A thought about reactions to the Ayatollah’s death. 
Many who celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk, are now openly mourning the death of the Ayatollah as leader of their religion. Some commentators are defending this grief in the name of religious freedom, but they are equating violent Islam with all religions. 
What values does such mourning and commentary mirror? To ourselves and to our governing authorities. 

Nuance check - 
- Yes, we may mourn that a human being has died. 
- Yes, people can be forgiven for irrationality in grief. 
- Plus, I also mourn that it has come to this: that some so misguidedly agree with the views and violence of the IRGC and their terrorist proxies, that they must be so forcefully resisted. 
- And such sword-bearing is not the authority of private citizens. But it is within the avenging authority of governments (Romans 12:17-13:4). 

Equivocation check - 
For discerning governing authorities, mourning the death of the Ayatollah as a leader of your religion is NOT equivalent to mourning the death of the Pope as a leader of my religion. 
- Is your religion the Ayatollah’s religion? It explicitly incites violence against unbelievers and the imposition of his republic by force. This is a worldview from which unbelievers of goodwill must be protected. 
- Is your religion the Pope’s religion? It explicitly calls for peace even with unbelievers, and conversion by informed and free conscience. This is a worldview that unbelievers of goodwill must protect. 
(Note: even if Popes of the past did try to impose their religion on others by force, a rare and overblown instance, Christians themselves opposed this as NOT true Christian religion.) 
- Muslims who do mourn the Ayatollah as leader of their religion are aligning themselves with his Islam, one violently opposed to Australian-Citizenship-values. 
- Muslims who support Australian values for all (not just for muslims) would NOT be equivalent to the Ayatollah’s religion. They ought not mourn him as leader of their religion, lest they equivocate peaceful Islam with violent Islam. 

​To equivocating governments and commentators, I say, under legislation about incitement to violence, Australian citizens who violently oppose Australian citizenship values are forfeiting their Australian citizenship rights, by arrest or deportation. 

What does your reaction reflect to our government about your worldview and citizenship? 

PS: For muslim friends - a 60 day series of readings with the Prophets. 

The bigger story now is that since 2022, the federal government has underfunded and degraded the capacity of ADF, AFP, ASIO, Home Affairs, National Security Committee (chaired by the PM!), to police bad actors who violate these values. (NB: Greens would make it worse by their recent election policy, “No discrimination in immigration.”) 
National Security’s capacity to act must be restored, to detect, interfere, intercept national security threats as they used to. This is the real story from which Labor’s legislative push has distracted us since Bondi. Reported by ADF, AFP, Home Affairs leaders, in The Australian newspaper. 
- Paul Scanlon (a former ADF tactical assault group commander and a veteran of several deployments with Australian special forces, in The Australian, Jan 9-10, 2025) 
- Mike Pezzullo, who was secretary of the former Department of Immigration and Border Protection 2014 to 2017, then the Department of Home Affairs 2017 to 2023 (The Australian, Jan 18-19, 2026.) 
As long as we’re talking about controversial laws, we’re overlooking the culpability of the government over National Security! 

The other big story is that Labor and Greens keep trying to limit free speech - especially regarding Christian morals, as per their Socialist views against the church & family. 
- Labor offered no defence when the Australian Law Reform Commission denied Christian schools the right to employ Christian staff; 
- Labor introduced the Misinformation & Disinformation Bill with loopholes to shut down whatever they determine is untrue;
- Labor introduced the first draft of the Hate Speech with loopholes that would have threatened free speech on contentious issues. 
I say, I don’t trust Labor to safeguard free speech and civil discourse, I think they are trying to undermine it, to control us in their way of Socialism. 
​
My previous post applies to how we, and national security, must be free to talk about national threats. ​

PS: Our card to our local Jewish community on Dec 15 2025.

PPS: Action steps - Mark Leach at Never Again Is Now: (Watch this 5-minute overview)
"And over, and over again, people have asked me, ‘what are we to do now?’, ‘what comes next?’.
So, what can you do now?
Firstly, sign and share a pledge to combat antisemitism. 
Secondly, email (or call) your Federal MP to ask them to address antisemitism in the following ways:
1. Address the scale and composition of our immigration policy. We need to ensure that anyone who is predisposed by virtue of religion or political ideology towards antisemitism, is not granted a visa to enter, or remain in Australia.
2. Show moral leadership by holding to account all those community leaders (religious, political, etc), who rally people around the hatred of Israel, the hatred of ‘zionists’, who lead antisemitic chants and speeches, such as calling to ‘globalise the intifada’ or establishing a muslim state ‘from the river to the sea’. 
3. Shut down any mosque or Islamic centre or community group or charity that is teaching violence against Jews or ‘infidels’, or which calls for the establishment of sharia law or an Islamic government in Australia. These groups pose a clear and present danger to Jewish life in Australia.
Click on the link below which will connect you to your MP. Once you have entered your address it will automatically load your MP (so ignore the first MPs name you see). You can edit the email if you want to change the wording or emphasis. https://actionbutton.nationbuilder.com/share/SPK-QEZDQUY= 
Thirdly, will you donate generously to build our influence?
The more money we have, the more impact we can have to build a country where our Jewish community is safe and free. All donations over $2 are tax deductible. 
What better gift can you give to the Jewish community at this time than using your voice, your networks, and your money to ensure their safety in this country? https://www.neveragainisnow.com.au/donate?

These are practical steps. Will you take them? 

I visited Israel in May 2024, yes during the current war. We visited the Nova festival site, and Kfar Aza, a kibbutz attacked on October 7. I could have kicked a footy into no-man's land from where we stood. And yes we heard live rounds, rockets & rumbles. We saw and heard evidences of what happened. It's bad, evil. And I slept in earshot of jets & rockets in the north. But to understand that day, and this war requires more context than most news reports supply. The context is bigger than Oct7, includes centuries before 1948, and is literally of Biblical proportions.

I'm still digesting what to say theologically and pragmatically. But meanwhile I can offer these reflections:

1) Here's a good list addressing many of the common myths & memes about Israel & Palestine.

2) Here's a good way to consider the ideologies at play. Compare, "what would happen the next day if Hamas surrendered?" with, "what would happen the next day if Israel surrendered?" The obvious answers tell us who is responsible for the war, and its drawn out outcomes.

3) Christians really care about Gazans' suffering from the many evils attacking them, most especially the spiritual and ideological powers driving Hamas. Radical Islam has been the aggressor/colonizer since the 8th century, asserting that any land that has ever been under Muslim rule can never be given back (hence 'river to the sea'), colonizing Palestinia from Israelis living there after the fall of the Roman empire. Then after the fall of the Ottoman empire, the land was contested again, until post-WW2 when it was legally returned to the reconstituted Israel via multiple international laws. And boundaries were further adjusted legally through multiple defensive wars. 'Occupied territories' is Islamic nomenclature since Palestine is not a country, and Israel is the only actual country willing & able to claim or run it, even offering a two state solution to do so. So for Gazans, ultimately only grace, the Way, Work & Person of Jesus, can fix radical Islam and bring peace in the middle east, both spiritually & practically. A change of heart is needed, from Mohamed to The Messiah. It's not so unrealistic, since Jesus is a key figure within both Judaism and Islam, and considered rightly could fulfil both religions in a unifying way.

4) Christians also care about Jews, and about Jerusalem coming to faith in The Messiah. Just as Israel has blessed us Gentiles with the knowledge of God, the Law, & the Messiah, so we are to return the favour - that they may receive the Messiah. Only when Jerusalem welcomes Jesus will He return to them, as He said, "For I tell you [Jerusalem], you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’" (Mt23:39)

5) So there is no reason to hate a race, Palestinians or Jews, because this is not a racial battle (we are all one race anyway, and Palestinian blood is largely Jewish since the 8th century muslim colonization!) Many Palestinians, including millions of Arab Christians, disagree with Hamas.

So there is no reason to hate "Palestinians" or "Arabs." The problem is the spiritual worldview of radical Islam held by Hamas - Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, ISIS, Taliban, Boko Haram, Muslim Brotherhood, and Islamic Revolution in Iran. Israel is warranted to disarm such continuous clear & present attackers.
But also we pray for Palestinian Christians to win over their brothers to a better worldview, and to new spiritual life in the True Isa.

6) Likewise there is no reason to hate Israelis for now trying to disarm their attackers. Race-based anti-Semitism is to be guarded against. Rather we pray for a change of worldview, towards recognising Jesus their Messiah.

7) Jesus is key to peace in the Middle East. He is a key figure in the traditions of all three Abrahamic faiths. But conversion is unlikely because most of the traditions in the Middle East are legalistic, from Hasidic Jews, to Orthodox Christian traditions, to Islam. Even if the traditions themselves are not meant to be so legalistic, most adherents hold to them unquestioningly, because to question is to defy not only the tradition but their own families, their ancestors, tribal allegiances, histories, and very nations. It would be seen as a whole-of-life betrayal, a treason. And yet Jesus' way can resolve all of this because He is the Way and means of mercy and grace, to forgive and to give new life, to break down the walls of partition and give all of us unity in Himself.  This may only happen sufficiently when He reveals Himself at the end of the Age, but even so it can still happen on the daily, personal and inter-personal level, for those with ears to hear. May God give such grace to people from all sides.

Update Oct 7 2024:
Greg Sheridan's brief article names realities not commonly reported. Part 1 and Part 2.
Konstantin Kisin's comparisons with any other country is 11 minutes well considered, also.

A great worldview article from James Macpherson:
https://jamesmacpherson.substack.com/p/news-senator-payman-seeks-allahs 

​Muslim Senator Fatima Payman has put religion back on the front page after revealing she asked Allah for guidance on what to do in the Senate.
The 29-year-old old West Australian broke ranks with her Labor colleagues this week to vote with the Greens in favour of Palestinian statehood.
She was disciplined by the party (for breaking ranks, not for praying to Allah) and has since quit Labor to move to the crossbench.
But the very idea that Payman sought wisdom from Allah before voting on policy issues has surprised many Australians who rarely give a second thought to religion.
The fact is that no-one arrives at any issue values free. And we all have a religion - whether we believe in God or not. 
Your religion, or if you prefer your worldview, is in essence your answer to these five big questions …

1. Where did we come from? That’s a question of origin.
2. Who am I? That’s a question of identity.
3. What is the purpose of life? That’s a question of meaning.
4. How do I determine right from wrong? That’s a question of morality.
5. What happens when we die? That’s a question of destiny.

Your answer to those questions becomes the worldview, or lens, that informs all of your decisions.
A Christian, for instance, believes people are created in God’s image. With that worldview, it is impossible to agree that abortion is okay.
An atheist, on the other hand, insists that human life is entirely accidental and no more imbued with the divine than a banana. Someone with that worldview might find abortion distasteful, but has no grounds to argue against it.
In both instances, religion informs the policy position.
So it’s redundant to ask whether politicians ought seek guidance from religion since they are already being guided by their religion, whether they realise it or not.
The better question is which religion we would prefer our politicians to take their cues from.
Senator Payman is a devout Muslim and so of course she would be taking her cues from Mohammad. Just as a Christian politician would seek wisdom from Jesus.
So the question is whether you’d prefer your nation’s leaders getting their marching orders from Jesus or from Mohammad.
On that question you don’t need a masters in comparative religion to work it out. Just take a quick look at the globe.
Western nations - like the UK, the USA and Australia - are overwhelmingly built on a Judeo-Christian worldview. 
Middle Easter nations - like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia - have been built on an Islamic worldview.
Which would you prefer? 
As Jesus said, by their fruits you shall know them.
And let’s not forget our atheist friends who, consciously or not, take their cues from Nietzsche. Think Communist China or the former Soviet Union.
So you can build a nation on the the law of love (Christianity), Sharia Law (Islam), or the law of the jungle (Atheism).
Which would you be happiest with?
Australia’s founders never imagined a country in which politicians were so arrogant that they made decisions without seeking wisdom from above.
The preamble to the Constitution - written in 1901 - declares that Australia would be a nation “humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God”.
Notice it doesn’t say “humbly rely on the blessing of Almighty Allah”. If it did, we’d be more like Somalia than Australia. Fun times!
Our forefathers envisaged political leaders who would be humble enough to acknowledge a power higher than themselves and to ask for wisdom. And they assumed the higher power would be the Christian God since, in 1901, there was virtually zero disagreement.
A lot of people complain that our country is not what it used to be, that it has changed, and not for the better.
I don’t disagree.
A lot of people are also waking up to the fact that the chance in our nation is not just economic and not just social. Even non-church going people are starting to be open to the idea that we may in fact have a spiritual problem.
Again, I don’t disagree.
Our politicians stopped seeking wisdom from almighty God and instead - like a sailor who stopped believing in the stars and so tied a lamp to the mast of his boat and navigated by that - have done what is right in their own eyes.
The results have been disastrous. 
There is only one way for Australia to regain its prosperity and its freedom. We need Prime Ministers, business leaders, educators and parents to once more humbly rely on the blessings of Almighty God. And I don’t mean Allah.