This is the Presidential Address I delivered to Synod in Launceston today – 12 June 2015:
The Significance of Belief
We are here today because we are believers.
We believe certain things and we act on them.
We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life ….
We believe and we act on this belief.
We act in word and deed to honour and serve God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We are here today because we believe these things and we act on them.
Christian belief is not well understood today.
Dr Augusto Zimmermann in his Address at the Opening of the Legal Year in Tasmania, 2015, stated,
Since our modern (Australian) society is viewed largely as “secular” and “multicultural,” Christianity is almost never mentioned, much less promoted, in political and intellectual discourse. When it is mentioned among the nation’s public figures, Christian values and traditions are sometimes critiqued, even brushed aside with contempt.
And Christians are not the only ones who are not well understood.
in today’s western societies the concept of an entirely secular public square has achieved significant political support. Broadly speaking, the idea implies that everyone ought to support their positions about law, politics, and public policy on solely non- religious grounds.
This failure to recognise the significance of religious belief often leads to grave misunderstanding.
My full address can be found here. The audio of my address can be found here
(Dr Augusto Zimmermann, The Myth of “Secular Neutrality” and the Privatisation of Religion, Address at the Opening of the Legal Year in Tasmania, St David’s Cathedral, Hobart TAS, January 30th 2015, available here)
