A single authoritative position
Thought provoking article from Justin Whelan in the latest Online Opinion, responding to Tony Abbott’s recent statement to the young liberals convention “There is not a single, authoritative Christian position on the Iraq War, climate change or border protection.” Justin disagrees.
This statement will surprise the churches, whose public statements on each of these issues have been consistent and damning of the Australian Government. So consistently opposed that Mr Abbott will find it difficult to name a single Australian church leader or organisational statement in his own defence.
Prior to the Iraq War, the churches were almost unanimously opposed to a pre-emptive strike. Only one prominent church figure, Anglican Bishop Tom Frame (then head of the Anglican chaplaincy team for the Australian Defence Forces), argued it satisfied just war criteria. Three months after the invasion, Bishop Frame recanted in the strongest possible terms, asking God’s forgiveness on the opinion pages of The Age newspaper.
On climate change, while there has not yet been an official consensus statement from the National Council of Churches in Australia, the recent document Common Belief (PDF 505KB) provides authoritative statements on the urgency of serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from no less than nine churches and church organisations, including all of the five largest denominations (as well as every other major faith tradition). These statements are entirely consistent with each other in theology and public policy.
That Mr Abbott would claim disagreement on asylum seeker policy is truly farcical. Perhaps Mr Abbott should ask Philip Ruddock and Amanda Vanstone about church advocacy on this issue. Australian churches have been criticising mandatory detention and the “Pacific Solution” since they were introduced. No less than 70 church leaders (covering all major churches) signed a statement condemning the subsequently withdrawn Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill 2006.
Ouch!! One thing that this demonstrates though is that for all of the Labor party’s conflictedness about politics and religion, Kevin Rudd has presented an alternative voice on that issue. In arguing that in politics we should remember Christianity’s call to bring justice for those without a voice, he has created an opposite voice to those that would argue that religion’s only contribution to social policy is in the area of morality. Look out for more attempts to wedge Rudd and Labor on this issue in the future.