'My mother taught me that it is OK to tell a white lie' were the words of our Education Minister, Verity Firth, as she struggled to justify the commencement of the schools ethics class trials in NSW.

I couldn't believe my ears.

Her supposed 'justification'  demonstrates the whole problem with the approach of this course.

The classes are being taught by volunteers, and their role was not to 'play God', but to teach children to think for themselves.

So what happens if my child says that his dad taught him that it is wrong to tell a white lie? Is he then taught to think for himself until he comes to the conclusion that his dad is wrong? At what point does rightness and wrongness provide any parameters?

The course content covers a host of potentially contentious issues including animal rights and the rights of children.

However, the suger-coated example given in the media report was the question of birthday inivites: what to do if a better offer comes along when you have already made a commitment. While it is heart warming to show a child answering 'I've already made a commitment and can't', what happens when another child says ' I’ll take the better offer'.

Is it realistic to think that the volunteer teachers are merely facilitators?

Already the moral fabric of our society is degenerating to unprecedented levels. The promotion of this kind of moral relativism by the Government is extraordinary.

The term 'parental choice'  kept coming up in the interview with the Education Minister. It is certainly a well-thought out line of spin, because on the surface it hard to argue with.

Nevertheless it is also hard to deny that much of the push for this course comes from those who have an agenda to squeeze God out of schools.

So it is suprising that I have begun to hear mutterings from within our Anglican Church that this issue is not worth fighting about. It is claimed the negative press will put Christians further behind.

Now this is where this issue becomes appropriate to discuss for this strategic thinking column.

Once the door is opened, it will never be shut. And it will just be pushed open more and more in the years to come.

If this trial becomes mainstream, in 10 years time there will be no SRE in public schools and there will be no place for God in the education of children in public schools.

Perhaps the education minister was telling a white lie.

If we are not going to stand up on this issue, then will ever take a stand on anything?