Sadly abuse and threatening language has gone in all directions in the marriage debate, as I can testify from personal experience. So the first thing I say as a church leader is to those professing to be Christian: if you can’t participate in our democratic process without being rude and aggro, then leave the campaigning to others.

Jesus teaches his followers to love those who oppose them and to pray for any persecutors. That never stopped him speaking out on moral issues. But he calls Christians to leave anger and terms of abuse behind.

I think of Jesus’ reply when they dragged a woman caught in adultery before him. It’s the famous let-he-who-is-without-sin-cast-the-first-stone comment! Jesus’ actions teach me three things. Firstly, it’s always good to protect the vulnerable from bullying. Secondly, though Jesus often said adultery was sin, he did not condemn the woman. But thirdly, Jesus still challenged her to change.

Deep compassion does not require us never to disagree with others. And I will continue to speak in defence of our current marriage law. But Jesus did not merely judge. He displayed a compassion that touched people. Would that more of us – on every side – could act this way to those we disagree with.

Rev Sandy Grant, St Michael’s Cathedral, Wollongong

The recent war of words between President Trump and the North Korean nut-job Kim Jong-un is very worrying.  Kim Jong-un has been well known as a loose cannon on the world scene for some time, but the recent confrontation between him and Donald Trump has compounded a difficult situation.

It is not in Australia’s interests to approve or encourage Trump’s reckless behaviour, as Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop seem to be intent on doing.

We should be helping to get him under control. By matching Kim Jong-un in bellicose and irrational threats to “bring down fire and fury the world has never seen,” Trump has placed himself in an untenable position should the unpredictable Kim choose to ignore the threats and continue in his provocative behaviour, as is likely.

Trump will then be remembered as either the President who precipitated Armageddon or the President whose tenure was marked by ill conceived bluff and bluster and a complete lack of statesmanship. Let’s hope it will be the latter.  Trump would have been much better off adopting President Roosevelt’s dictum of talking softly and carrying a big stick. Much more effective and much less risky.

John Martin, Woonona

Can you change reality by re-defining words? From ancient times, marriage has been one man plus one woman. All re-defining can achieve is to take us from a definition that makes sense to one that is nonsense. Redefining marriage as the union of “any two people regardless of gender” will inevitably lead to further redefinitions straying further and further from traditional family structure. Like bisexual people, wanting a male spouse plus a female spouse, demanding that the word “two” be replaced by “three”?

Ultimately, once we’ve all been coerced into accepting gender-fluid theory as fact, we’ll have to allow people any number of spouses of multiple genders. At present, same-sex couples can be recognised as next-of-kin etc. The rest of society has already bent over backwards to avoid unjust treatment.

Arnold Jago, Nichols Point