Monday night television is not a usual venue for theological discussion but Prime Minister Kevin Rudd showed off his knowledge of the Bible as he clashed with a Brisbane pastor over gay marriage.
Mr Rudd turned feisty after first attempting to calmly explain to the ABC Q&A audience his conversion to support same sex marriage.
"If you call yourself a Christian why don't you believe the words of Jesus in the Bible?" Pastor Matt Prater then asked.
"Well mate, if I was going to have that view, the Bible also says that slavery is a natural condition," Mr Rudd replied, to extended applause.
"St Paul said in the New Testament, `Slaves be obedient to your masters'.
"Therefore we should have all fought for the Confederacy in the US civil war? For goodness' sake."
He said the New Testament's fundamental principle was one of love for fellow man and that people shouldn't get "obsessed" on a particular definition of love based on sexuality.
"If you think homosexuality is an unnatural condition then, frankly, I cannot agree with you."
The prime minister also pledged a Labor government would "as soon as the budget opens up" reverse changes that led to many single parents being put on Newstart and losing money.
He faced several questions on the economy, the state of the budget and his claims about the opposition's plans.
Mr Rudd told a dairy farmer he was predisposed to not let Coles and Woolworths "have the power to smash the farming sector to bits" but he'd wait to see what the competition watchdog had to say about milk prices.
The final two questioners of the night wanted to know about Mr Rudd's plans if Labor lost government and what he saw as his legacy.
"How about we get a question which ends with `if you do win the election'?" Mr Rudd replied to laughter.
