Sydney Morning Article Re Media Release
22 Comments Published by Office 2 February 11th, 2009 in A Call To Action, Australia, Christian Church Issues, Rise Up AustraliaSydney Morning Herald Article
Pastor’s abortion dream inflames bushfire tragedy
by Rick Feneley February 11, 2009 – 2:57PM
The Catch the Fire Ministries has tried to blame the bushfires disaster on laws decriminalising abortion in Victoria.
The Pentecostal church’s leader, Pastor Danny Nalliah, claimed he had a dream about raging fires on October 21 last year and that he woke with “a flash from the Spirit of God: that His conditional protection has been removed from the nation of Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of innocent children in the womb”.
The former Treasurer, Peter Costello, who sent a video message to an Australia Day prayer meeting organised by Pastor Nalliah this year, was outraged by his remarks on the fires.
“To link the death and suffering of bushfire victims to other political events is appalling, heartless and wrong,” said Mr Costello, who has lost a Christian friend in the fires.
“Those who have suffered deserve ever support and sympathy. It is beyond the bounds of decency to try to make moral or politcal points out of such a tragedy.”
Pastor Nalliah said he was helping to co-ordinate fire relief, including providing trucks to distribute clothes and food and giving his own blood, but he said he must tell “the truth”.
Asked by the Herald if he did not believe most Australians would regard his remarks as being in appallingly bad taste, he said today: “I must tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.”
He said it was no use “molly-coddling” Australians.
Asked if he believed in a God who would take vengeance by killing so many people indiscriminately – even those who opposed abortion, Mr Nalliah referred to 2 Chronicles 7:14 to vouch for his assertion that God could withdraw his protection from a nation.
“The Bible is very clear,” he said. “If you walk out of God’s protection and turn your back on Him, you are an open target for the devil to destroy.”
In the New King James version of the Bible, 2 Chronicles 7:14 states that: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
He quoted a headline describing the fires as “The Darkest hour for Victoria”. “A few months ago the news media should have reported `the darkest hour for the unborn’, but unfortunately the `Decriminalisation of Abortion bill’ went through parliament and was passed, thus making many people call Victoria `the baby killing state of Australia,’ ” Mr Nalliah said.
Pastor Nalliah said there may be criticism. But he said he did not send out his media statement thoughtlessly. “We spend two days working on it.”
He had previously said drought and the world financial crisis could be partly blamed on human sin.
To my brothers and sisters at Catch the Fire Ministries,
I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your labours in Christ and for the stand you are taking for righteousness in our nation. I appreciate the sincerity of your support for victims of the bushfires as well as directing our nation back to God to secure His protection and favour upon us for the future.
The lives lost in the recent bushfires are tragic, and so are the estimated 90,000 people murdered through abortion every year in Australia. The Bible is clear that forsaking God and forsaking righteousness has devastating consequences for individuals and for nations.
I join with you in your stand and in your commitment to pray for change in this Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. As well as 2 Chronicles 7:14, Here is a Scripture that is on my heart:
‘O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.’ – Habakkuk 3:2
Yours together in Christ, Chris
Pastor Nalliah,
As a newspaper editor who receives many, many emails each day I don’t normally respond to general release emails such as yours but on this occasion I am making an exception.
Congratulations on the work you are doing to help the victims of the fires but I consider any good deeds are being completely ruined by your linking the fires in Victoria with abortion laws.
Frankly I think such a link is disgusting and the last thing people struggling with the loss of loved ones, friends and their homes would want to read.
It is blatant opportunism to use such an event to get your views across to a wider audience.
Whatever your views on abortion and the laws passed in Victoria, they should be saved for a more appropriate time.
David Moase
Editor
Coffs Coast Advocate
Dear Catch the Fire and Ps Danny,
Please be absolutely sure of of what you say about prophesies stated in recent months past, this is important that the church are shown to be active and practical loving helps first, then maybe later some comment, but please show care for those who are in shock and suffering, prior to saying ”i told you so”, this would be insulting to those hurting., including Christian community.
And even i agree that our nation needs to kneel in repentance, however even Abraham was given opportunity to intercede, grieve and make mistakes by almightly God. please be compassionate or you will lose your right to be heard. i love what you do and are moving His people to pray and seek obedience rather than sacrifice … this is awesome…, but let God be God too., for He is the author of salvation and works in the hearts of men… allow His people to be the church and love the world. Even my secular workplace is gathering funds to help people… what is Catch the fire doing practically which will give you a voice to speak to these people? Doug
Hi,
I’m in agreement with you regarding the bushfires perhaps being a
punishment from God for the abortion laws in Victoria. I actually wrote
a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald on this matter querying why John
Brumby can cry about the bushfire victims but not cry about all of those
lives that have been murdered through abortion. This I find hypocrital!
Keep up the good work. The press may vilify you but you have some silent
supporters such as myself.
James
Good for you Pastor Danny. You continue to tell and warn the people. You are like another Jeremiah
Will pray for you in all this. blessings Julie
I pray that through these difficult times around Victoria with the bushfires people will come to know Jesus Christ personally and The Message and Truth of Gods word The Bible.
My condolences to those that have lost so much.
Good on you Danny for speaking what you believe is the truth about the fires. I support you 100%. God is no respecter of men and abortion is the scurge of sociaty. Please keep telling the truth. I believe you and you know that you are right because God has told you you are right. Regards Lach
Thank you for standing up to this.
My wife and I have been saying the same thing that God’s sovereign protection has been removed from Victoria as a direct result of this horrible Bill.
As a society, we cannot continue to do whatever we want and not expect any consequences.
We have even tempted to think, “how many precious babies have been lost since the Bill was passed and how does that equate to the number of lives now?”
We cry for the lives lost in the fires, but we cry just as much for the lost babies!
And for anyone else who condemns your comments as insensitive, how insensitive as they as they sit back and watch our unborn being slaughtered!?!
As a nation we also have to consider other natural disasters in the light of our activities eg the longest and worst drought in history against rampant support for homosexuality.
We are praying for your protection and wisdom as you move forward in His will.
Pastors, Danny, Jason and team! Greetings in our mighty Saviour’s name!
May the Lord pour out in tremendous abundance His mighty empowerment on you.
Who else do we see sticking their neck out in the public arena and declaring
what surely must be obvious to even the least curious Christian regarding
the recent bushfire ‘judgment’ on Victoria and Victorians. Yes, every one
of us is moved with compassion for all of those affected, directly or
indirectly by the devastation. But the fact remains that this was such an
extraordinary combination of circumstances, very reminiscent of O.T.
judgment by the Lord of Israel through conquering nations like Chaldea, that
it is impossible to ignore! Bless you and praise you for having the courage
to speak what is on your heart. My wife and I stand with you in this
matter, and our hearts are aligned with yours in what is happening to our
Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. Time has well passed for complacency,
apathy and inactivity! Prayer is vital, but without acting on what we know
to be right and necessary it is a ‘cop out!’ CTFM, I want to know what we
can do to demonstrate our support of what you stand for. I want to know
what you would have us do to visibly and vocally support what the Lord has
called you to do. We are beside ourselves that the Churches are silent in
these latter days. If ever there was a time when the Church needs to be
heard, it is NOW! Otherwise, what does she REALLY stand for? Fight the
good fight. In His name, Trevor Shaw. P.S. Just for your interest, if you
can make the time, look at http://www.RightAustralia.com
Pastor Danny,
Many peple, whether Christian or not yet christian, would be appalled by your connecting VIC abortion laws changes with the massive devastation to country Victoria through the recent bushfires. Are you courageous? Bold and truth telling? Many Hebrew Prophets were given unpopular messages that they did n’t want to deliver, but when they resisted the “word became as fire in their bones” (Jeremiah is one example). They neither desired to tell the truth, nor delighted in their fulfillment.
I share the gut level feeling that it is appalling that you promote this connection, but I am mindful of the biblical view that natural disasters, wars and famines ARE acts of God’s judgement. Any person who doesn’t recognise this just doesn’t have an understanding of the biblical world view. But as Jesus said, when people came to him concerned about many that were killed when a tower fell on them, ” Do you think they were greater sinners, no, unless you repent, you shall likewise perish”. All people deserve God’s judgement, the fires in Victoria are warning to us all, not of abortion laws. The fact that we are still here is an act of a gracious and protecting God, not because we are more right than others.
In Christ service
Paul Robinson
Hi Danny,
May God bless you for being one of the few Christian leaders to stand up and share what The Lord has shown you, perhaps some of the churches in Australia could have taken it more seriously and prayed before this tragedy came about. I do believe God showed you this for a reason.
We are praying for you and your team as you go out to help the victims inspite of all the negative publicity you have received.
Danny,
Yes, many stood against the abortion bill and questions were raised again once the abortion bill was passed. How is it possible to agree to a nine month term abortion?I especially saw these horric photos, to me it looked just terrible seeing buckets of unborn babies and full term ones. I believed that God was not pleased. He was not pleased with Leaders of our city at that time.
I too felt that there were going to be some consequences regarding this issue in particular.
“The sins of the forefathers will be passed down to the generations.”
Those children that have been aborted did not have a voice, like many in this situation, many did not have a voice, it was to late.
On Sat, there was little warning, no alarms, no sirens, people’s homes and lives were taken suddenly. The grief has been unbearable, the anguish the same, as we watched the faces of many people seeing their family or friends sacrificed.So many have lost everything.
Again, yes unprotection is a word, also judgment? Right now, though many have sacrificed their own lives to save others just as Jesus did for us.
“He gave his only begotten son so that we could have life”
John 3
“He did not come into the world to condem the world but through HIM all may be saved”
Is time for us to “BRIDGE THE GAP” to help those that also did not have a voice, and to help those in their time of need and also feel what Jesus felt, compassion, love and forgivness!
I agree with you that this disaster could well be a divine punishment on the sin of this nation, and this State particuarly, and have written a letter to ‘The Age’ today in response to Barney Zwartz’s article yesterday criticising Danny. While I don’t always agree with his theological perspective, I am convinced that God is visiting judgment in the form of the worst drought, floods and fires in this nation’s recorded history for our deliberate disobedience to His word. Abortion is murder, and sodomy and other perversions are equally an abomination to God. Shame on those ‘Christians’ (and politicians such as Brumby) who condemn you for insensitivity, when you are only trying to awaken the nation to the dreadful consequences of rebellion against God, as ancient Israel found when God punished them by allowing them to be destroyed by the heathen nations around them. It is past time for Christian ‘leaders’ to proclaim the whole counsel of God, which includes judgment to come, instead of lulling the nation into a false sense of security by telling them that a loving God could never punish anybody for their sin. Yes, God is love, but He is also holy and will not forever delay His judgment upon this wicked world. The disasters we are seeing could well be only the beginning of sorrows, if we do not repent.
Greetings to you Ps Danny and CTFM brothers and sisters in Christ,
We are a prayer group & belong to the body of Christ in Cairns. Just a note of encouragement and agreement for your stand on the Abortion Bill in Victoria. We had been feeling in our prayer time that the Lord was connecting the fires with this bill. We stand with you as one voice in this beautiful nation of Australia. We humbly accept our responsibility and remorse before the Lord for allowing this abomination of a so called law through parliament.
We believe and are pressing into the Lord for the wisdom and his word for the abolishing of this law together with others that are Anti Christ in nature.
We encourage and commend you for your righteous boldness that will open doors of life whilst shutting those that bring death and offence to our Lord and Savour.
We will continue to pray for breakthrough in the heavens for rain in the natural but most of all in the Spirit realm over Victoria and the rest of this Nation to cause the Church to cry out to the one and only true and Living God who is not willing that any should perish.
We are so greatful to our Lord for giving us the grace to see what is happening, and his wisdom to bring true change.
Once again thank you and God’s blessing, favour and protection be upon you all.
Yours in Christ H, J, B, V
To Pastor Danny Nalliah,
This is a hasty note to let you know that I believed the message you delivered is from God and I thank God you spoke boldly and courageously.
Never mind how some fellow believers are going to react. We will not judge them. We leave it to God. As I look at Lamentation 2, I can only
say that the fire and the damage it has done, can be a sign of God’s mercy (no mothers had to eat their own children in the fire area). The
people of Victoria must not think that there is only room for comfort and the display of human compassions and neglect the greater need for
repentance and the seeking of God’s forgiveness for the murder of innocent lives yet to be born. We humans are murderers. Not God.
John
Malaysia.
I agree with you on fires, possibly being caused by abortion. We in the
United States are in our darkest days, since Obama was “put” into
office. We all have to support each other to fight this, devastating
moral evil.
For Life,
Judy
Fairfield, Ohio, USA
Hi Danny,
We thank you for your comments regarding the parrel between abortion and the bush fires.
The introduction of the right to choose abortion here in Victoria is going to have far reaching consequences upon us all and this is only the start.
Thank you Danny for courage and your stand to speak the truth.
Danny I have been involved with a pro-life group in Victoria and would like at some stage to meet with you to discuss what we can do from here on now that the legislation has been passed in Victoria.
I believe we need to work closely together to change all involved in this evil.
Kind Regards, Kevin
Pastor Danny,
We have seen and read your comments with regards to the Bush Fires, and your dreams, we can not agree with your comments, as God the Father who is the God of all, is not a fickle God, who changes his mind based on our actions (1) he is a God of Love, Grace and forgiveness, of which we have all received at many times in our lives, and will continue to have until it is our time to live with him.
As his mercies are new every morning and his compassion never fails (2) God is not a God who would take innocent lives, in exchange for Govt legislation with regards to abortion, as he has no need to show or prove his might,(2a) as he is God after all,he is not willing that any should perish and he is long suffering towards us,(As judgment day is not yet upon us) he takes no pleasure in anyone who dies (3) and has compassion on all he has made. (4) His promise of protection is continuous (5) and once again is not based on the actions of Man.
We suggest you test the spirit (6) of which gave you the interpretation of the dream, if indeed you are Holy Spirit filled.
Regards.
Colin & Susan.
1 Malachi 3:6
2 Lamentations 3:22,23
2a 2 Peter 3:9
3 Ezekiel 18:32
4 Psalm 145 8,9
5 Psalm 121: 3-8
6 1 John 4:1
David is the only writer I agree with on this page. Opportunistic is the only appropriate descriptor for the link made between abortion laws and the fires.
cheers
H
Thank you for making such a strong stand as you have Last night our Pastor declared from the pulpit that it was wrong to blame the abortion bill on the bushfire tragedy He was quite disgusted that someone could make this claim!! I was ashamed that he could do this He is an Assembly of God Pastor so I was surprised. I thought I need to ask God is my Pastor right? What is the truth? I then went to my daily devotional I receive via email and this is the passage of scripture God led me to read Psalm 11:1-7 (New Living Translation)
Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
“Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
2 The wicked are stringing their bows
and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
at those whose hearts are right.
3 The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
What can the righteous do?â€
4 But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
examining every person on earth.
5 The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
He hates those who love violence.
6 He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
punishing them with scorching winds.
7 For the righteous Lord loves justice.
The virtuous will see his face.
Dear Danny,
I still remember our heavy hearts when we learnt that the abortion law was passed in Victoria. My wife and I thought: how could a modern, civilised society like ours be so blind and stupid to pass this law; and where were the overwhelming protests from God’s people? I know that some faithful voices were there, but all the streets of Melbourne should have been packed with protesters.
Then more recently, like so many others have already stated, our family was greatly saddened to learn of the human tragedy and devastation from the recent bushfires. When we first heard about it, we looked at each other and sadly wondered – could this be a wake-up call from the Lord? (or were we just thinking callous thoughts?)
A few days later, we received your emails about the fires and your dream last October. It was not a “nice” message, the media distorted it (as expected), and it would have been better kept for a more appropriate time. However, I realised it had to be said. Our duty is to serve God, and not to say nice things to please men.
Thank you for your courageous stand.
Blessings and the Lord’s wisdom to you and CTFM team,
Leighton (Sydney)
Hi Danny,
I too once had a Vision of Australia in Flames from the very bottom to the top, the whole Nation was in Flames! I was initially terrible upset and cried out to God that Australia would be destroyed, thinking it must be Australia under judgment, but then I saw Jesus rising out of the TOP END of Australia with His Hands stretched out over the Nation, as the RISEN ASCENDED LORD and KING! He was HUGE and I then immediately understood that the Nation in Flames was in fact the GREAT OUTPOURING of the SPIRIT promised to this Land!
Not the Nation burning up under the hand of devil, or under God’s removed hand of protection. True the devil will always try to outwit GOD’S destiny for a Nation and institute HIS agenda of death, hell and destruction, but that does not mean that God no longer is there to Protect. It simply means the devil is angry at Gods Plans, which always and only display His Character of LOVE and GOODNESS! Just as he was when Jesus was born and thru Herod all the 2 year old boys were killed by a dreadful plot to destroy innocent life! Where was God’s hand of Protection then and who was reaping consequences that time?
I believe we Prophecy in Part and know in Part as I Cors: 13 says, and that is why Prophets ‘Need’ other Prophets, Teachers, Pastors and Apostles for their protection and for Accountability, because as prophetic people without that we are all in danger of Prophecying from the basis of an Old Testament prophetic understanding and from an Old and obsolete covenant, instead of Prophecying from the basis of the New Covenant of GRACE, instituted through Christ’s Redemption on the cross.
New Testament Prophecy is far removed from what was required of the Prophets under the Old Covenant where there was No Cross, Redemption or Resurrection and God had no other option for redemption for unrepented sin, than to allow judgment, or remove His Hand. Yes I believe people can reap and experience suffering thru choices they make, but that is NOT God removing His hand
God’s Church, no matter her failures, is STILL God’s BEST CHOICE for His BLESSING and PRESENCE and She is still Salt and Light in the earth. That is, She PRESERVES and PROTECTS, but only when she GIVES GRACE and LOVE and does not pronounce Judgment. Telling the Truth is telling the Truth about WHO JESUS and THE FATHER TRULY ARE! It is not telling people how bad, and sinful they are. WHY? Because its THE ‘GOODNESS’ OF GOD which LEADS to REPENTANCE eh! When People FIND OUT how GOOD GOD IS, then repentance follows, because they Will WANT this GOOD and LOVING GOD! Who wants a God who waiting in Wings to remove his Hand of Protection when they go astray and will allow great suffering and catastrophe to strike them down!? Then call it love!!!!! Sorry that is NOT LOVE.
Ok! Blessings and Peace Danny. We are all growing and learning eh, non of us Prophecies perfectly and Non of us have yet grown to Full Understanding of the GRACE, and GOODNESS of GOD in His overflowing Mercy. So this is my understanding right now and I fully expect to Grow and Change in that as I am sure you do also.