Answers on Sex Education:

1980 B.B. 116

5. Thank the Presbytery of Brisbane for making available its report on Sex Eduction in Government Schools and adopt the Assembly Paper as the attitude of the Assembly on this matter.

A statement outlining the attitude to sex education in government schools by the presbytery of Brisbane of the Presbyterian church of Queensland.

(Approved by the Presbytery of Brisbane on Tuesday 4th December, 1979 and presented for Assembly approval)

Whereas the Christian Church has always seen the supreme importance of measuring all things by God's Revelation contained in the Holy Scriptures;

and whereas it is obvious in Scripture and in history that the drive for power and pleasure, often to the hurt of many people, is universal;

and whereas our sexual drives can make for either wonderful beauty and fulfilling relationships, or desperate sordidness and unhealthy division;

and whereas Christian morality is not an optional extra but a fundamental direction for social health, this Presbytery would issue the following statement to our fellow Church members and through them to all in authority and to all thoughtful people.

1. Assembly believes the sexual side of human life is God-given and is meant to be God-ordered.
2. Assembly believes that all education and especially the giving of education about any situation where one human being relates to another, and doing it from an accurate Christian viewpoint, is a most important work and goal.
3. Assembly believes that every child has the right to the loving care and the highest aspirations of his or her parents, both before and after birth.
4. Assembly believes that the current epidemic of pre­marital and extra-marital sexual intercourse wherein many people use sexual intercourse, not to enhance a permanent marriage relationship, but for selfish passing pleasure and wherein abortion is used as a simple but inhuman method of birth-control, is under the condemnation of God.
5. Assembly believes that sex education is always needed but apart from the family it is invariably a negative and a provocative exercise.
6. Assembly believes that a sex education course involving both parents and children could well be funded by the Government through an existing organisation, or one to be set up subsequently, but at no time should the children be separated from the parents.
7. Assembly believes that sex education in schools is contrary to the Christian concept of family, and the intended involvement of parents in the development of the personality of the child.
8. Assembly believes that no course in human relationships which today seems to mean a course in sex education can be adequately controlled outside of the family.
9. Assembly would express grave disquiet about what it has read of most "human relationship courses". They appear to be anti-Christian, anti-family, anti-chastity and anti-permanent relationships. Also they appear to advocate sexual experimentation, and a selfish individualism that is quite contrary to Christian teaching.
10. Assembly would express its concern over the increased publicity given to sexual deviations, the use of near-­pornography in advertising, and the undue emphasis on sexual relationships that are contrary to Christian ethics in the area of literature and films.
11. Assembly would urge all authorities, including parents, to elevate the importance of self-control, chastity and the immeasurable worth of the permanent relationship that is involved in Christian marriage.
12. Assembly would urge all its members, the members of our Church and all Christians of goodwill to promote and/or implement the attitudes and decisions of this statement.

1982 B.B. Min. 156

28. Affirm that this Church opposes the introduction of a Sex Education component in the proposed Human Relations Course in State Schools.

1983 B.B. Min. 123

13. (a) Commend the State Government on its proposal to conduct the programme on Human Relationships, outside of school hours, and not during normal school hours;
(b) Urge the State Government to ensure that the proposed Human Relationships course is firmly based on Christian principles;
(c) Communicate these two motions (a) and (b) to: the Minister for Education, the Premier of Queensland and the Leader of the Opposition.

1988 B.B. Min. 203

25. Advise the Minister for Education that this Assembly:
(a) (i) Regards instruction in human sexuality as the primary responsibility of parents to be given within the Biblical constraints of chastity before marriage and fidelity within marriage to the exclusion of all other sexual practices and preferences.
(a) (ii) Note an apparent inconsistency in the statement of the Minister for Education, the Hon. B. Littleproud MLA, in his letter of 24 February 1988 (1988 W.B. p.156):
“The Personal Development Programme to which I referred earlier, is firmly based on Christian values and the central importance of the family. It is expected that these values which are regarded as essential for the building of a strong healthy society, will continue to be reinforced when human sexuality education is introduced into the school curriculum.”;

with his reply to W.H. Miller: “You must appreciate that state schools have pupils from a wide range of religious denominations and as a result of this we find it very difficult to present a Christian viewpoint that cannot be guaranteed to be inoffensive to each and every denomination. Nevertheless this should not be misconstrued as being humanistic rather than Christian.”
(a) (iii) Authorise the Public Questions and Communications Committee to formally approach the Minister for Education in relation to the proposed Personal Development Programme, and to take appropriate action, including the issuing of media release(s) through the Clerk of Assembly.

(b) Reaffirm its resolutions from the 1987 Assembly (B.B. 1987 Min.329:14,15,20):
14. Affirm its continuing adherence to the principles expressed in its 1982 Statement, B.B. Min.156, p.67, Clauses 23 to 27 inclusive:
“23. Affirm that it is the right and duty of parents, according to Scripture, to provide their children with an education according to their conscience, and that the State has no right to overrule this right of parents.
24. Express to the Queensland Government the concern of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland that the effect of the “Education Act and Anothr Act Amendment Bill” in its present form, is to weaken the rights of parents in the education of their children by extending the control of the Education Department over all schools, whether receiving State assistance or not.
25. Inform the Queensland Government that this Church regards Part VII(b) and Section 66 of the Bill, in its present form, as a threat to the independence of theological colleges and Bible institutes, and respectfully request that the Bill be amended to rectify this.
26. Request the Queensland Government to withdraw the entire Bill for redrafting in a form which will express the God-given right of parents to educate their children in spiritual and moral matters and exclude any secularist assumptions that all children belong to the State.
27. State its conviction that the authority of all civil governments is derived from God (Romans 13:1) and is therefore limited by God (Acts 5:29), and call upon the Queensland Government to recognise this truth.”

15. Endorse as a matter of broad policy with respect to the Education Act and Another Act Amendment Bill, 1987, the following:
That the Assembly gives profound thanks to God, and expresses its gratitude to the State Government and the Minister for Education for their conspicuous promotion of Christian standards and for teaching in public education and their zealous encouragement of Christian schooling and higher education, and prays for God’s guidance for and strengthening of our Government as they continue to stand for righteousness and true knowledge in education.

20. Request the State Government to add the following Clauses to the “Education Act and Another Act Amendment Bill 1987” in the form herein suggested or in a form to that effect.
“Nothing in this Act shall operate:
A. to authorise or permit the Governor in Council or the Minister or any Council or body operating pursuant to this Act to impose any requirements in relation to the teaching of any religious philosophy or to require special educational qualifications of any person to teach any religious philosophy or to restrict in any way the nature, content or extent of the training of such religious philosophy or to affect any course accreditation by reason of the inclusion in such a course of religious philosophy.
B. to enable the exercise of any power or right of the Governor in Council, the Minister, a Council or other body operating under this Act in such a way as the inclusion in the students’ course of any religious philosophy might adversely affect the selection of such student for entry into any higher education institution.
C. to exclude the conferring of an award by any religious denomination upon any person in connection with training undertaken by that person in a tertiary education institution conducted by that religious denomination for the purpose of qualifying persons to promote the religious philosophy of that religious denomination.”

1989 B.B. Min. 279

13. (a) Note that the Department of Education has released its interim report on Human Relationship Education for Queensland State Schools for consideration and comment.
(b) Advise the Minister for Education and Director General of Education that the Assembly regards the proposals set forth in its interim report on ‘Human Relationship Education for State Schools’ as a major change in education policy across the whole curriculum from pre-school to grade 12, which is in conflict with Religious Education in schools in that the proposal propagates a pluralistic, humanistic and rationalistic philosophical basis for society rather than a Judeo/Christian basis.
(c) Call on the Minister for Education to return to the status quo in practice, whereby the Judeo/Christian philosophy is accepted as basic and whereby Biblical ethics and morality are not merely an alternative to other bases for behaviour.
14. Advise the Minister for Education that the Assembly regards instruction in human sexuality to be primarily a responsibility of parents, to be given within the Biblical constraints of chastity before marriage and fidelity within marriage, to the exclusion of all other sexual practices and preferences.

1989 B.B. Min. 279

22. (a) Commend to Sessions, Ministers and Parents the ‘Youth Dating and Marriage’ course, the ‘Teens and Human Sexuality’ course, the ‘Marriage Enrichment’ course and ‘Home and Family’ resource materials provided by the Christian Education Department.
(b) Advise Sessions of the need for supplementary literature:
(i) concerning the biology of human reproduction.
(ii) for families with children under 12 years; and advise the Public Questions and Communications Committee of suggestions.
(c) Commend the book ‘Something Beautiful from God’ by Susan Shaeffer McCauley, for use by families with children under 12 years.

(1990) B.B. Min. 241

4. (a) Re-affirm 1980 B.B. Minute 116:5:-
“5. Thank the Presbytery of Brisbane for making available its report on Sex Education in Government Schools and adopt the Assembly Paper as the attitude of the Assembly on this matter.

1994 B.B. Min. 199

7. Advise the Commonwealth Minister for Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services, with copies to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Federal Opposition, the Leader of the Australian Democrats, the Premier, the Queensland Minister for Education, the Leader of the Queensland Opposition, the Leader of the Queensland Parliamentary Liberal Party, and the Media, that the Assembly views the HIV/AIDS Educational Package “Friends for Life”, which is to be placed in Queensland State Schools by the Commonwealth Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services, as unacceptable for the following reasons:-
i. Explicit sex education material is being presented to primary school children.
ii. This sex education material is being presented apart from the positive Biblical ethical standards of chastity before marriage, and fidelity in life long, heterosexual monogamous marriage, to the exclusion of all other sexual preferences and practices.
iii. The situation for class consideration is the non-representative one of a man who has just died of AIDS, leaving a wife who was infected by him with HIV, who in turn infected her daughter in the womb, as well as a teenage son who is not infected.
iv. There is a failure to identify the degree of risk that there is to be found in the community, by advising the number of HIV/AIDS infected persons in Australian in each of the following categories:-
- homosexuals/bi-sexuals - intravenour drug users
- medically acquired - heterosexually acquired
- child of infected mother - other
v. While rightly identifying abstinence from sexual activity (vaginal/anal/oral) as safe sex, the use of condoms is claimed to give infection free sex, even though holes in condoms are larger than the HIV.
8. Concur with the Statement of the Moderator, Clerk of Assembly and Convener of the Public Questions & Communications Committee on Sex Education in Queensland State Schools (Appendix A) and incorporate a copy of the Statement in the record.

APPENDIX A

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF QUEENSLAND
Office of the Moderator

12th October 1993

The Hon Pat Comben Moderator
Minister for Education Rev G Kettniss
Parliament House 68 Charlton St.
George Street ASCOT Q 4007
BRISBANE Q 4000 (07) 268 4151

Dear Mr Comben,

Re: Sex Education in Queensland State Schools

Firstly I would like to commend you on your actions reported in the Courier Mail (8/10/93) which you took in condemning the action of a worker from the Queensland Aids Council, who gave obscene material to students as the Dakabin State High School.

Secondly we wish to draw your attention to other material which has been distributed within Queensland State High Schools, such as Trinity Bay High School (Cairns) on 15th October 1992, and the Newmarket State High School on the last school day for 1992. This material was also prepared for distribution by the Queensland Aids Council and DEET.

The Queensland Presbyterian Church expressed its deep concern that you as the Minister do not seem to have any control over what is issued in the State Schools of Queensland, and we do not think it is sufficient that you simply abrogate your responsibility with the statement ‘that it is no longer the role of the Central Office of the Department of Education to specify what resources are used in schools, provided broad policy guidelines are met.’ (Your letter of 20th March 1993, to Mr G Cook – Ref 014710). We would like to point out that you as the Minister for Education have a responsibility to safe-guard the moral and spiritual well being of our children – children who have been entrusted into your care by their parents – and not allow anything which would jeopardize their future physical and mental well being. For these reasons, we appeal to you to exercise your authority in ensuring that material as mentioned above, be no longer permitted to be distributed in the State Schools of Queensland.

Please find enclosed statements relevant to this issue as determined by The Presbyterian Church of Queensland.

Yours faithfully,
(Rt Rev) G K Kettniss (Very Rev Dr) K J Gardner
MODERATOR CLERK OF ASSEMBLY
Copies: Premier of Queensland
Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party
Chairman of the Queensland Aids Council

STATEMENT BY THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF QUEENSLAND ON SEX EDUCATION AND OTHER RELATED MATTERS

THE ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH –

(a) Regards instruction in human sexuality to be primarily a responsibility of parents, to be given within the Biblical constraints of chastity before marriage and fidelity within marriage, to the exclusion of all other sexual practices and preferences.

(b) Affirms that:
(i) The living, active, knowing presence of the One true and living God (Father Son and Holy Spirit) whose commands and precepts in the 66 canonical books of the Christian Scriptures are the duty of every person (without any exception) to obey with love.
(ii) This is irrespective of whether a person believes, likes or has any other attitude about the existence or person of the God of the Scriptures.
(iii) No person who ever has been, is or shall be created is excepted from this duty to love and obey.
(c) Affirms that all homosexual practice is an utter defiling abomination before the holiness and goodness of God, never in any circumstances to be justified, and totally opposes homosexuality (including lesbianism) as a legitimate alternative lifestyle.

(d) Believes the only true solution to the problem of sexually transmitted diseases, including A.I.D.S., is for each individual and the nation, as a whole, to uphold the Biblical standard of chastity before marriage and fidelity within heterosexual marriage to the exclusion of all other sexual practices and preferences.

(e) Encourages Ministers and Elders to minister to A.I.D.S. sufferers with sensitivity and compassion, endeavouring to present newness of life through the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1995 B.B 74

3. Endorse the following responses –

e) that of the Moderator, with the concurrence of the Clerk of Assembly and the Convener of the Public Questions and Communications Committee in issuing a Media release objecting to the material in the supplement of the December 1994 Edition of “Cleo”, featuring a “Safe Sex Guide” endorsed by the Federal Minister of Human Services and Health, the Hon. Carmen Lawrence.

vi SAFE SEX GUIDE MEDIA RELEASE

THURSDAY 9TH MARCH 1995

Our attention has been drawn to the public debate arising from the disclosure of two separate but related issues involving so-called sex education.

The first of these was the "safe sex guide", published as a cooperative effort between personnel from the office of Carmen Lawrence, Federal Minister of Health, and a national women's magazine.

Issued ostensibly as a guide to the young, but obviously intended for a wider audience as it was touted as a "non-judgmental resource everyone should read", it received a subsidy by courtesy of Australian taxpayers of $250,000.

We strongly object, not only to the way in which this guide has been produced and funded, with the full approval of the Minister herself, but also, and more particularly, to the depraved sexual practices which are described and disseminated through its pages.

The second issue involves the publication of sexually explicit swap cards by The Queensland AIDS Council. We commend the State Government on banning their distribution.

Once again, we strenuously object to the funding of this pornographic "Bubble Boy" campaign with taxpayers' money, and even more to the nature of this sexually explicit material.

We have noted the objections of the AIDS Council, who are repeatedly considering a challenge to the State censor's ruling, but believe it is ludicrous that a society which will strenuously maintain that cigarette advertising sends a powerful message of societal approval to adolescents, will insist with a perfectly straight face that there is no moral context to the distribution of pornography in the form of popular style swap cards, which pander to voyeurism.

We affirm that the kind of "education" revealed in both these publications has nothing to do with disease control, and everything to do with normalising a sexual ethic.

They are symptoms of what Judge Fred McGuire, president of the Children's Court of Queensland, recently described as "a serious malaise in our society which threatens its very existence." "The moral dilemma," he said, "can only be resolved by an acceptance of the moral imperative. What is needed is a moral renaissance, a moral reawakening, a restoration of ordinary goodness - in short, a return to the 'good and the right way'."

We affirm unashamedly that that "good and right way" has been clearly revealed by God and is set forth in The Bible. This is true in the right ordering of society generally, as well as the specific matter of child crime which was Judge McGuire's concern.

It is especially so in the ordering of family life where God ordained the normal arrangement as being a marriage of a man and a woman, committing themselves to a life-long relationship of faithfulness and love in marriage, and the building of a home where children would be protected and nurtured in a secure love.

In a day when the position of women is receiving continued attention, we also affirm that it is the Judeo-Christian ethic, insisting that romantic love could be found and protected only in marriage, which began the process of raising the status of women from breeding animal to full human dignity. In contradistinction, the material to which we have been objecting here does nothing to uplift and enhance the position of women or of family life in our society today.

It is time to call a halt, not only to the dissemination of this morally destructive material, but also to its funding from the public purse, whether Federal or State.

For and on behalf of THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF QUEENSLAND

Very Rev Dr K J Gardner, OBE
Clerk of Assembly