ࡱ> -/,%` bjbj"x"x .@@  6 $ hT D  /  06    ,"6 dd  To Whom It May Concern I am the Pastor of a Church in the suburbs of Perth. I have known homosexuals and lesbians as friends over the course of my ministry and I am very familiar with the arguments (for and against) concerning same sex attraction and homosexual orientation being genetic rather than a life-style choice. I mention these things to make you aware that I am not homophobic and this communication is not written with any form of malice whatsoever. As a Christian minister, I have two obligations specifically outlined in the Bible: I am to love God above all else and then I am to love my neighbour as myself. Accordingly, when the Bible makes reference to homosexual sex (not homosexual attraction but actual participation in sex acts) as sin, I cannot approve of or condone these acts. However, at the same time I do NOT believe verbal gay-bashing is right either. To me, I would teach that homosexuality is a life-style choice and therefore can be changed if the person wants to change. The teaching of Christianity means that I am to love the person, but I have no right to hate or attack or vilify them for their behaviour. In fact, in the Bible, homosexual sex is no more or less condemned than promiscuity or adultery. Now, when it comes to Law, I understand that individuals must be protected from the effects of hatred and in this case, homophobia, but at the same time, I must (in good conscience) be free to state what the Bible teaches also. I do not go out to agitate on other peoples turf but I must be free to practice and state a different view in the environment of the Church, its ministries and its teachings. I urge you then, in this consultation process, to be careful NOT to propose or encourage changes to Australian Law that would cause Christian beliefs or practices, held in good conscience, to suddenly become illegal because we differ from the view of others in this often controversial area of life.  N n h'h 7hxF gdxF ,1h. A!"#$% @@@ NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH DAD Default Paragraph FontRiR  Table Normal4 l4a (k(No List 00000000000Z0d?X0P  GT,G#GGLL9*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplace8*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsCity U  GG>>mn22FFuuJJ  GG>>mn22FFuuJJOq'+35 7xF'@H@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial"hQtF&..!r42HX ?xF2 Kate SchuetzeOh+'0p   , 8 DPX`h Normal.dotKate Schuetze3Microsoft Office Word@G@VWV@&ߟ.՜.+,0 hp|  '  Title  !"#%&'()*+.Root Entry F*20Data  1TableWordDocument.SummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8$CompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q