An evangelical Christian church has been criticised for displaying a billboard message which said God created marriage between a man and a woman – and received a threat of a petrol fire.
The Bellbowrie Community Church in Brisbane’s leafy western suburbs put up a billboard in early September outlining Biblical teachings on matrimony.
‘God designed marriage between a man and a woman,’ the billboard said.
This billboard at the Bellbowrie Community Church in Brisbane was offensive for some reason
Senior pastor John Gill said the church, which has 150 parishioners, received a vile Facebook threat over that billboard.
‘On Facebook, a lot of the stuff has been quite vicious at times,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
‘I mean quite physically threatening. That’s been scary for some in the church.
‘One of the comments I saw, for example, was a suggestion that people bring petrol down and set the church on fire.’
The billboard expressing a religious view offended one man on Facebook.
Brisbane resident Patrick Wood argued the billboard promoting traditional marriage contradicted another billboard which said: ‘All people are welcome and respected here.’
Patrick Wood from Brisbane accused the church of being hypocritical with its billboards
‘Their house, their hypocritical rules,’ he posted on social media.
‘Same sign, same day, opposite sides. I won’t forget their marriage equality stance.’
Mr Gill said this episode highlighted the threat to churches having freedom of speech if gay marriage was legalised, adding other churches were worried about putting Biblical messages on billboards.
‘At the moment, we know we have that freedom but certainly down the track, we have serious concerns about whether we’d continue to have that freedom or not,’ the 43-year-old former architectural designer said.
A teacher from the New South Wales Central Coast opposed to gay marriage, said the church billboards were consistent with Christian teachings.
‘This is not a contradiction. It is perfectly in order and reflects our Christian ethos: acceptance of individuals regardless while upholding the sanctity of marriage and simultaneously rejecting SSM with its ramifications,’ he said.
The harassment of churches is occurring as the Australian Bureau of Statistics sends out postal ballots to households, which are due to be returned by November 7 as part of a voluntary survey on homosexual marriage.