Scott Morrison is probably like many fundamentalist Christians – picks and chooses the bits of the Bible that suit his religion.

His attitude to refugees is rather different from the Bible’s injunctions about neighbours but then he probably has a distinctive definition of neighbours which excludes refugees from countries we invaded, gays (he dodged the legalisation of marriage vote in Parliament) and climate change campaigners.

Given the track record of some of his Ministers he’s also unlikely to take up the Bible’s suggestion that he stone them for their sexual activities.

And, he is now ignoring another Biblical injunction – this one relevant to corruption.  He has been delaying federal ICAC legislation for more than 1,000 days and is finally proposing to introduce a bill which will create a toothless tiger which won’t be able to investigate Members of Parliament, Ministers or anything other than issues the government decides to send it.

But with his religious hat on, praising Jesus, he might reflect on the significance for integrity and anti-corruption legislation of the John 3:19-21 passage: which Morrison should affirm and should, with his religious hat on, praise Jesus for.

“Here lies the test:  the light has come into the world, but men preferred the darkness to the light because their deeds were evil. Bad men all hate the light and avoid it, for fear their practices should be shown up. The honest man comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that God is in all he does.”

That’s the New English Bible translation. If you prefer the Tyndale version: “And this is the condempnacion: that light is come into the worlde and the men loved darcknes more then light because their dedes were evill.

For every man that evyll doeth hateth the light: nether commeth to light lest his dedes shuld be reproved.

But he that doth truth commeth to the light that his dedes might be knowen how that they are wrought in God.”

The Tyndale version ought to be greatly valued and remembered for two things: first how the allegedly saintly Thomas More arranged for him to be executed by strangling and his body put on the pyre; and, second its significance for the King James Bible.

Meanwhile you can read Michael Pascoe’s take on the current integrity crises and crikey’s analysis of all the Morrison Ministers who would be under the hammer if we had a proper Federal ICAC.

In case readers are wondering how on earth the atheist author knows the Bible so well – it was his friend Peter Horsfield who reading Michael Pascoe was reminded of the Biblical passages.