Australia elected a Pentecostal Prime Minister.

creslaw

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As an Australian I am overjoyed that Scott Morrison has been elected Prime Minister in the election held on Saturday. He is a member of Horizon Church (https://horizonchurchsydney.com) which is part of Australian Christian Churches (formerly known as AOG). This is a first for Australia and I am wondering if Morrison might be the first active member of a Pentecostal church elected to lead a country.

ScoMo as he is affectionately known is the man with raised hand wearing glasses.

Scomo3.jpg
 

creslaw

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I'd like to add that Scott Morrison's religious faith has been mocked by many on the Left on social media and also in the msm. All the polls for the last 2 years had favoured the opposition (ie Labor, read Democrats) and most pundits said it was an unwinnable election. However they were wrong! In his speech claiming victory Morrison said "I have always believed in miracles" and many Christians believe God intervened to honor his public stand for Biblical Christianity.
 
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creslaw

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Religion has no place in politics. We are secular nations because we have people of all faiths and none living in our countries.
The political process cannot and should not be used to impose religious beliefs on people but all politicians have moral values that guide their decision making. People form values from many different sources - family, ideology, philosophy, religion are just some.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…."
 
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Kerensa

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Ummm... Scott Morrison has actually been Prime Minister of Australia since last year. It's the first time he's won a general election, but he's not new to the role.

It's also highly unlikely that his religion had anything much to do with him winning the election, as far as most voters are concerned. Religion doesn't play a significant role in Australian public life in general, let alone in politics. We (I'm Australian) have a strict separation of church and state, and the vast majority of us — including those who are practising Christians — wouldn't want it any other way. I definitely wouldn't.

Also, the way our voting system works, we're ultimately voting parties, not people, into power. We don't have a directly elected head of state. Scott Morrison is simply the leader of the party that most people voted for. If he loses the support of his political colleagues, he can be dropped from leadership and another top party member would then become Prime Minister (without any public election) — which has happened several times in the last couple of decades in Australian politics. That's how Morrison became PM in the first place, actually.

What I'm saying is, the fact that Morrison's party has been re-elected doesn't mean the majority of Australian people have suddenly become fans of "Biblical Christianity" (whatever that is). Knowing Australia and Australians, I can assure you that's extremely unlikely. It just means he and his party are more popular — or less unpopular — than the current opposition. That's all. And I really wouldn't go so far as to suggest it was by special intervention of God. :confused:o_O
 
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creslaw

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Ummm... Scott Morrison has actually been Prime Minister of Australia since last year. It's the first time he's won a general election, but he's not new to the role.

It's also highly unlikely that his religion had anything much to do with him winning the election, as far as most voters are concerned. Religion doesn't play a significant role in Australian public life in general, let alone in politics. We (I'm Australian) have a strict separation of church and state, and the vast majority of us — including those who are practising Christians — wouldn't want it any other way. I definitely wouldn't.

Also, the way our voting system works, we're ultimately voting parties, not people, into power. We don't have a directly elected head of state. Scott Morrison is simply the leader of the party that most people voted for. If he loses the support of his political colleagues, he can be dropped from leadership and another top party member would then become Prime Minister (without any public election) — which has happened several times in the last couple of decades in Australian politics. That's how Morrison became PM in the first place, actually.

What I'm saying is, the fact that Morrison's party has been re-elected doesn't mean the majority of Australian people have suddenly become fans of "Biblical Christianity" (whatever that is). Knowing Australia and Australians, I can assure you that's extremely unlikely. It just means he and his party are more popular — or less unpopular — than the current opposition. That's all. And I really wouldn't go so far as to suggest it was by special intervention of God. :confused:o_O
Many commentators have noted that the personalities of the two leaders were quite significant in this election, the first time the government under Scott Morrisons leadership has faced the voting public.

I was not suggesting that most voters were swayed by Morrison's religion but it was a factor in attacks on him by those on the the Left because he was very open about his faith (Biblical Christianity is faith based on the authority of the Bible - interpretations differ but it is accepted that Scripture is divinely inspired).

Many Christians believe there is a spiritual dimension in the affairs of humans (Romans 13:1, 1 Timothy 2:1-2) and that God has an unfolding plan. Whether one can accept divine intervention, this result was very unexpected by almost everyone. Even the usually reserved ABC is using words like extraordinary, phenomenal & "miracle".
 
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Kerensa

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I was not suggesting that most voters were swayed by Morrison's religion but it was a factor in attacks on him by those on the the Left because he was very open about his faith (Biblical Christianity is faith based on the authority of the Bible - interpretations differ but it is accepted that Scripture is divinely inspired).

Many Christians believe there is a spiritual dimension in the affairs of humans (Romans 13:1, 1 Timothy 2:1-2) and that God has an unfolding plan. Whether one can accept divine intervention, this result was very unexpected by almost everyone. Even the usually reserved ABC is using words like extraordinary, phenomenal & "miracle".

Actually, both the ABC and the BBC give a well-reasoned analysis of the victory that shows it wasn't completely unexpected and neither report even hints that any higher power was involved, funnily enough. (And "miracle" is used by both only in quotation marks, which indicates that it's simply quoting what others have claimed and the reporters themselves are not suggesting it's true.)

I haven't lived in Australia for some years and I honestly don't know whether "ScoMo" is good, bad or indifferent as a PM, but I can't see any particular reason to believe God put him in that position. If God literally does ordain the various rulers and leaders of the world (and yes, I know many people in Biblical times believed that and some still do), I can only say there have been quite a few in history that would rather call His judgment into question — which is why I don't believe in that idea and nor do the vast majority of modern-day Christians (and other people of faith) that I've ever met.
 
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creslaw

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Actually, both the ABC and the BBC give a well-reasoned analysis of the victory that shows it wasn't completely unexpected and neither report even hints that any higher power was involved, funnily enough. (And "miracle" is used by both only in quotation marks, which indicates that it's simply quoting what others have claimed and the reporters themselves are not suggesting it's true.)
I put miracle in quotation marks to show it was being used in a secular way - it was a verbal comment by Barrie Cassidy on tonight's ABC Insiders program where the words extraordinary & phenomenal were also used.

I'm afraid you have missed the reporting that says the result was very unexpected.

"Nearly all polls predicted Bill Shorten would have an easy win with a 51:49 lead over Prime Minister Scott Morrison on a two-party preferred basis.
In fact, for two years the polls had picked the Opposition to take government."
How the polls got it so wrong predicting a Labor victory

I haven't lived in Australia for some years and I honestly don't know whether "ScoMo" is good, bad or indifferent as a PM, but I can't see any particular reason to believe God put him in that position. If God literally does ordain the various rulers and leaders of the world (and yes, I know many people in Biblical times believed that and some still do), I can only say there have been quite a few in history that would rather call His judgment into question — which is why I don't believe in that idea and nor do the vast majority of modern-day Christians (and other people of faith) that I've ever met.

That is the reason I referred to "Biblical Christianity". I am aware liberal Christians do not place as much literal authority on the words of the Bible. Most Pentecostal churches do.

Think about this: Did God allow the Romans to rule Judea so they could kill Jesus? Was it the Father's will for Jesus to die on the cross? (Matthew 26:39) (Psalms 22:16)
 
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Kerensa

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Yes, of course it was God's will for Jesus to die on the cross. Which means it would have happened regardless of which human government was in power at the time. I'm not a liberal Christian, by the way, or a conservative one — just a Christian. :)
 
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creslaw

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Yes, of course it was God's will for Jesus to die on the cross. Which means it would have happened regardless of which human government was in power at the time. I'm not a liberal Christian, by the way, or a conservative one — just a Christian. :)
Think about why it was important that Jesus not be stoned to death but rather be crucified on the cross, a Roman form of killing. The Messianic Psalms foretold Jesus form of death in considerable detail, especially Psalm 22.

And the reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem was because "there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed" (Luke 2:1) - this was because it had been prophesied (Matthew 2:4-5).

I am not questioning whether you are a Christian, I am simply saying some Christians (such as Pentecostals) believe in the literal authority of the Bible.
 
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