It would appear that there are two categories of adopted Citizen in New Zealand. First, those that with right hand raised to heaven and left hand holding the Christian Scriptures swear the Oath of Allegiance: to be faithful to the Queen, to observe the laws of the country, fulfil the duties of citizenship, and do so with the help of God. Second, those that declare the Affirmation of Allegiance: declaring their allegiance to the Queen, their commitment to observe the laws of the country and to fulfil the duties of citizenship. (Are there really two classes of citizen?)
Approximately half the people in the room swore on the Christian Scriptures, and called on the help of the Christian God. The allegiance to the Christian God was not obscure, it was explicit. But amongst these candidates for citizenship were Hindu's, Muslims, Buddhists and probably adherents of other religions.
If we have a mandate for multiculturalism then we must be willing to respect and honour the cultural foundations of others - and that includes their faith and religious allegiances. Why were the Hindus not allowed to swear on the Bhagavad Gita, or the Muslims on the Qur'an? Is this an innocent Cultural Christianisation, an unspoken (and unforced) expectation that many who do not really understand the English adhere to because that's what you do to be a Kiwi?
Given that there is obviously a choice: Swear by the Christian God on the Bible or Affirm your commitment by your own will to be a good citizen, why do we only allow the pronouncement of allegiance, and call for help to one God.
If we are serious about celebrating cultural diversity, and accepting all cultures into our family then why does there appear to be an agenda for a dominant christo-centric citizenship? (Interesting that both the most recent past Prime-Minister (Helen Clarke) and Prime-Minister John Key affirm their atheism publicly and loudly - and yet, like all those present at the ceremony sing a prayer to God in the National Anthem.)
Personally, I believe that the Creator, the God of the Christian Scriptures is the One True God, but I am never going to have the opportunity to influence another if I demand an allegiance to my faith and culture as a prerequisite to a relationship of trust. Multiculturalism is messier (and more exciting) than that and demands respect for all cultural mores not just the ones that I feel comfortable with.
Tuesday 18 November 2008
A Veneer of Relevance
After eight years in New Zealand, Sandy's ESOL student, a refugee from Jaffna in Sri Lanka, and her three oldest children became 'Kiwi' citizens at a City function last night. It was a fascinating event that made me think about relevance and multiculturalism.
Here were about 400 people and their guests: people who obviously came from a multitude of cultural backgrounds. Many wore their first nation dress which revealed their religious and national heritage. There were middle aged parents in sari's and sarongs with teenagers in jeans, hoodies and jelled up hair styles.
The majority were middle aged and younger and English was obviously not their heart language. But we walked into the theatre to the sound of a pipe organ playing music written centuries ago in Russia or Austria, the dignitaries processed in with robes and chains of office, the opening greeting, done in English, with the obligatory and somewhat insincere Maori greeting, was delivered at break-neck speed that was difficult for an Aussie to follow, and the last item of entertainment was a young lady playing a violin solo, (again a piece written for a foreign culture, centuries ago).
I wonder, if at this celebration of acceptance and citizenship there was any effort to connect with the people, any effort to engender an atmosphere of joy and celebration - or if it really was, as it appeared to me, all about upholding tradition, order and procedure at the expense of valuing humanity, individuality and culture.
It made me remember that I've been to churches like that! They look great, they sound professional, the leaders look impressive and convey confidence - but please, don't be an individual, don't expect to be 'spoken' to in a language you understand and remember, we maintain the dignity and order of the occasion at all costs.
My second observation, a Multicultural Veneer is to come...
Here were about 400 people and their guests: people who obviously came from a multitude of cultural backgrounds. Many wore their first nation dress which revealed their religious and national heritage. There were middle aged parents in sari's and sarongs with teenagers in jeans, hoodies and jelled up hair styles.
The majority were middle aged and younger and English was obviously not their heart language. But we walked into the theatre to the sound of a pipe organ playing music written centuries ago in Russia or Austria, the dignitaries processed in with robes and chains of office, the opening greeting, done in English, with the obligatory and somewhat insincere Maori greeting, was delivered at break-neck speed that was difficult for an Aussie to follow, and the last item of entertainment was a young lady playing a violin solo, (again a piece written for a foreign culture, centuries ago).
I wonder, if at this celebration of acceptance and citizenship there was any effort to connect with the people, any effort to engender an atmosphere of joy and celebration - or if it really was, as it appeared to me, all about upholding tradition, order and procedure at the expense of valuing humanity, individuality and culture.
It made me remember that I've been to churches like that! They look great, they sound professional, the leaders look impressive and convey confidence - but please, don't be an individual, don't expect to be 'spoken' to in a language you understand and remember, we maintain the dignity and order of the occasion at all costs.
My second observation, a Multicultural Veneer is to come...
Thursday 13 November 2008
Sacred Space
I have never found it easy to 'be still'; to imagine that my (self-appointed) agenda and priorities are not so important that I can't put them aside for a few minutes and stop. I've read the biographies of numerous 'world changing' heroes, most of them apparently managed to make time to shut out the world for a while each day and still change the world.
I know it's important to put everything and even everyone aside for a few minutes and refocus on the Source of my existence and on the occassions when I manage it I always feel better, ready to be a world changer. But the 'excitement' of opening new emails, informing facebook status, massaging budgets, completing HQ administration expectations and preparing the next powerpoint are so powerfully magnetic - surely they are the most important and whorthwhile uses of my time today!
When I do manage to drag myself away from the 'tyranny of the urgent' one of my favourite places to go is Sacred Space. It's an Irish Jesuit based cyberspace sight that guides my reflection, and informs my spirit. It provides a guided mediation for each day and if you're really keen it offers techniques for meditation, reflection and contemplation. Check it out, I find it helpful - most of the time.
I know it's important to put everything and even everyone aside for a few minutes and refocus on the Source of my existence and on the occassions when I manage it I always feel better, ready to be a world changer. But the 'excitement' of opening new emails, informing facebook status, massaging budgets, completing HQ administration expectations and preparing the next powerpoint are so powerfully magnetic - surely they are the most important and whorthwhile uses of my time today!
When I do manage to drag myself away from the 'tyranny of the urgent' one of my favourite places to go is Sacred Space. It's an Irish Jesuit based cyberspace sight that guides my reflection, and informs my spirit. It provides a guided mediation for each day and if you're really keen it offers techniques for meditation, reflection and contemplation. Check it out, I find it helpful - most of the time.
Monday 10 November 2008
Energised to Party
Recently a well known, and controversial, Christian Church leader in New Zealand announced that he was in the process of purchasing land in the middle of one of the north island cities. The land he says was to be set aside to build a 'holy city'. It will be a 'walled city' a protected place where children will be educated in a christian environment, not in the secular public school system. It will be a place exclusive to the members of the church who are willing to sell up and move in.
It will be a safe place to live, protected from the evils of the world: a place that will provide all the needs of the people: it will have its own shops, gyms, banks, schools - people who live here will lack for nothing and require nothing from the wider society. It will be a city governed by the church leaders according to the principles of the Bible, or their interpretation of it.
This is an influential church, led by a charismatic leader, with thousands of adherents around the country and there are already reports of people ready to sell-up and move into this exclusive, protected inner city fortress.
I wonder sometimes if I read a different Bible! I don't see or hear Jesus modelling an agenda that speaks about a craving for protectionist exclusivity. I don't see Jesus barricading himself away from "the real world" as a lifestyle. Sure, he took time out, but only to re energise himself to attend another party with the 'sinners' or to remind himself that his focus was 'others'.
I admit there have been times as a father that I would love to have locked my family and friends away from the pressures and confusions of society - but that's not what the Jesus model of 'in the world, but not of the world' is all about, is it? And frankly, I think that being barricaded away with any group of like-minded people with little, or no, interaction with people of different opinions, lifestyles and beliefs would drive me crazy.
And yet, I think many churches comes dangerously close to recommending that its members separate themselves from 'the world'. And many Christians, (including Salvos) become so church-centric that they never attempt to cultivate non-christian friends, or they lose contact with friends from their previous 'worldly' life, or they become so busy with the 'church' that they become completely irrelevant to, and out of touch with 'others'.
If Christianity, as we have heard so often, is all about relationship - then it cannot be exclusive and protective: it must be open, frustrating, joyful, confusing, empowering, painful, engaging, messy and amazingly unpredictable. That's sounds more like life (and a party) to me!
It will be a safe place to live, protected from the evils of the world: a place that will provide all the needs of the people: it will have its own shops, gyms, banks, schools - people who live here will lack for nothing and require nothing from the wider society. It will be a city governed by the church leaders according to the principles of the Bible, or their interpretation of it.
This is an influential church, led by a charismatic leader, with thousands of adherents around the country and there are already reports of people ready to sell-up and move into this exclusive, protected inner city fortress.
I wonder sometimes if I read a different Bible! I don't see or hear Jesus modelling an agenda that speaks about a craving for protectionist exclusivity. I don't see Jesus barricading himself away from "the real world" as a lifestyle. Sure, he took time out, but only to re energise himself to attend another party with the 'sinners' or to remind himself that his focus was 'others'.
I admit there have been times as a father that I would love to have locked my family and friends away from the pressures and confusions of society - but that's not what the Jesus model of 'in the world, but not of the world' is all about, is it? And frankly, I think that being barricaded away with any group of like-minded people with little, or no, interaction with people of different opinions, lifestyles and beliefs would drive me crazy.
And yet, I think many churches comes dangerously close to recommending that its members separate themselves from 'the world'. And many Christians, (including Salvos) become so church-centric that they never attempt to cultivate non-christian friends, or they lose contact with friends from their previous 'worldly' life, or they become so busy with the 'church' that they become completely irrelevant to, and out of touch with 'others'.
If Christianity, as we have heard so often, is all about relationship - then it cannot be exclusive and protective: it must be open, frustrating, joyful, confusing, empowering, painful, engaging, messy and amazingly unpredictable. That's sounds more like life (and a party) to me!
Monday 3 November 2008
Demonising Others
Like some other bloggers recently, I have been wondering about continuing to blog. I don't want to read for the sake of it, likewise I don't want to write for the sake of it. So I haven't put fingers to keys for over a week.
But this morning I received a well known international Christian aid agency's periodical that caused me to be angry, frustrated and concerned. The magazine reports on the agency's current projects most of which are fantastic responses to disasters, both humanitarian and natural. But the not so subtle message on every page is the persecution of Christians, predominantly by Muslims. The underlying, and unapologetic foundation of the agency is their Christian faith and I do not have a problem with that. (One of the reasons I am engaged in this work is my response to Jesus' call to meet the needs of others.)
But, in my opinion, the centrefold goes over the top. It is a collection of quotes by well known Islamic Extremists claiming a priority for the Islamisation of the Western World through migration and birth rates. The quotes, probably pulled out of context, speak of this agenda as being the only agenda of all Muslims.
I have two problems with these kinds of publications:
But this morning I received a well known international Christian aid agency's periodical that caused me to be angry, frustrated and concerned. The magazine reports on the agency's current projects most of which are fantastic responses to disasters, both humanitarian and natural. But the not so subtle message on every page is the persecution of Christians, predominantly by Muslims. The underlying, and unapologetic foundation of the agency is their Christian faith and I do not have a problem with that. (One of the reasons I am engaged in this work is my response to Jesus' call to meet the needs of others.)
But, in my opinion, the centrefold goes over the top. It is a collection of quotes by well known Islamic Extremists claiming a priority for the Islamisation of the Western World through migration and birth rates. The quotes, probably pulled out of context, speak of this agenda as being the only agenda of all Muslims.
I have two problems with these kinds of publications:
- Aid and Development should not be delivered with any requirement for faith commitment. An agenda to disseminate an obvious bias against people of any other faith is both dangerous and anti-Christian. To imply that this religion's agenda is the eradication of all 'others' is unhelpful - and I would think counter intuitive to the aim of any agency to alleviate the suffering of those impacted by disaster.
- I could come up with a list of quotes by Christian Extremists that would be equally as frightening. Some of the comments made by world leaders and self proclaimed Christians are equally as inflammatory. White 'Christian' Supremacists who seek to assassinate leaders because of skin colour are surely as frightening.
I find myself increasingly angry at the apparent agenda of some Christians to demonise all Muslims and assigning them the blame for all global ills. I think there are probably as many scary Christian extremists we need to be wary of, and let's not forget that history records that there have been some pretty horrific acts carried out in the name of both God and Allah.
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