Former NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn (pictured) said, "I was being required to compromise beyond a level that my conscience allowed," after his 30-hour stint with the Melbourne AFL club ended.

"People should be able to hold different views on complex personal and moral matters, and be able to live and work together, even with those differences, and always with respect.

"Behaviour is the key.

"This is an important part of a tolerant and diverse society."

A day after he was appointed to run the club he had supported since childhood, Mr Thorburn resigned after it emerged he was chairman of a church that has published a series of articles critical of homosexuality and abortion.

Essendon president Dave Barham said the club acted swiftly to review revelations that the City on a Hill church posted a 2013 sermon to its website that said acting on same-sex attraction was "a sin" and another likening abortion to concentration camps.

Barham said those views did not align with Essendon's values as a safe, inclusive, diverse and welcoming club for all.

Mr Thorburn said: "Let me be clear - I love all people, and have always promoted and lived an inclusive, diverse, respectful and supportive workplace - where people are welcomed regardless of their culture, religious beliefs and sexual orientation."

Mr Barham said, "The board made clear that despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he could not continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill.

"I want to stress that neither the board nor Andrew was aware of the comments from the 2013 sermon until we read about them this morning.

"I also want to stress that this is not about vilifying anyone for their personal religious beliefs, but about a clear conflict of interest with an organisation whose views do not align at all with our values as a safe, inclusive, diverse and welcoming club for our staff, our players, our members, our fans, our partners and the wider community."

Mr Thorburn said his faith had not previously led to any issues with his leading large and diverse companies.

"I was CEO of a bank that had 5000 people, I was a CEO of a bank that had 35,000 people - now I'm going to a different organisation, but in all those, there's a diversity of people."

Sources

The Australian

ABC News

CathNews New Zealand

The former rugby union and rugby league international has signed with Southport Tigers, who play in Gold Coast's A-grade rugby league competition, and will be sponsored by Palmer's Mineralogy company.

However, Queensland Rugby League will have to approve Folau's registration for him to play in the competition.

The 32-year-old returned to rugby league last year with French club Catalans Dragons after stints in AFL and then, more successfully, in rugby union. St George Illawarra made a bid to bring the former Wallabies star back to the NRL earlier this year before abandoning the move after intense backlash.

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The assignment was signed off by "the Religious Education Year 9 Team" at St Patrick's Marist College in New South Wales.

"Your mission is to present to your Local Member of Federal Parliament a letter expressing deep concern for the future of protection of religious freedom and freedom of speech", the assignment task told the students.

The assignment task informs the students that religious freedom is "being attacked in the workplace, schools, universities and on the streets".

It goes on to say Folau (a former Wallaby sacked over a homophobic social media post) has become "the most discussed and divisive figure in Australia.

"In reality, the matter is not about what Folau posted but about religious freedom of speech.

"Should we lose our job for making public our own private views? Do we as Australians have the right to voice our own opinion about matters that concern our individuality, our beliefs, our faith?"

Sue Walsh, from the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta, says Catholic schools within the district are places where complex issues can be discussed, in an environment "where each voice can be heard, and every view expressed".

The assignment in question didn't represent the diocese's views however. Not did it represent the views of the diocesan schools or that of Marist Schools Australia.

"A number of the sentiments in the covering letter for the assignment do not represent the views of the Diocese of Parramatta, its schools or Marist Schools Australia," Ms Walsh said.

"The ... students will be given the opportunity to complete a new assessment that is consistent with contemporary approaches to learning and teaching."

Source

• News.com.au
• QN
• Daily Mail
• Image: News.com.au

Josiah Folau left his employment at the Catholic college following a conversation with a person who attended a service at Pastor Eni Folau's family house and writing a letter to a parent.

In the course of the conversation Josiah Folau said the Catholic Church is 'a synagogue of Satan and I one hundred per cent believe and affirm that Roman Catholicism is masked devil worship'.

In casual employment at St Gregory's College, Josiah Folau was a tutor and boarding house supervisor, who also wrote to a parent saying "any devout Catholic person is not a saved Christian whatsoever.

"Look at Catholic doctrine, almost 100% of it is false and is filled with lies.

"The blasphemous Catholic mass is a paganistic ritual rooted in heresy, evil and devil worship.

"Roman Catholicism is masked devil worship," he wrote.

St Gregory's headmaster Lee MacMaster clarified the sitaution, Thursday.

"We have met with Josiah recently and in our discussions, Josiah has made the decision to discontinue his casual employment at St Gregory's College.

"We respect Josiah's privacy in this matter," MacMaster told Sydney's Radio 2GB.

Joel Folau is an alumnus of St Gregory's College, Campbelltown, Sydney and in 2016 he finished eighth in the State in religious studies.

He was also school captain.

The parting of ways between Josiah Folau and St Gregory's College comes as Israel Folau's legal team formally filed a claim of unlawful termination against Rugby Australia in the Federal Circuit Court in Melbourne on Thursday.

The 30-strong congregation of the Truth of Jesus Christ Church, was established in 2013 by Israel Folau's father, Pastor Eni Folau.

The church meets at Pastor Eni's home where people are baptised in the pool.

It believes the "everlasting torture and doom" of hell awaits most Christians.

Sources

• Sydney Morning Herald
• Daily Mail
• Image:

The mother became concerned when Folau started inviting fellow players to the Truth of Jesus Christ Church in Sydney's north-west. The church was set up by Folau's father Eni in 2013.

The mother says she decided to attend the church herself and claims what she saw "disturbed her greatly."

"I honestly do not want my son involved in what I have come to understand is false teachings and counterfeit Christianity," she says.

"I've gone, I've checked it out and I would call them an isolated hate group."

Folau's cousin Josiah, who attends the same church, says the Catholic Church is "false and filled with lies.

"Any devout Catholic person is not a saved Christian ... Look at Catholic doctrine, almost 100% of it is false and is filled with lies," Josiah wrote to the concerned mother.

"The blasphemous Catholic mass is a paganistic ritual rooted in heresy, evil and devil worship.

"The Catholic Church is a synagogue of Satan and I one-hundred-per-cent believe and affirm that Roman Catholicism is masked devil worship," he added.

The Folau's church teaches the baptisms of most other mainstream Christian churches who believe in the Trinity are also false, the mother says.

The church also preaches against women deaconesses or preachers, and that homosexuality is a sin "worthy of death".

Folau believes any Christian who wasn't "born again" would go to hell and that anyone who wasn't baptised in the way of the Folaus is heading for hell.

Folau was recently sacked by the Wallabies after he made a controversial social media post in April saying homosexuals, fornicators, drunks, atheists and others were going to hell.

His views prove his congregation has deviated far from mainstream Christianity, Christian ministers say.

One describes Folau's church as a "sect".

According to the teachings of Folau's church, most Christians are bound for hell, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who belongs to the Australian megachurch Hillsong.

Also headed for hell are most of the donors who gave money to his legal defence fund which was organised by the Australian Christian Lobby.

Folau is battling with Rugby Australia for up to $10 million in damages, claiming he was unfairly sacked on religious grounds.

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) paused donations for Folau's legal fund after it topped $2.2 million.

ACL managing director Martyn Iles says he has never heard Folau say "anything which contradicts mainstream Christian belief."

Source

• Yahoo Sport
• FoxSports
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Newshub

Morrison says he wants to make a bipartisan deal to bring in the new laws.

When asked if he thinks Folau has been persecuted for his beliefs, Morrison dodged the question.

Instead, he focused on the broader issue, saying people should not feel intimidated about practising their religion in peace.

He says he doesn't want religion in Australia to be an issue of conflict.

"The whole point of religion is that it's actually something of peace," he says.

"It's a very important part of Australians' lives and I want to see us progress this debate in a very constructive way, not based on conflict."

Morrison, who is an evangelical Christian, says Folau's situation shows the need for legislation protecting people against discrimination based on their religious beliefs.

"Religious freedom is one of the cornerstones of what we are as a country, and it's important our laws reflect that," he says.

He says now there's a commitment to put a Religious Discrimination Act in place, and it will happen.

"We're going to do that. We're working very hard on that right now,' he says.

In April 2018 when he was the treasurer, Morrison publicly backed Folau, praising him when he was criticised over an Instagram comment that was deemed homophobic.

On that occasion, an Instagram user had asked Folau about God's plan for gay people.

Folau replied: "HELL...Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God."

On that occasion, Rugby Australia did not sanction the player.

"It clearly means a lot to Izzy and good for him for standing up for his faith," Morrison said at the time.

"He wouldn't have wanted to intend to have offended or hurt anyone because that's very much against the faith that he feels so passionately about.

"But I think he's shown a lot of strength of character in just standing up for what he believes in and I think that's what this country is all about."

Folau is currently suing Rugby Australia for $10million.

Source

• The Daily Mail
• Image: Junkee

But it is not just Australia experiencing an overtly public wave of religiously motivated homophobia.

Brian Tamaki, controversial leader of Destiny Church and co-founder of the Coalition Party, voiced unequivocal support for Folau on Twitter.

There are several verses in the Bible which are traditionally used to bolster homophobic rhetoric, but 10 minutes spent reading about the religious and historic context of these verses would leave anyone with the ability to disarm a scripturally-rooted homophobic argument.

On an even more elemental level, though, the homosexuality that Folau and Tamaki are presumably referring to is a modern concept describing an identity premised on romantic love between people of the same gender.

Homosexuality as we currently define it did not exist as a concept until the late nineteenth century.

Previous to that, within the Western world, sexual acts between two people of the same gender were viewed as a form of "sinful temptation," but not the foundation of an identity.

Bible verses that refer to sexual behaviour between people of the same gender do not condemn homosexuality, or queerness, because homosexuality, as we now define it, did not exist in either Old Testament times or the first-century world of the New Testament.

That's not to say that people in biblical times didn't have loving relationships with partners of the same gender (although, we don't have the evidence to accurately assert this), but we can say quite certainly that homosexuality as a social categorisation did not exist.

Sexuality has had divergent meanings projected onto it in every successive human society.

The homosexual/heterosexual divide is simply how modern, predominantly-Western, society has chosen to understand human sexuality.

In Greco-Roman society sex was related to power.

Now it's about personal identity.

A historically consistent, monolithic understanding of sexuality simply does not exist.

Leviticus 18:22 is one of the Bible verses plucked from its original context and used to argue that condemnation of homosexuality is scripturally based.

This verse, which reads, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" is not referring to a loving relationship between two consenting adults - it is a law prohibiting sexual promiscuity.

The Levitical laws were received by Moses from God as the guidelines which the Israelites (who had fled Egypt during the Exodus) were to abide by in order to retain God's favour.

There are 613 of these laws and they also command that the Israelites were not to eat shellfish or wear garments made from mixed fabrics.

If Folau and Tamaki are going to base their homophobia on Bible verses written thousands of years ago without any recognition of the need to contextualise these, I would ask them if they then refrain from eating oysters and always check to make sure a t-shirt is pure cotton and not blended with polyester before wearing it?

Being able to disarm a homophobic argument premised on religious belief is useful, certainly, but does not rescue young queer and takatapui people questioning their sexuality from the harm caused by violent rhetoric spouted by public figures such as Folau and Tamaki. Continue reading

• Harriet Winn is an Honours student at the University of Auckland, whose research interests include queer theology and gendered histories within Christianity. She has lots of question and Martin Luther is one of four people she would like to invite to lunch.
• Image: Liv Actually

Among various statements, Latham said Australians were concerned about the loss of religious freedom.

"How in 2019 do we look at Israel Folau and wonder how a football player and resident of NSW has lost his job?

"We're fighting dictatorial corporations who purchase … control of sporting codes. These big corporate chiefs preach diversity ... but they're trying to impose uniformity." Read more

Folau is a rugby player who is fullback for the New South Wales Waratahs and Australia's national team the Wallabies.

Last Wednesday in an Instagram post, Folau suggested homosexuals and other groups - including drunks and atheists - were destined for hell.

In a sermon he preached recently, Folau noted that there a lot of people who go to church but do not follow the doctrine of Christ.

He critiqued the Catholic church because Catholics "baptise babies with a sprinkling of water over the top of their head, things like that, that aren't even biblical."

Folau also finds fault with the Catholic Church's devotion to Mary, the mother of God.

"What does the Catholic Church do? They create an image of Mary and Jesus and totally go against what God's word is.

"What are we putting up in front of God that are idols? In this example, I'm talking about Mary, but it could be things like money, or jobs, it could be things like our husbands or wives.

"The problem with a lot of people today is they don't read the word, they go to church on Sunday, listen to what the pastor says, and that's it," Folau said.

"They don't go back home to check for what the word of God says."

As a result of the backlash caused by Folau's Instagram post, Rugby Australia and the NSW Rugby Union released a statement on Thursday evening saying that barring unforeseen circumstances, Folau would be sacked.

But administrators are working behind the scenes to ascertain whether they are able to sack him.

Folau grew up as a Mormon but moved to an being an active member of an Assemblies of God fellowship in 2011.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• brisbanetimes.com.au
• smh.com.au
• Image: stuff.co.nz