An article on Liberal candidate David Barker presented very worrying news for Christians in politics. The article condemned Mr Barker for having "extremist" views in reference to his Christian faith. It seems we are pulling closer to a stage in our society where we cannot hold any views that are not secular.

Revealed: Liberal candidate David Barker's anti-Muslim campaign
The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday July 25th

"A Liberal candidate has been sprung posting anti-Islamic entries on Facebook and has written to church leaders asking for their support against his "strong Moslem" Labor opponent.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that Liberal Party officials have forced David Barker, a self-described "man of strong Christian faith", to shut down his Facebook account after he accused Labor of bringing the nation "closer to the hands of a Muslim country".

"I am going to win this seat. I claim it as mine and when I get in I will give my votes all of them to God who is on the side of the Liberal Right," Mr Barker, the candidate for the western Sydney seat of Chifley, says in one entry.

Mr Barker, a keen supporter of conservative Liberal powerbroker David Clarke, also accuses non-Christians of "worshipping a false god".

And, in a letter to Christian leaders in his electorate, Mr Barker says there is "corruption and a lack of moral direction in some politicians", and asks for their support, pointing out that Julia Gillard is an "atheist" and his opponent in Chifley, Ed Husic, is a "strong Moslem".

The extreme views are a serious embarrassment for Opposition leader Tony Abbott - described by Mr Barker as "God's mouthpiece in politics" - and will put pressure on Liberal headquarters to reconsider his endorsement as the party candidate.

Party officials last week ordered Mr Barker to shut down his Facebook site.

But senior Liberals were so concerned by his preselection that they photographed his profile page to mount a case for his disendorsement. The parties have until Tuesday to formally register candidates.

Mr Barker happily posed for photographs at his Rooty Hill home in Western Sydney yesterday, but would respond only to written questions.

"I don't believe God would have called me to run in this seat if he didn't expect me to win," he said.

Mr Barker, who stood for the seat of Barton in 2001 for the Call to Australia (Fred Nile) Group, appears determined to stir sectarian division in a letter to a Blacktown church, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, by raising the religious beliefs of Mr Husic.

In a Facebook entry dated April 17, he says: "I vote for freedom of worship if the worship is of Jesus Christ or The Jewish God anyone else well they are worshipping a false god anyway so who cares."

An entry that day reads: "Voting should only be voluntary for Liberal and National voters the rest can not bother since with every vote they bring the nation closer to the brink of disaster and closer to the hands of a (sic)muslim country."

In another entry, Mr Barker says: "Someone get me into parliament ... and watch me go. They will see my talent as the voice of ... God himself.""

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