I’ve started reading our book of the month, ‘Being the Bad Guys’ by Stephen McAlpine, and it’s reminded me of just how much our society has changed in its attitude to religious people.

There was a time when we were tolerated for being nice, and maybe useful, but then before too long, we started to be seen as restricting the freedoms of our society with our views.

The book reminds me of the strategy that we adopted, where we thought that we could now become one of many voices in the marketplace of ideas, finally having the chance for our views to rise like cream to the surface.

However, that’s not happened: we’ve become the ‘bad guys’, and far too often, we and others have become ‘cancelled’.

Whether or not people think that Christians are wise or dangerous, I believe that silencing the voices of opposing views is something that our society should resist at all costs.

We should be pleased to tolerate the views of people we disagree with, so that we can be humble enough to learn from others.

That is a healthy society, and this genuine tolerance needs to be encouraged at every level.

That’s why the Religious Discrimination Bill that was introduced this week in Federal Parliament is so important for atheists and believers, alike.

Our society needs to restrain its natural desire to ‘cancel’ opposing views at the drop of a hat, and to instead allow different voices to speak in a safe way.

Furthermore, it makes perfect sense to continue to legally protect the choice of religious schools to employ staff who share the beliefs and ethos of their faith.

This bill appears to be a sensible move forward for our nation, especially as we continue to become more and more multicultural and diverse in our land.

Let us pray that our nation would listen to each other, and ultimately, speak the truth in love.

JODIE McNEILL 

On Wednesday I met ‘Marie’, a six-year old mannequin who had ‘jumped’ into the river near Jerrara Dam to escape a pretend bushfire.

It was part of an Illawarra Shoalhaven Health training exercise, which included NSW Ambulance staff as well as our local,

Jamberoo Rural Fire Brigade, of which I was a part.

As part of the afternoon scenario, I was first on scene, providing first aid care for this hyper-real dummy, made more real by the paediatric specialist hiding in the bushes, ‘speaking’ on behalf of the little girl… “where’s my daddy? I’m cold! I’m scared!”

It was a great relief when the paramedics arrived on scene to take over from my feeble attempts to administer first aid to the nearly-drowned girl, and it showed me afresh the skill and care that our medical experts provide for our community every

day.
Again, it showed that life is unpredictable and fragile.

Any day at any time we may face death, and so we must all be prepared for the time when we will stand face-to-face before Jesus.

I take great comfort in knowing that I have certainty for eternity, because I have trusted in Jesus and have sure forgiveness from him because he died for me.

It’s something that is on offer to anyone who wants it.

This week I also met with the family of a man who passed away aged 91, as I helped comfort them and prepare a funeral service with them to honour him.
He was old and had plenty of time to plan and consider eternity.

The six-year-old girl who nearly drowned in the RFS scenario could have died much younger, and with fewer opportunities to stop and reflect on eternity.

My prayer is that everyone, young and old, would stop and reflect upon the fragility of life, and make sure that we’ve followed Jesus before it’s too late.

JODIE McNEILL