Dr Paul Allen

A complaint about an Auckland church billboard questioning whether Jesus was gay has been dismissed on the grounds it wasn't offensive. The St Matthew -in-the-City billboard featured an image of baby Jesus in a manger with a rainbow coloured halo and the words: "It's Christmas . Time for Jesus to come out." The complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority said the representation of Jesus was "akin to hate speech". However, a decision released yesterday found the billboard's speculation about Jesus's sexual orientation did not breach advertising codes. It was "prepared by a Christian church to promote debate within the Christian faith , as opposed to a deliberately offensive advertisement by an outside party for commercial gain, had been prepared with a due sense of social responsibility", the decision reads. The inference is that St Matthews was promoting that Jesus was homosexual, Jesus performed the sin of homosexuality. Hence, ...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife " Censorship is, at its best, nothing more than the legal codification of proven community values for the protection of those who cannot protect themselves. To argue against censorship where children are concerned is both disingenuous and foolhardy." ‘A baby is nothing but a bundle of possibilities.’ So said the prominent nineteenth century abolitionist and liberal clergyman, Henry Ward Beecher . The inheritance of genetics aside, children have always been very much a product of the nurturing they receive and the environment in which they receive it. Genetic influence itself is often subject to the effects of environment. A new UK poll reveals that large numbers of parents are concerned that society may be creating the wrong environment for their children. The study shows that 88 percent of parents feel their children are under pressure to grow up too quickly, especially in the area of sexual behaviour. The study was commissione...