Is Australia becoming a nation of whiners? The third survey of opinions on tax – for 2012 by Per Capita shows more of us believe we pay too much tax in a system that is less fair. Per Capita says Australia has the fifth lowest tax burden of the 34 OECD countries, only higher than South Korea, Chile, the US and Mexico, and yet 50% of us believe we are 'over-taxed', up from 44% in 2010. And the proportion of people who think they pay too much tax increases as income increases.

[Source: Money Magazine, May 2013 – Issue 156]

 

Barna Report: In the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombings, the attention of the media and the American public quickly turned toward the faith and political background of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Reporters honed in on Tamerlan’s apparently deep Muslim faith, especially analyzing if that faith had become radicalized in the last few years. Fair or not, pundits, experts, and the American public wondered—did the faith of the two alleged bombers have anything to do with the atrocity that occurred? If so, what did that mean?

It was yet another instance of American ideals and radical Islam clashing with one another. Since September 11, 2001, American attitudes toward the religion of Islam have been under increased investigation. Controversies surrounding al Qaeda action around the world (such as the recent attempt in Canada), the Ground Zero Mosque, the protests over the film The Innocence of Muslims, Pastor Terry Jones threatening to burn a Quran, or any number of proposed laws (like the one in Oklahoma) to ban Sharia Law in the United States, have all entered into the collective American consciousness. So what does America think about Islam?

A recent Barna study suggests one-third of Americans (33%) have a favorable perception of Islam, while slightly more (36%) say they have an unfavorable perception of the religion. Add to that the 31% who don’t know what they think about Islam, and you have a nation decidedly divided on how to deal with a religion that includes 1.57 billion followers worldwide.

Perceptions of Islam
Americans of all ages are fairly split on how they perceive Islam, though the general trend reveals older Americans have a less positive impression of the faith of Muslims. Only 5% of Elders—adults who are 67 or older—say they have a “very favorable” perception of Islam, compared to 14% of Mosaics—ages 18 to 28—who say the same. About one in five Elders also say they have a “very unfavorable” perception of Islam (21%), while less than one in eight Mosaics feel that way (13%).

There is also a political divide that defines people’s perception of Islam. In Barna’s research, the only group with a lower response of “very favorable” than Elders were people who identify as Republican. Half of political conservatives (50%) say they have at least a somewhat unfavorable perception of Islam, while only about in five (22%) political liberals say the same.

Religious ideology and affiliation also affects one’s perception of Islam. Evangelical Christians have the most unfavorable perception of Islam, with two-thirds of evangelicals saying they have an unfavorable impression (62%), and with four in ten evangelicals holding a very unfavorable perception (39%). Only one-fifth of evangelicals say they maintain a favorable view of Islam (22%). Conversely, only 7% of agnostics and people who identify with no faith say they have a very unfavorable view of Islam, and 17% say they have a very favorable view of the religion. In between these groups, about one-fifth of non-evangelical born again Christians say they have a very unfavorable view of Islam (20%)

Clergy Views of Islam
If religiously active Americans perceive Islam negatively, skepticism toward the Islamic faith is even deeper among Protestant faith leaders. In a separate Barna survey of pastors, almost three-quarters of Protestant clergy (72%) expressed critical views of Islam—saying they have somewhat or very unfavorable perceptions of the religion. According to the survey, pastors of mainline denominations tend to have a more favorable perception of Islam compared to other Christian leaders, with 68% reporting either a somewhat or very favorable perception of the Muslim faith. Non-mainline and Southern Baptist pastors have the most negative perceptions of Islam, with 85% and 92%, respectively, telling Barna Group they have either somewhat or very unfavorable perceptions of Islam.

Violence and Islam
Much of Americans’ concern over Islam has been a perception of violence. While more than half of American adults (53%) believe Islam is essentially a peaceful religion, a substantial minority—more than one in four of all Americans (26%)—associate Islam with violence, saying “Islam is essentially a violent religion.” Another one-fifth of respondents say they are not sure how to answer this question, which underscores that even while most Americans have come to a point of view on Islam, the jury is still out for millions of others

Among religious groups, the perception differs from group to group. While less than half of Protestant pastors (45%) agree with the statement “Islam is essentially a violent religion,” more than half of evangelicals (52%) say they agree with that statement. That percentage drops down to less than one-in-three (30%) when surveying non-evangelical born again Christians, and 26% of Catholics agree with the statement linking Islam and violence. An even smaller percentage of people (20%) who claim no faith (or are agnostic) say they agree with the same statement.

Only a little more than one in four evangelicals (27%) agree with the inverse statement, “Islam is essentially a peaceful religion,” while 62% of people with no faith or who are agnostic agree with that statement. Nearly half of non-evangelical born again Christians (47%) say they agree with the link between peace and Islam, and more than half of Catholics (59%) say the same. Of all Protestant pastors, well over half (62%) disagree that Islam is essentially a peaceful religion.

Politically, conservatives generally seem to believe Islam to be a more violent religion than do liberals. Nearly half of political conservatives (45%) agree with the statement “Islam is essentially a violent religion,” compared to 19% of moderates and 15% of liberals. Over three-quarters of people (79%) who identify as political liberals say they believe “Islam is essentially a peaceful religion,” compared with the 40% of conservatives who say the same.

There is also a steady uptick in agreement with the statement “Islam is essentially a violent religion” as responders get older—Elders are the most likely to agree with the statement (31% of these respondents agreed) while Mosaics are the least likely (20% agreed).

Is Peace Possible?
Three-quarters of all Americans (75%) believe “peace between Christianity and Islam is possible,” and that optimism plays out among the various demographic breakdowns as well. Even though nearly three-quarters of evangelicals (74%) believe that Islam is “anti-Christian,” Barna researchers found that seven in ten evangelical Christians believe peace between Christians and Muslims is possible. A full 85% of Mosaics believe peace between Christians and Muslims is conceivable, though only 63% of Elders say the same. That divide is echoed in the political realm, where 85% of liberals believe there is the possibility of peace between Christians and Muslims, compared to only 64% of conservatives who agree

Peoples’ view of Islam and hope for peace may be colored by attacks like the Boston marathon and 9/11 and the global reaction to Innocence of Muslims, which many people are willing to attribute to extremists. Nearly seven in ten Americans (68%) agree that extremists have unfairly distorted people’s perceptions of Islam (only 15% of Americans disagree)—it’s a sentiment held by the majority of liberals (86%) and conservatives (61%).

With a Muslim population in the United States estimated by some sources to be as large as seven million people, and as events across the Muslim world continue to touch American lives, public perception of Islam in the U.S. is an increasingly important religious indicator. David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, commented on the findings. “The study raises questions for Christians in America. While Muslims remain a very small part of the entire U.S. population, the world is shrinking in many ways. Events like those in Boston focus the public’s attention on Islam. Increasing immigration of Muslims into the country changes population densities. The Internet and social media bring human beings of different faiths and contexts into closer digital proximity. And the implications of events in predominantly Muslim nations, including the Middle East, affect millions around the world. For example, how do U.S. Christians help support persecuted Christians who live in other countries, without demonizing Muslims at the same time?

“Christians don’t have to give up on their faith convictions, yet it is important to live and work compassionately and graciously with members of the second largest religion in the world. Some of the public’s response to the Boston attacks showed how easy it is to lump people into a group labeled as different and dangerous. Yet, it is important to see the human beings behind the Islamic label while discerning the fundamental differences between following Christ and Mohammed.”

[Source] 

A well-written article by Greg Boyd, worth re-posting:

To no one’s surprise, yet to the sadness of many of us, several Christian spokespeople, including James Dobson, Mike Huckabee and Bryan Fischer, are blaming the shootings in Newtown, Conn, on abortion and gay marriage. This is sadly reminiscent of Jerry Falwell’s hurtful response to 9/11 when he divined that “the pagans,” “abortionists,” “feminists,” “gays,” “lesbians,” “ACLU” and “People For the American Way” were to be blamed. It’s reminiscent as well, on a smaller scale, of John Piper’s disturbing public declaration that the collapse of the 35W bridge here in Minneapolis that killed 13 people was God warning us about our sin and the toppling of a church steeple by a tornado was God warning a denomination not to ordain gays.

It seems to have become a staple of American conservative Christianity to respond to tragedy – when people most need to be reminded of God’s comforting and healing love – to grab a megaphone and accuse.

How very different is the posture that the NT teaches God’s people to have. When Jesus confronted people who claimed to discern the punishing hand of God in the face of tragedy, he rebuked them by telling them to worry about their own relationship with God (Luke 13:1-5). He taught us to never look for specks in other people’s eyes, because we have planks sticking out of our own (Matthew 7:1-3). Whatever sin we think we discern in another person, in other words, we should regard it as a mere dust particle compared to our own plank.

Reflecting the same humble mindset, Paul taught us “a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance” by everybody: namely, that “Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). Knowing that we are all sinners in desperate need of a savior, we should each confess that we are the worst of sinners. It would never occur to someone who took these teachings of Jesus and Paul seriously to ever try to put the blame for a tragedy – or even a damaged church steeple – on someone else’s sin!

I’m reminded of Paul’s beautiful teaching that God “reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” He then fleshes out what this means when he repeats: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them, [a]nd he has given us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). In other words, God handed over to us the wonderful assignment to manifest his love and saving work by never counting people’s sins against them! Our job is to do the exact opposite of what Satan, the Accuser (Revelation 12:9) does. From the garden, to Job, to the end of the age, he holds people’s sin against them and inspires to do the same. All who follow Jesus are called to engage in warfare against this enemy of humanity by manifesting the loving attitude of Jesus when he offered up his life to free all from their sin, praying for our forgiveness with his last breath (Luke 23:34).

I don’t doubt the sincerity of those who respond to tragedy by pointing fingers. But I want to, in love, warn them that in pointing fingers, they’re unwittingly aligning themselves on the side of the cosmic finger-pointer.

For my two cents, I’d much rather find myself on the side of the one who died to end all finger-pointing.

[Source]

The following article is the from the Barna Group web site …

November 5, 2012 – Compared to the days leading up to 2008, when Barack Obama was a frontrunner and poised to make inroads among Christian voters, the 2012 presidential race remains without a clear leader. Yet most voters place a high urgency on tomorrow’s outcome: Two-thirds of all likely voters (67%) perceive the 2012 election to be one of the most important races in the past 50 years.

From the early primaries through the debates, Barna Group has been tracking the public perceptions of the candidates and the key issues. Here is a look at some of the factors that will affect people’s votes.

Top Candidate Influencers
Of all the factors likely voters will consider when choosing our next president, each candidate’s positions on specific policy issues will be the single most important component for their choice,according to a Barna survey of likely voters. More than four out of five (83%) said that positions on the issues are the most important factor in their decision of which candidate to support on Election Day. The issues that are of greatest significance are health care and tax policy.

The second most common factor that voters will examine when making their candidate selection is the character of the men running. Half of all likely voters (51%) listed this as a key matter for them.

Less common factors that will influence people’s choice of candidate include the party affiliation of the candidates (listed by 17% of likely voters); the political experience of the candidates (16%); the candidates’ religious faith (14%); their educational background (6%); their speaking ability (3%); personality (2%); endorsements received (1%); their age (1%); and their physical appearance (less than 1%). Of course, survey respondents may not be fully aware of the factors that influence their presidential selections; however, the research helps to illuminate how they think about their electoral mindset.

Though evangelicals’ top candidate influencers are generally in line with the rest of the population they are much more likely than other voters to consider a candidate’s religious faith to be a motivating factor. Half of evangelicals (50%) listed that as a critical insight compared to just one-quarter of non-evangelical born again voters (23%), and by less than one out of every twenty other voters.

The Key Issues
If a candidate’s stand on key issues is the single most important factor for voters, what are these key issues people care about? The answer to that question depends in part on the person's spiritual leanings. A nationwide survey by Barna Group, conducted among people likely to vote in November's election, indicates that the worldview of different religious segments of the population significantly impacts the issues they care about the most.

Among all likely voters, regardless of their faith inclinations, the most influential issues are health care (said to influence their candidate selection "a lot" by 74% of likely voters), tax policy (62%), employment policies and strategies (54%), and plans regarding the nation's dependence upon foreign oil (52%).

Throughout the campaign season, much has been made of the significance of the candidates' attention to and positions on traditionally “conservative social issues” such as abortion and gay marriage. The common thinking is that these are issues of primary concern to conservative Christians—especially evangelicals. While that appears to be a generally accurate assessment, it is important to note that among the 12 issues evaluated by respondents, evangelicals rated positions on abortion as third most influential in their candidate selection, and views on gay marriage to be fifth most important. And an analysis of reactions to the dozen issues posed to all survey respondents (regardless of their faith) shows that the areas least likely to impact people's choice of a president are candidate positions on gay marriage (31%), environmental policy (30%), and abortion (29%).

Division Among Faith Segments
While health care and the economy are top issues for all voters, religious views do affect how voters rank other issues. Among the five belief-based faith segments analyzed in the study—evangelicals, non-evangelical born again adults, notional Christians, adults of other faiths, and religious skeptics (i.e., atheists and agnostics)—evangelicals were notably distinct from other groups in regard to what many considered their "signature issues."

Among all likely voters, abortion ranked last on the list of influential issues. Among evangelicals, though, it ranked as the third most influential issue. Only taxes and health care were deemed more important in their candidate selection. Similarly, gay marriage was ranked tenth among likely voters, but was fifth on the list among evangelicals who are likely to cast a ballot in November.

Surprisingly, educational policies were deemed the sixth most significant issue to all likely voters but ranked just tenth among evangelicals. Past studies have indicated that evangelicals are generally much less supportive of government involvement in the schooling of their children.

Environmentalism has traditionally been of very limited interest to evangelicals. That continues to be the case in this election, as a candidate's views on environmental matters placed last among the issues studied. Barely one out of five evangelicals (22%) said it was an issue of top concern to them, compared to 31% of all other likely voters surveyed. Religious engagement also has an affect on voters’ election priorities. People who read the Bible, attended a church service, and prayed during the past week were substantially more likely than voters who are less active in pursuing their faith to rate candidate positions on abortion, gay marriage, and America's dependence on foreign oil as significant in their candidate selection process. Voters who are less active spiritually were significantly more likely to list environmental policies as especially meaningful in their selection process.

Christian Women Voters
Of all voting segments, Christian women are among the most likely to vote—Barna Group projects churchgoing Christian women will comprise the largest share of voters on November 6—in all, 30% of ballots are likely to be cast by churchgoing women. Representing such a high percentage of the population and with such a strong likelihood to vote, Christian women are a particularly important group for politicians and pundits to pay attention to.

When it comes to the political issues Christian women care about, they are not necessarily what one might expect. Wide-held stereotypes suggest Christian women care most about matters of family (i.e., gay marriage, abortion, education), but these are actually quite low on their list of priorities. Instead, as with other likely voters, fiscal matters are at the top of women’s list—healthcare, taxes and employment policies are the top three.

When it comes to the “horse race,” Christian women edge toward the Republican challenger, Mitt Romney (53%), over the incumbent, Barack Obama, but they are more likely to consider voting for President Obama than are Christian men. Among Christian women, 53% support Romney, with 30% definitely planning to vote for the conservative.

Interestingly, Christian women are slightly less likely than other voters to say the candidate’s position on specific policy issues was a critical factor. (It is still perceived by these women as their most important decision point, but less so than for other voters.) What is notable is that Christian women are most likely to mention the candidate’s character and faith, even more so than Christian men.

The Hispanic Vote
Much has been made of the growing Hispanic vote and how will it affect the 2012 election. In an August-September 2012 survey of 2,046 U.S. adults who are of Latino or Hispanic background, Barna examined the factors affecting this important voting bloc.

Like other Americans, a candidate’s stand on key issues is the most important factor for Hispanic voters—however, it’s less important (60%) for Hispanics than for all adults (78%). Hispanics name a candidate’s character (32%) and their political experience (28%) as additional factors that significantly affect their vote.

Overall, Hispanic likely voters prefer the Democratic incumbent Barack Obama to the Republican challenger Mitt Romney (55% to 20%, with 19% undecided as of September). Catholics support President Obama by a three-to-one margin (58% to 18%), while Protestants slightly prefer the Republican (38% to 33%). Non-Christian Hispanics are likely to support Obama by roughly a two-to-one gap (53% to 23%).

Still, despite President Obama’s lead on Governor Romney, his level of support seems to have waned among Hispanics by comparison to 2008. At the same time four years ago, 58% said they would vote for Obama (rather than 53%), and just 15% of the Hispanic electorate was favoring the Republican candidate John McCain. In other words, Romney’s gap among all Hispanic voters is 30 points compared to 43 points for McCain four years ago—and the Mormon candidate has significantly closed the gap among Hispanic Protestants and now leads among this segment of voters.

Hispanics overwhelmingly say President Obama is the candidate most committed to improving the Hispanic quality of life—64% compared to 10% who say Romney is more committed to improving Hispanic quality of life.

Finally, one-fifth (21%) of likely Hispanic voters and one-third (37%) of Protestant Hispanic voters said they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon candidate. Thus, even though Obama is likely to “win” a majority of Hispanics, the question of what margin he will carry hangs in the balance between the decreased enthusiasm for the incumbent and reservations about Romney’s faith.

Millennial Voters
In 2008, Barack Obama made significant inroads with younger digital-friendly voters, helping to boost the candidate to the highest elected office. This year is no different, with 61% of 18-29-year olds saying they prefer the Democrat, compared to 52% of voters ages 30-plus. Among born again Christian Millennials, 54% say they prefer Mitt Romney, which is lower than older Christians. Still, this finding shows that support for Obama has decreased sharply among younger born again Christians; in 2008, seven out of ten younger born again Christians were planning to vote for the Democrat.

This year, Millennial Christians are quite focused on economic issues, even more so than are other Millennials. They are most concerned about healthcare (65%), education (51%), taxes (48%), and employment (41%). These economic motivations are more important to born again Millennials than are abortion (36%) or gay marriage (35%).

Interestingly, despite their generation’s increasing skepticism about faith in the public square, nearly half of Millennial born again Christians (41%) said the faith of the candidate is something they would consider when voting, which compares to just 1% of non-Christian Millennial voters.

Elective Urgency
One of the intriguing findings of the research was the urgency most voters are placing on November’s outcome. Evangelicals and non-evangelical born again Christians are especially likely to express this perspective (73% and 76%, respectively). Skeptics—the segment comprised of atheists and agnostics—are the least likely (56%) to see November’s election as unusually important. Protestants were much more likely than Catholics to perceive this year’s election to be more important than usual (74% compared to 61%).

One of the reasons for such perceived importance is that more than three—quarters of all likely voters (76%) are discouraged by the direction of the nation’s political environment. Only 11% say they are encouraged by the course the nation’s political environment is taking, with the remaining 13% saying they are on the fence. Likely voters who are evangelicals are the religious segment most discouraged (85%) while people aligned with non-Christian faith groups are the least discouraged (69%).

About the Research 
Each of the studies referenced in this report are based upon representative, random and nationwide public opinion polls conducted by Barna Group. Methodological details are available for each study in the hyperlink referenced, with the following exception:

Hispanics – A total of 2,046 interviews were conducted among Hispanics living in the United States; 1,044 online and 1,002 by phone in August and September 2012. The sampling error for 2,046 interviews is +/-2.2 percentage points, at the 95% confidence level. Oversampling of Protestants was conducted to help represent this important part of the emerging profile of Hispanic faith. The overall findings were weighted to the natural, national distribution of Catholics and Protestants. Other slight statistical weighting was used to calibrate the sample to known population percentages in relation to demographic variables. In this study, 40% of the total interviews in the study were conducted with respondents on their cell, mobile, or smart phones. This was done to ensure households that only use a cell or mobile were included. Additional research findings from this study are scheduled to be released the week after the 2012 election.

Disclosure: Barna Group is not under contract with any of the presidential candidates, nor has it endorsed any candidates.

Research Definitions
Definitions used in this report are based on various survey questions. For instance, the category described as “born again Christians” is defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as “born again.”

“Evangelicals” meet the born again criteria (described above) plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing Satan exists; believing eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.”

“Non-evangelical born again Christians” represent adults who meet the born again criteria but not the additional evangelical criteria.

“Churchgoing” refers to those who have attended a religious service in the last six months at a Christian church.

About Barna Group
Barna Group (which includes its research division, the Barna Research Group) is a private, non-partisan, for-profit organization under the umbrella of the Issachar Companies. It conducts primary research, produces media resources pertaining to moral and spiritual development, and works with a variety of organizations to facilitate the healthy moral and spiritual growth of leaders, children, families, individuals, and Christian ministries.

Located in Ventura, California, Barna Group has been conducting and analyzing primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984. If you would like to receive free e-mail notification of the release of each update on the latest research findings from Barna Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the Barna website (www.barna.org). Other research-based resources are also available through this website.

© Barna Group 2012.

[A guest post by Rev Canon J.John - www.philotrust.com]

The bizarre preoccupation with Halloween shows no sign of abating. Indeed, the enthusiasm with which some shops are marketing this celebration of evil, death and the occult suggests that their owners are banking on huge sales of pumpkins, masks and witches’ hats..

Many concerns have been raised concerning Halloween over the years and the two most common are that Halloween encourages dabbling with the occult and that it celebrates evil. Both are true but let me add another: Halloween raises big questions but only gives lies as answers. This is serious because the questions are about important issues and most of the people involved in Halloween are children. What our children are taught today will affect how our adults behave tomorrow and there are four big lies that Halloween perpetuates. 

The first lie is that evil is external. Halloween promotes a host of ‘evil creatures’ who will be banging on doors – characters clothed with artificial scars, fake teeth, claws and synthetic gore. What all this says is that evil is threatening but that it is something that is outside what we are. The reality is that while there is an external evil and children do need to be told that genuinely nasty characters do exist out there in the big wide world, the really dangerous evil comes not from outside but from within. Jesus himself said, ‘For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander’ (Matthew 15:19). It’s not just them out there we need to worry about, it’s us.

The second lie is that evil is ugly. The best Halloween costumes are normally considered to be the scariest and ugliest. The message is that you can recognise evil because evil people look ugly. There are two problems with this. One is that it is terribly offensive to those people who suffer genuine disfigurements. Ugliness does not equal nastiness. The bigger problem is that the most dangerous form of evil is precisely that which appears wrapped up in a nice package. In fact, the Bible tells us that ‘Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light’ (2 Corinthians 11:14). Fraudsters, corrupt bankers and seducers of all kinds specialise in looking nice. Evil is far more subtle, far more sinister and far more seductive than any ghoulish figure dressed in a cloak. 

The third lie is that evil is trivial. Many children are told at Halloween that even the scariest figure at the door is only an ordinary person dressed up to look horrible. We say that there is, in reality, ‘nothing to worry about’. Well, I’m afraid that isn’t true. The Bible, common sense and history all teach us that evil is a serious matter. Whoever does evil does real damage, not just to their victims but also to their own souls. To do evil is to walk along a path that leads away from God and towards destruction. And for all the fake skeletons on view at this time of year, death is no joke!

The fourth lie is that evil is undefeatable. Nowhere in Halloween is there any sense that evil should be combated and can be defeated. The dead remain dead and the occult powers live to scare another day. Those who knock on our doors in their creepy costumes do so confident that their demands will be met and they will be given something. The subtle lesson that Halloween teaches here is that all you can do with evil, death and the occult powers is to appease them by making an offering to them and hoping that they will go away. How different is the Bible’s perspective that we are to resist the devil (James 4:7). How much more encouraging is the good news that, on the cross, Jesus defeated all the powers of evil. ‘And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross’ (Colossians 2:15).

The common criticism of Halloween is that it raises dark and troubling matters. That, actually, is not the real problem. Questions such as ‘What does happen after death?’ ‘Where does evil come from?’ and ‘Who – or what – ultimately runs the universe?’ need to be asked. The tragedy is that having raised these questions, the only answers Halloween gives are lies. Our children deserve better and more honest answers. So let’s raise these questions and answer them.

In the mean time let us pray as Christ Jesus taught us: ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’.

Revd Canon J.John

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery will be recognised by many churches around the country by holding an Abolitionist Sunday on November 20th this year. Although the fight to end slavery is a year round activity, Abolitionist Sunday provides an annual focus for churches to unite in action against this injustice.

Tim Costello from World Vision says, "Whilst legal slavery has been abolished, tragically there are far more slaves in the world today than when William Wilberforce was campaigning for the abolition of slavery in the first part of the 19th century. Today churches are challenged to work for the abolition of this modern evil."

At CityLife, we will be hosting the Melbourne Gospel Choir who have recently released a new album called Freedom. We will also be taking time before each weekend church meeting to pray for this issue. Of course, there is much more we can do than just pray, as powerful as that is. Click here to visit the World Vision Don't Trade Lives web site and find out more about some practical ways you can help. CityLife's Everyday Justice, Everyday Choices ministry will be hosting a Don't Trade Lives workshop on Tuesday evening, November 22nd. Click here for details. Everyone is welcome.

For a very moving video clip, "Beautiful Slave," by the music artist Take No Glory click here.

Thank you for your passion and support in taking action on this important issue. Together, let's continue to fight to end global injustice.

This coming Tuesday, August 9th, is national census day here in Australia for all residents. The census seeks to give a clear snapshot of our nation and is conducted every five years. Participation is mandatory for all households. The census can be completed via a paper form or on-line. For full details about the census click here. 

Religion is one of two non-compulsory questions.For those from Pentecostal church such as CityLife Church, we recommend that you choose "Other" under this question then write in "Pentecostal" so that the government gets an accurate idea of how many people attend churches like ours across our nation. 

The results of the census will be released in June next year.

This last Monday, I was privileged to be a part of a group of Christian leaders who spent an hour with Prime Minister Julia Gillard at Parliament House in Canberra. It was a very profitable time as we interacted and discussed a variety of issues, including religious freedom, persecution of Christians in Islamic countries, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. 

The gathering was organised by Jim Wallace and the Australian Christian Lobby, who continue to do an excellent job representing Christian values in the political arena. The Prime Minister was warm and welcoming, taking time to listen to and respond to matters of our concern. 

Let's continue to pray for our Prime Minister, as well as for Jim Wallace and the ACL.

Today is the centenary of International Women's Day - a day of global celebration for women each year on March 8th. Read more about it here. 

Women are a wonderful part of God's creation – something he called "very good." Some people say that man was created first, so males are superior. Other's say that after creating man, God thought he could do better than that, so created the woman. The truth is that both men and women are created in the image of God and together reflect that image on earth. We were created to be partners – in life and mission. 

Followers of Christ should lead the way in giving honour, respect and dignity to ALL people – including women. It is part of the kingdom mandate given to us by Jesus, which is to be characterised by one thing: LOVE. Men, let's lead the way! How can you honour and celebrate the women in your life today?