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| Is it time for the rebirth of Australian Christian activism? | Is it time for the rebirth of Australian Christian activism? |
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| It has been some time since Christian activists have made it into the news. Those who sat on Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten’s office floors yesterday joined in a tradition that includes names such as Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King Jr and William Wilberforce, just to mention a few. While it can be genuinely argued that Christians have always worked away quietly in the background seeking to make lives better, it is some time since there was a movement akin to that which fought for civil rights and dismantled apartheid. | It has been some time since Christian activists have made it into the news. Those who sat on Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten’s office floors yesterday joined in a tradition that includes names such as Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King Jr and William Wilberforce, just to mention a few. While it can be genuinely argued that Christians have always worked away quietly in the background seeking to make lives better, it is some time since there was a movement akin to that which fought for civil rights and dismantled apartheid. |
| The evangelical Christianity which eventually helped to end slavery slowly became more interested in personal salvation than in social reform, with a few notable exceptions. Even in those nations where there is a clear divide between church and state, and perhaps particularly in those contexts, Christianity has been used as an instrument of social control in the post industrial revolution world. | The evangelical Christianity which eventually helped to end slavery slowly became more interested in personal salvation than in social reform, with a few notable exceptions. Even in those nations where there is a clear divide between church and state, and perhaps particularly in those contexts, Christianity has been used as an instrument of social control in the post industrial revolution world. |
| In the last 50 years, we have seen the emergence of a movement that has refocused on the life and teachings of the historical Jesus. This shift away from simply practicing the dogma of Christianity to actually seeking to live a "Jesus life" has forced believers to confront the terrible reality that their leader was executed under the charge of sedition. A serious and historically contextual exploration of the gospels compels the reader to acknowledge that Jesus’ main theme, The Kingdom of God, was the intentional promotion of a radical alternative to the Kingdom of Caesar. Even the title “son of God”, given to him after his death by his followers, was a direct challenge to the emperor who also held that title. | In the last 50 years, we have seen the emergence of a movement that has refocused on the life and teachings of the historical Jesus. This shift away from simply practicing the dogma of Christianity to actually seeking to live a "Jesus life" has forced believers to confront the terrible reality that their leader was executed under the charge of sedition. A serious and historically contextual exploration of the gospels compels the reader to acknowledge that Jesus’ main theme, The Kingdom of God, was the intentional promotion of a radical alternative to the Kingdom of Caesar. Even the title “son of God”, given to him after his death by his followers, was a direct challenge to the emperor who also held that title. |
| Whenever the sort of activism we are now seeing around the issue of asylum emerges, it is usually closely accompanied with irrational cries for the separation of church and state. But Australia does not have an established church, and there can be no religious test for a government position. Particular church leaders do not have a seat in parliament by virtue of their ecclesiastical office, although this does not preclude them being elected to a seat by popular vote. It does not mean, however, that religious leaders must not comment on political or social issues. Ironically, when we see the churches challenging the state, we are observing an actual separation rather than the illusion of one that leads to the church being an instrument of social control for the benefit of the state. | Whenever the sort of activism we are now seeing around the issue of asylum emerges, it is usually closely accompanied with irrational cries for the separation of church and state. But Australia does not have an established church, and there can be no religious test for a government position. Particular church leaders do not have a seat in parliament by virtue of their ecclesiastical office, although this does not preclude them being elected to a seat by popular vote. It does not mean, however, that religious leaders must not comment on political or social issues. Ironically, when we see the churches challenging the state, we are observing an actual separation rather than the illusion of one that leads to the church being an instrument of social control for the benefit of the state. |
| Australia now finds itself in the midst of a perfect storm for the emergence of Christian activism. There now exists a political environment where a government wilfully and seemingly with impunity breaks international treaties, and denies basic human rights to the world’s most vulnerable. Where an ineffective opposition also contributes to this political context (or in this case, actively colludes with these abuses), the conditions are ripe for a prophetic movement of biblical proportions. | Australia now finds itself in the midst of a perfect storm for the emergence of Christian activism. There now exists a political environment where a government wilfully and seemingly with impunity breaks international treaties, and denies basic human rights to the world’s most vulnerable. Where an ineffective opposition also contributes to this political context (or in this case, actively colludes with these abuses), the conditions are ripe for a prophetic movement of biblical proportions. |
| Combine this situation with a reawakening of a consciousness among Christians that Jesus was himself a political activist, and we have the conditions that will make a government very nervous indeed. | Combine this situation with a reawakening of a consciousness among Christians that Jesus was himself a political activist, and we have the conditions that will make a government very nervous indeed. |
| Marion Maddox, author of God Under Howard, was quoted in a recent ABC Compass program, God in the Lodge, as saying: | Marion Maddox, author of God Under Howard, was quoted in a recent ABC Compass program, God in the Lodge, as saying: |
| John Howard and the Liberal party identified the mainline Christian churches as a major source of opposition, and so they did two things. First, they made a series of statements telling church leaders to get out of politics and to stick to spiritual matters and the second thing that they did was to cultivate an alternative Christian constituency among groups such as the Australian Christian Lobby and among more evangelical churches such as Hillsong. | John Howard and the Liberal party identified the mainline Christian churches as a major source of opposition, and so they did two things. First, they made a series of statements telling church leaders to get out of politics and to stick to spiritual matters and the second thing that they did was to cultivate an alternative Christian constituency among groups such as the Australian Christian Lobby and among more evangelical churches such as Hillsong. |
| It remains to be seen as to how the very religious Tony Abbott will respond to an expression of Christianity that he must now clearly see as a threat. | It remains to be seen as to how the very religious Tony Abbott will respond to an expression of Christianity that he must now clearly see as a threat. |