Australian Football CEO Forced to Choose Between Faith or Career

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Worldwide, biblical values are being replaced with those of the world.

In Australia, Essendon CEO Andrew Thorburn was faced with choosing his job or his church.

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is an Australian football team, but bears little resemblance to American football and is similar to rugby.

After Thorburn’s hiring as CEO, many within the LGBTQ community protested the appointment because of his Christian beliefs. Many of the complaints are similar to those against Christians in the United States, claiming that when a Christian is appointed to a position of authority it will strip people of their rights.

The attacks quickly spread however, after a sermon dug up from Thorburn’s church in 2013.

The sermons controversial words? That homosexuality was a sin. The sermon was not preached by Thorburn.

Following this revelation that the Bible does not condone homosexuality or gender transitions, and believes marriage is meant for one man and one woman, Australian politicians came after Thorburn with a vengeance.

The City of Port Phillip’s deputy mayor, Tim Baxter, even turned in his membership card to the football club in protest of Thorburn’s hiring and tweeted his reasoning:

“As a bisexual man I cannot feel welcome in this club. @Essendonfc your decision, when the club has desperately needed a solid, uncontroversial path forward, has instead ripped the club back to the dark ages, and alienated your members,” he wrote.

On an even bigger stage, the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews excoriated not only Thorburn, but Christian values in his statement:

“Those views are absolutely appalling. I don’t support those views, that kind of intolerance, that kind of hatred, bigotry. It is just wrong.

“To dress that up as anything other than bigotry is just obviously false.”

These attempts to silence Christianity are not new, but are growing in frequency around the world.

Pastors and churches in states like California are under constant threat and harassment from local and state agencies, and pro-life pregnancy centers are being harassed by pro-abortion activists, yet the Department of Justice has done little to investigate these hate crimes.

The FBI has raided the homes of several prominent pro-life activists with guns drawn while their families watch in terror.

Andrew Thorburn was given a choice: Either resign as chairman and member of his church, City on a Hill, or resign as the CEO of Essendon Football Club.

He chose his faith, his church and most importantly his God.

After less than 24 ours of being CEO at Essendon, Thorburn turned in his resignation.

He issued a statement sharing his side of the manufactured controversy, and bemoaning the treatment of Christianity in Australian society:

“Despite my own leadership record, within hours of my appointment being announced, the media and leaders of our community had spoken. They made it clear that my Christian faith and my association with a church are unacceptable in our culture if you wish to hold a leadership position in society.

“This grieves me greatly – though not just for myself, but for our society overall. I believe we are poorer for the loss of our great freedoms of thought, conscience and belief that made for a truly diverse, just and respectful community.” {eoa}

James Lasher is a Copy Editor for Charisma Media.