Their names were Lord Lyttelton (a member of the British parliament) and Gilbert West.  

They realised that the key issue was the resurrection of Jesus. So they decided to sound the death knell of Christianity by disproving his resurrection.  

They went to their respective home towns and agreed to meet in a few months to share their findings (no email in those days). 

When the time came for their meeting they were a little bit sheepish as they sat down to compare notes.

Both had independently come to the same conclusion, that the evidence in favor of the resurrection was almost unassailable and that it passed the test applied in law court trials as being ‘proven beyond reasonable doubt’.   

They had discovered that all the other explanations to account for the known historical facts have serious flaws.    

They then became convinced Christians and wrote a book supporting their new-found faith.  

Lawyers are trained and skilled in the art of evaluating evidence and their testimony in this regard is of great importance.  

Many others have come to the same conclusion. A King’s Counsel by the name of Sir Edward Clarke once stated “as a lawyer I have made a prolonged study of the evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. To me the evidence is conclusive, and over and over again in the High Court I have secured the verdict on evidence not nearly so compelling. The Gospel evidence for the resurrection I accept unreservedly as the testimony of truthful people to facts they were able to substantiate”.   

He could have also added “and for which they were prepared to die rather than go back on their testimony”.

I am inclined to think that those who advocated so strongly for the removal of Christian education in our schools have not yet embarked upon stage two of the journey taken by Lord Lyttelton and Gilbert West.  

Maybe they should give it a go and see where it takes them.

LEN MARTIN

Pomonal

EVERY day, tens of thousands of Victorians head off to work, expecting that at the end of the day they will return home safely to their families.

Thankfully, Victoria is one of the safest states in which to work and most of us do make it back home at the end of our working day.

During National Safe Work Month this October we are being urged to ‘Be Safe. Be Healthy. Because…’ 

Because last year 20 Victorians were killed on the job.

Because thousands more workers were injured.

Because workplace injuries can be devastating.

Because our health and well-being are important.

Because our jobs are important.

As an employee and a WorkCover lawyer I can think of countless reasons why staying safe at work should be a priority.

I urge all workers to take a few moments this month to reflect on what workplace safety means to you personally.

More importantly, I urge you to take the time every working day to ensure that you and your fellow workers are safe.

MEGHAN HOARE 

Slater and Gordon

I WOULD like to draw the attention of readers to the expanding drought-like conditions affecting much of regional Victoria, particularly in western Victoria.

While Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford was revelling in the new public holiday last Friday, enjoying the unseasonably high temperatures sweeping the state and tweeting the delights of the Dunkeld pub, hundreds of small business operators were forced to close their doors and farmers battled bushfires as they were watching their crops shrivel and water supplies evaporate.

This is a sad indictment of a city-centric Andrews government, which is dominated by affiliated unions and an agriculture minister totally out of touch with her ministerial constituency.

Members of the Andrews government spent the state’s two hottest October days since 1914 congratulating themselves on their perceived success of this new public holiday, with a football crowd and warm weather, while neglecting to see the impending disaster unfolding for farming communities in regional Victoria.

Low water supplies and a serious fire this week at Wensleydale near Winchelsea and in other areas of the state demonstrate the precarious nature of our environment, something confirmed by the declaration of a total fire ban on Tuesday in much of Victoria. Farmers have lost their crops in the north and without immediate rain across the rest of the state crops will not fill out, only salvageable as stockfeed, with the loss of millions of export dollars.

Water storages are drying up as farmers are being forced to sell stock.

Paddocks shut up for hay and silage are rapidly drying off and will yield little. This fairly bleak picture of rural Victoria is a significant challenge due to severe climatic conditions. The Minister for Agriculture, who appears to be oblivious to what is happening in the bush, needs to hop off the public holiday gravy train and out of the comfort of the Royal Mail Hotel at Dunkeld and start supporting her agricultural constituency now as we approach a long, hot and dry summer. 

SIMON RAMSAY

State Member for Western Victoria