Dear Editor, I am a local hard-core atheist. I have lived in fear many years here for speaking out against Christianly for fear of persecution but I think it’s time to face my fears and speak out about my concerns, with this potential religious restrictions reform. I will not give up and take this message where ever it has to go.

I believe in freedom for all people.

If we are even considering to stop people to practice or organise their faith at the same level of any other church here, that already has that freedom, let me tell you we are going the wrong way, this is how its starts and we will always keep creeping it further and further till to the point where we will be dragging people out of their homes and arresting them for practicing their faith.

This is a very dangerous path we may be going down. This type of thinking must stop and what we need to be thinking of is freedom and what it stands for. This is not a Christian way.

Matthew 5:43+KJV “Ye have heard that it hath been said; Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

So who’s doing the persecuting now? I hope it’s not our Christian people, so if your neighbours have a different faith form, you love them and don’t persecute them. I feel the local leaders of faith here have failed their followers by not leading them away from this, the fact that it has come this far is proof of that. I get it – other competing religious groups could take followers away from the current churches and make people question their own faith when new churches show them other ways of faith, but that’s freedom of choice. Acts 15:7 KJV “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe”.

So is our government going to stand in the way of this God given freedom of choice.

It’s up to the people how they follow God. I hope the government and the churches are not holding hands on this because by definition it would be called a theocracy. Believe me that’s a bad word it sits with other bad words like autocracy, dictatorship, junta, and more. This is a very scary place we are at. Also, I get that there could be dangers of new religions getting cult like, and people taken advantage of but that’s freedom and how we learn and the current churches can promote and expose foul play by new churches to better advice followers. But we all must be free to make that mistake for ourselves, once you touch the fire you will always know it’s hot.

I sincerely beg Christians, choose freedom for all. It’s easy, when someone asks you what you think just say ‘freedom for all’.

Samuel Greig