A senior Sydney Anglican has expressed "deep distress' after Christian Democrat Party (CDP) members distributed a controversial "Christian values' checklist to his congregation members last Sunday in an attempt to win last minute votes.
The checklist gives the CDP full marks while the Liberal-National Coalition are given between 13 and 15 out of a possible 27 marks.
In contrast the Labor Party is given just 3 out of 27 and the Greens just one tick.
The Rev Canon Sandy Grant from St Michael's Pro-Cathedral Wollongong said he had not planned to comment on Saturday's Federal Election, but felt so upset by the checklist that he felt compelled to write a last-minute open letter to his parish.
Mr Grant said the Australian Christian Values Checklist 2007 "is simplistic, reductionistic, and unbalanced' and therefore "runs the danger of being sub-Christian'.
"I find the checklist distressingly imbalanced," Mr Grant wrote. "The most obvious omission is the entire absence of anything to do with caring for the poor and marginalised."
"I will be blunt: this is a disgraceful omission. I believe the groups that produced and distributed this checklist should repent of their carelessness for the poor in this public statement of Christian values. Christians cannot just "overlook' concern for the poor."
The checklist was developed by the Australian Christian Values Institute.
On their website, the institute is described as "an outreach function of Australian Heart Ministries' " a charity associated with the Lighthouse Christian Centre in Wollongong.
Mr Grant added that there "are other disturbing omissions' from the checklist.
The document says nothing about refugees, despite the biblical Christian imperative to offer hospitality to strangers.
Likewise it fails to mention industrial relations.
"There is also nothing about industrial relations, noting concerns that fair employment conditions should be preserved for workers, especially those most vulnerable to exploitation," said Mr Grant pointing to James 5:1-6. "Consider also the concerns expressed by our Archbishop Jensen in the area of industrial relations."
The checklist also fails to address many other issues of serious Christian concern including Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation.
It includes just one question on the environment compared to four on gay rights, three on abortion, two attacking ‘harm minimisation’ drugs policies and three on pornography and smut in the media.
