One friend wrote: let's also discern Christian voices that can be heard on both sides of parliament, be thankful that they have the freedom and guts to speak out for the faith

Another responded:

But do they really have the freedom and guts to speak out for the faith, or do they only have the freedom and guts to speak out for those aspects of the faith which do not challenge or undermine the platform of their party?

How often do we hear of members of either major party speaking up, outside the privacy of the party room, to say that because of their Christian faith they cannot support the policy of their party on a given issue?

Revealingly, Philip Ruddock did it in his pre-ministerial days to oppose his party's stance on immigration and treatment of refugees, but he had to change his stripes in order to become a government minister.

Independents like Brian Harradine have been able to do it, because they do not have to pledge allegiance to another power in order to maintain their position, but I cannot think of any member of the parliamentary Liberal or Labor parties who could be relied on to consistently stand up for Christ-like principles and refuse to sacrifice them on the pagan altar of advancing the party's cause.

There are Christians in both partys who believe that their parties' positions on asylum seekers are quite incompatible with Christ's teaching on loving and treating others (even the least, the outcast and the enemy) as you would wish to be loved and treated yourself, but who among them has the freedom and guts to speak out for the faith? Plenty of them name their faith when they can do so in support of their party's position (such as on gay coupling recently) but then fall silent when they have to choose between loyalty to the teachings and example of Christ and loyalty to the party. The beasts of both left and right demand their sacrifices. Who will stand against them?