Recent news of the Ontario Conference of Seventh-day Adventist being prohibited from having a store at the Toronto Vegetarian Association because the Church views homosexuality as "a manifestation of the disorder and brokenness in human inclinations and relations caused by sin coming into the world". Read the article below.

Toronto Vegetarian Association: No Christians Need Apply
Article by Bill Cork

"The Toronto Vegetarian Association refused to allow the Ontario Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to participate in their Food Fair.  The reason? Because Seventh-day Adventists believe marriage is an institution rooted in Creation between a man and a woman. Some folks at Spectrum seem to think that the Ontario Conference should have done as the TVA suggested and said, “We don’t really believe what our denomination says.” But they couldn’t do that, of course.

One would think a vegetarian association would let that be the one common denominator of the groups represented. That would seem to be the best way to ensure all those postmodern values such as “inclusivity” and “diversity.” But they’ve decided only vegetarians who promote homosexuality count. Funny thing, though–they say nothing about this on their webpage. Their mission and values statements don’t mention homosexuality. They say, rather, that “The Toronto Vegetarian Association will operate in a way that … is open and respectful to new ideas and people from all backgrounds.” Evidently that doesn’t apply to Christians–or to old ideas like support of traditional marriage.

This does help to underscore why Seventh-day Adventists encourage vegetarianism, though. We do so because of our belief in Creation–because the Bible says this was man’s original diet. And because we believe in Creation, which includes the conviction that the Creator had a plan, we also firmly uphold his plan for marriage and sexuality.  And, yes, we reject evolution, too. It’s contrary to what the Bible teaches about how God created us. You see, it’s a package deal. It all goes together. And we aren’t afraid of affirming that, even if we don’t get invited to some parties. We’d miss out on a whole lot more if we denied Christ...."

To read the full article and view the letter go to Bill Cork's website, here.

Article by Cameron Spink

Today we have four unfortunate examples of young adults misusing their power to drive:

Firstly there is Toyah Tate. She was caught going a speed of 180km/hr with a blood alcohol level of 0.168, that is, eight times over the legal limit! Her conduct was described by the presiding magistrate as “one of the worst [he’d] ever seen”. Despite this Ms Tate only received a 12 month suspended sentence and her driver’s licence revoked for 24 months. For Toyah this means another chance, perhaps because of her mental health or perhaps because she is pregnant. Either way, Toyah Tate is both lucky to be alive and lucky to have escaped the punishment that she probably deserved.

Article by Cameron Spink

Chris Padgham wrote today giving us 10 reasons to vote for The Greens. I will answer these contentions debating the ten reasons from my Christian perspective:

Contention 1: The Greens stand up for what’s right, not just what’s easy
Considering The Greens have policies that are pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia, pro same-sex marriage and support drug-injecting rooms as well as easier access to heroin for drug addicts it is hard to think of a way that these ideals can be biblically classed as “right”.

Contention 2: It’s the Party everyone’s heading to
Sure, everyone loves a herd mentality. Vote Greens, follow the crowd, you know you want to. Hopefully voters are smarter than to fall for this argument.

Article by Cameron Spink

It is only this week that many people have realised that the Christian position remains largely undefined in this political election. So, to counter-balance this several articles have been released this week to express Christian perspectives.

First there was Mark Stephens article on On Line Opinion titled “The Complexity of the ‘Christian Vote’”. He details that many Christians are part-platform (i.e. some policy support but not universal) voters, which I believe has more truth in this election that it ever has. Mark Stephens also outlines a desire for politicians to “express their beliefs and values”. In summary, Mark wants a wise government, “in the biblical sense of wisdom”.

Bill Muehlenberg provides us with some very good thoughts in regards to the Christian Values Checklist concerning the coming federal election.

Thinking About the 2010 Election
Bill Muehlenberg, 3rd August 2010

"In a fallen world there is no perfect political party, no perfect political candidate, and no perfect political policy. Indeed, we must always keep in mind Psalm 146:3: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save”. But we must also recall that God has ordained the institution of the state to maintain justice and punish evil (Romans 13:1-7).