Roadmap

It's fascinating to discover the analogies that people use to make sense of the world. Aging football star Gary Ablett disproved evolution (at least to his satisfaction) by referring to a jar of Vegemite and the celestial clockmarker. The telephone, as a past post noted, is used to characterise prayer. Aging tennis star (and pastor at the Victory Life Centre church in Perth) Margaret Court has been somewhat more adventurous in denouncing advocacy of same-sex marriage as promoting "unhealthy" and "unnatural" unions.

"I actually love homosexual people," the 69-year-old said in a telephone interview. "I do not have anything against them. It's just my view [about gay marriage] and it's in the scriptures ... The Bible will always be the TV guide to my life".

Uh huh. She had denied a penchant for hatespeech, explaining that

To dismantle this sole definition of marriage and try to legitimise what God calls abominable sexual practices that include sodomy, reveals our ignorance as to the ills that come when society is forced to accept law that violates their very own God-given nature of what is right and what is wrong.

Reportage by Reuters alas does not give details of which celestial "TV guide" is used by Ms Court, an exponent of the prosperity gospel, faith healing and unpleasantness about people whose lives differ from what she characterises as "the silent majority".

Presumably her version skips those oh so inconvenient prohibitions in the Old Testament (no pork, no shellfish, no flatfish, no garb of mixed fibres), exhortations to immolate witches and punishments for failing to engage in ethnic cleansing, and permissiveness - if not actually encouragement - regarding concubinage, slavery and other practices that would raise an eyebrow if depicted on free to air broadcast television during the children's period. If she's reading the guide selectively - a bit of channel surfing perhaps - she can ignore the OT unhappiness about female agency and the exposure of her body as she danced about the tennis court. A female pastor? Hmm. Perhaps she popped into the kitchen for a warm cup of cocoa during an ad break and missed the vibe about gender roles.

The Victory Church website indicates that the institution is led by "Rev Dr Margaret Court AO, MBE".

Senior Minister, Ps Margaret Court was officially ordained to Christian ministry in 1991 after seventeen years of service for the Lord. In the same year she established Margaret Court Ministries Inc, an outreach ministry to take the gospel to the people and to hold miracle and healing meetings throughout the city.

Ps. Margaret says, "Victory Life Church is the fulfilment of a vision God gave to me some time ago, that a mighty work of mercy, love and compassion be established in this great city of Perth." She sees this work as her greatest challenge yet; far surpassing her days in pro-tennis which saw her extraordinary vision, talent and determination take her to the top in that sport. She retired from the tennis circuit in 1976 with sixty-two Grand Slam titles to her credit. Margaret and Barry have three daughters, a son and four grandchildren.

Being much in demand, not only in Australia but also overseas, Margaret teaches and ministers with a very powerful healing anointing. Victory Life Centre has been blessed with leaders who know the call of God on their lives, and that He has call them to serve at this Church. As a result, a number of the areas of ministry which God had shown Ps Margaret to establish are now in place.

The site allows you to order a prayer online and to shop, perhaps in the best tradition of the TV guide.

The sense of some items on her blog is unclear. Not being blessed with a cosmic connection I'm still grappling with "A governmental decree is speaking forth, in faith and power, from human lips what God has previously ordained from eternity past.". Other items are deliciously retro -

I love my nation and have proudly fought battles in the tennis court and stood under it’s flag many times. I believe God’s hand has been over our nation for good as we have acknowledged Him and looked to Him. Because of this we have been a blessed nation.

It is sad to see a minority able to exercise influence over the majority. May the silent majority be silent no more. Our education system, hospitals, freedom of speech owe a debt of gratitude to our Christian heritage. We need to celebrate it .

In August last year the blog states that

In Genesis 2:24 it says: “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.” It says it again in Ephesians 5:31. Marriage is ordained by God – it is all the way through the bible that a husband and wife would multiply the earth.

The bible is a living book; it is our TV guide to life and how to have a successful marriage and how to raise a family. It also says that homosexuality, adultery, fornification, is an abomination. God loves the person and we are to love the people but nowhere does it say that two people of the same sex should marry and have children.

Let us all be a Voice and stand up for marriage and family as God has ordained it

Conveniently there's no citation of Leviticus ... but people engaged in theological channel surfing presumably don't need to worry about consistency, getting to quote Genesis but not some of the nasty or merely (to a contemporary eye) more ludicrous bits.

A reader notes that "in May 2001 [she] received an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Laws Degree) from Oral Roberts University, USA for her contribution as a Pastor not only to the body of Christ but also to the community". An honorary degree from an institution perhaps best known for funding scandals and a history of segregation.

Sociologists of religion and of conversion narratives might relish the explanation that -

Living life as a normal housewife and mother was a new challenge. But more than anything, Margaret wanted to find out more about her new Christian life. In her search, well-meaning people gave her wrong counsel regarding inner healing and deliverance which actually threatened her life and sanity.

Gradually, feelings of uselessness, inferiority, unworthiness began to manifest into physical ailments and soon Margaret suffered from fear, depression, insomnia and a torn valve of the heart. The once healthy, fittest woman in the world was now weak and fearful and afraid to go to sleep. She cried out to God for a better way!

God answered her prayers. After watching a life-changing video by Dr Fred Price in 1979 which taught on how faith can grow and how you can overcome any area of defeat in your life, Margaret began to attend a newly formed church in Perth.