongue in a different realm. This realm is not some fanciful Narnia or Middle-Earth, but where each of us live work and recreate. Yet the result of our wrestling prayers, prophetic utterances, preaching, teaching, witnessing, reasoning, and worship of the One True God, is that the Enemy's minions are thwarted in carrying out their Master's schemes. As we take our stand, our grander and truer mission of seeing the people we care about hear and receive the eternal message of God's redeeming love through Christ is all the more likely when the truth is more widely published. We wrestle not (against flesh and blood) but we do wrestle.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil...praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

Ephesians 6:11, 18-19

Ps. Andrew

The Duty of Legislators

DEVELOPING REASONABLE
PUBLIC POLICY

By Dr Andrew Corbett, September 28th 2012

Legislators are charged with an office to formulate and review public policy as it potentially becomes legislation. They must consider arguments for and against each piece of potential legislation in order to discharge their office. Classically, there are six filters that must be passed in order for an idea to be considered 'logical'. These are listed and briefly described below and followed by the three general categories of all legislation which should be used to determine public policy.

1. Distinguish the rhetoric from the reason.

"Rhetoric" sounds good. It employs emotive language designed to move a listener. It connects the speaker with their audience by using experiences common to us all.

Examples-

"It is my firm conviction that…"
"I find this proposal to be the most offensive and dangerous idea that I have ever heard…"
"To go ahead with this would hurt the feelings of a good many people…"
"We must do this!"
"The time for change is now! … The time for this idea has now come."
"Even the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of England support this…"

None of the above examples convey a reason though. Distinguishing rhetoric from reason involves answering the why question. A reason may not be good, strong, or popular, but it may still be right.

2. Ground a moral decision.

Moral decisions determine what is right ("moral") and what is wrong ("immoral"). As such, every legislative decision is a moral decision. The question isn't whether legislators can legislate morality, the question is whose morality will they legislate? Natural Law Theory is the idea that just as there are certain physical laws which govern the universe (Gravity, Decay Rates, Newtonian, Speed of Light) there are also certain appreciable moral laws which govern human conduct. Professor J. Budziszewski (Professor of Government & Philosophy, University of Austen Texas) points out in his book, What We Can't Not Know, that these Natural Laws are readily identifiable, widely acknowledged, and timeless. The Natural Law is frequently encoded by most religions into their ethical frameworks and is often confused with "religion". Metaphorically, it serves as the 'horizon' for an aircraft pilot. Remove sight of the 'horizon' and a pilot can not always be certain which way is up and which way is down. For those who claim that morality is relative, we are left wondering, relative to what? Morality needs to grounded beyond the whims of public opinion, fashion, or a legislator's personal preference.

3. Establish the connection between an idea, a premise, and a conclusion.

A logical reason is grounded in an idea which has a premise that leads to a conclusion which follows. Some ideas masquerade as logical reasons but have a faulty or an unrelated conclusion. An example of faulty logical reasoning-

IDEA: This group of people should be granted this privilege.
PREMISE: Not giving everyone the same privilege is discrimination.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, everyone should be given this privilege.

Analysis-
The idea, "This group of people should be granted this privilege" does not answer the why question. Why should this people be granted this privilege? Apart from being inadequate, this idea is also faulty because it confuses a "privilege" with a "right". A privilege is by its very nature only granted to some. It is a privilege for someone from outside of Australia to be granted entrance to Australia. It is a privilege for any immigrant to be granted Australian citizenship - not a right.

The premise, "Not giving everyone the same privilege is discrimination" is a faulty premise for two immediate reasons. Firstly, a privilege is only a privilege if it discriminates. It is a privilege to be awarded a Knighthood from the Queen - but it necessarily results in most people not being granted a Knighthood. Secondly, the term discrimination is misapplied in this instance. Discrimination may be reasonable and fair. When it is, it is generally referred to as differentiating, or, distinguishing. Discrimination is only unreasonable and unfair when it can be demonstrated that a Natural or deserved right has been violated. This might be the case when one suitably qualified employee among several is not considered for a promotion because of their colour of their skin.

The Conclusion, does not follow on from either the idea or the premise. Many policy agendas have an unreasoned idea, a faulty premise, and a conclusion that is without logical support.

Example-

IDEA: Not giving coloured people or women the vote was wrong.
PREMISE: Not allowing Same-Sex Marriage for homosexuals is like not giving coloured people or women the vote.
CONCLUSION: Coloured people and women now have the vote, therefore same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

This syllogism is quite illogical because it confuses something that is intrinsic to something, with something that is not intrinsic with something. Voting is intrinsic to democracy.

4. Distinguish the who from the what.

Some ideas are rejected not because of the idea, but because of who proposed the idea. Rejection of a person's idea is often done in the form of ridicule. Name-calling and labelling are tell-tale signs that there has been a failure to distinguish between what an argument is, and who is making the argument. Rather than dismissing an argument as "the rantings of an extreme right-wing / left-wing fool", the idea's logical validity should itself be what's considered. Rejecting an idea because of its genesis rather than its merits is referred to as the Genetic Fallacy.

5. Discern fact from opinion.

A fact is verifiable and usually demonstrable. A "fact" is the appropriate response to the question- How do you know this? When a person's response does not adequately answer this question it may be that they have stated their opinion about a matter rather than given a fact to substantiate their idea.

Example-

"Our society is ready for this social change."
"One day we will colonise Mars."
"I believe people are born homosexual."
"If two people really love each other their relationship is equal to any other."
"The unborn are not fully human."
"You cannot impose your views on another."

The above statements could all be factual if they have a supporting set of facts to undergird them. Facts must be verifiable, non-contradictory, and demonstrable.

6. Avoid identifying motive.

Some people reject an idea because they feel that the motive behind the idea is disagreeable. The problem here is that it is next to impossible to fully know another person's motive for their idea. To assume knowledge of another person's motive is often considered arrogant and reveals a shallow ability to respond to the idea itself.

Examples-

"You think this because…"
"I know why you want this…"
"You are hateful…"
"You promote this idea because…"

But these six filters are not the exclusive responsibility of legislators. Whenever we hear a politician or an activist promoting an idea, we should filter our response to this idea at least through these six filters. By doing this we may more readily recognise an illogical idea and treat it appropriately. For example, when a politician says, "This is the right thing to do", he rarely demonstrates why it is the right thing to do - other than with a cliché that satisfies those not acquainted with thinking more deeply. This contrasts with, "This is the right thing to do because we can demonstrate that it will save lives" was the reasoning behind the legislation to make seat-belts in cars compulsory, and this simple reasoning was validated and the legislation passed. "They did not vote for this legislation because these politicians are out-of-touch with the rest of society" is not a logical idea. It violates the principle of Avoid Identifying Motive. "Because of a small group of white, middle-aged men, this legislation did not get up!" is not a logical idea because it commits the Genetic Fallacy of confusing the who with the what.

THE THREE CATEGORIES OF PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERED FOR LEGISLATION

If a public policy idea passes through these six filters of reasonableness, it then must be determined into of these three general categories it falls.

1. Promotion

That which can be demonstrated is in the public benefit should be promoted and invoke certain privileges. For example, it can be easily demonstrated that children always fair best when raised by their married biological parents in a low-conflict loving home. There is great benefit to a society in having well-reared children. Therefore, biological married parents should be granted certain privileges in legislation to promote this.

2. Permission

Some legislation will permit some things which although not in a society's beneficial welfare would be too cumbersome to either regulate or prevent. Various levels of legislative deterrents may be used instead, such as Taxation laws. For example, smoking. It is clearly not in the public benefit. Prohibiting it now would be extremely costly and impractical to enforce. Thus, most Australian States have legislated for smoking to be permitted but highly regulated.

Some relationships are not morally acceptable but do not warrant legislative prohibition - but neither should they be privileged.

3. Prohibition

It is necessary for legislators to enact some laws which prohibit certain activities. This is necessary even when enforcement of these laws is (at times) impractical. For example, murder. Murder is clearly not in the public benefit. Laws prohibiting murder serve to restrain this immoral behaviour to some extent and constrain civility within a society. Yet, laws prohibiting murder do not prevent some immoral people from still committing murder. But murder is so heinous that despite the difficulties with enforcing the laws against it, it is still enforced. There are some relationships that are so immoral that the State legislates to prohibit them because the welfare of those involved is harmed. One example of this would be a paedophiliac relationship where young children were being sexually abused. The State has legislated to intervene in such instances and remove the child involved and charge the perpetrator with criminal charges.

After legislators have evaluated the reasonableness of a policy idea for its logical rigour and found it worthing of enacting, they must determine it should be promote, permit, or prohibit certain behaviour.

Dr. Andrew Corbett
28th September 2012
www.findingtruthmatters.org