Rejecting our reformation principle
This week I attended the Opening of the Shen Yun Performing Arts evening in the Capitol Theatre before a packed house. It was an evening of 150 brilliant performers, singers, dancers and a full orchestra of Western and Chinese instruments presenting 5000 years of Chinese culture.
Two weeks ago I preached at Parkside Baptist Church Endensor Park to a fast growing lively church with a great ministry. In the congregation were people representing 120 nationalities. A hymn reminded me of Heaven where praises would be sung by (Revelation 7:9) “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.”
For twenty-seven years I was leader of a great church that contained congregations where the worship was conducted in Tongan, Samoan, Rotuman, Fijian, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Sri Lankan, Korean, Indonesian, with members of my staff from these cultures and many others such as Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, and from countries from North and South America, Europe, India and Asia. I thrived in the multicultural atmosphere. Over 5000 people from these cultures attended our church. I learned to free myself from an Anglo-Saxon cocoon and rejoice in our differences. I appreciated the way these people loved Australia in spite of experiencing insults, racism and exclusion from some bigoted people.
From the first European settlement we were a multicultural society based largely of people from an Irish, English, Welsh and Scottish heritage but also in the first fleet, there were Jews, Europeans, Italians, even Afro-Americans. Soon there were many Chinese, Indonesians, Afghans, and when that happened racism appeared.
When the Chinese started arriving in Australia to work through the tailings of our gold mines in the 1850’s riots ensued and after many conflicts, Australians closed ranks behind the White Australia policy of restricted immigration. It was largely a fear that hardworking Chinese would take Australian jobs. Today Asian immigrants and their children have totally integrated into our society and what hospital could continue without them?
In my childhood Dutch migrants came from their bombed out cities. But many were fearful because “They all had twelve children and will soon overrun our population.” In the 1950’s aggression against European immigrants was a major social issue. Soccer, with nationalistic teams, such as the Greeks and Macedonians, Croatians and Serbs continued their nationalistic battles on their local soccer fields and grandstands.
In their turn German and Italian immigrants, Japanese and others were rejected because they had been killing Australian servicemen. Then it was envy of Government support for Asians, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Indian students, and more recently immigrants and asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa, many of whom are Christian Iraqis, Assyrians, Egyptians and Sudanese and African Christians.
Yet these immigrants, Vietnamese boat people, and asylum seekers changed Australia for the better, and were the heroes of the Snowy Mountain scheme and our new industries. Their children are now the leading politicians in every state, found among all professions as lawyers, doctors, academics, clergy and researchers. They hold to different religious practises and beliefs, languages and customs.
That has made many citizens extremely nervous. No matter how we may be afraid of minorities, banning them is a return to the White Australia policy. It is not the way to go. Such bans encourage racists and red-necks who can quickly swing into action as we saw in Cronulla and its reaction.
We want to build a cohesive and inclusive country not an exclusive, whites only nation. It is OK to use the words of Bill Clinton, while President, in a speech at Portland State University in 1998: “....you must honour our laws. Embrace our culture. Learn our language. Know our history. And when time comes, you should become citizens”. This was John Howard’s intention in establishing the citizenship test that so many derided.
In the article “Politicians Tarnish a tradition of tolerance” (February 9, 2011) by Sydney University Professor Duncan Ivison, he states:
Multiculturalism is closely connected to deep and important liberal values: the ideas of equal respect, tolerance and freedom. It is also connected to the idea that being treated as an equal citizen in a pluralistic, democratic society requires our accommodation of pluralism, the choices people make about their cultural, social and ethnic identities. Crucially, we must accommodate them in ways compatible with a commitment to those basic liberal values.
Christians during the Reformation developed the concepts that the State had no right to rule over religion or cultural identity. They argued for a peaceful, integrated society where people were free and equal under the Law. But today, But whenever there is a down turn in the economy or a period of political uncertainty religious and racial minorities suffer.
Christians must not be involved in discriminatory treatment of particular groups even if their culture and religion is different from ours. As Professor Iveson indicates, politicians who desire the support of racists and rednecks promote populist attitudes and tarnish the tradition of tolerance.
There is no evidence to indicate migrant groups threaten our values as a society. As education and economic conditions improve the number of children in families decline, the younger generation enter the professions, and the families adopt more of our traditional values including the Christian faith. It is no accident that Australia has become the world’s most successful example of multiculturalism as our 200 nations of origin have become integrated into our society.
For both side of the debate see my website: Multiculturalism
REV HON DR GORDON MOYES AC MLC