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WOULD JESUS BE THOUGHT UNAUSTRALIAN?
Christian Values in Australian culture
Greg Clarke
My answer to the question, ‘Are Australian values Christian values?’ is to say, ‘Some are, some aren’t.’ That’s my answer. ‘Would Jesus be seen as un-Australian?’ The answer is yes, and no.
This moderate response (some might say fence-sitting!) steers a sensible path between the remote poles of theocracy and separatism; between expecting the country to be in step with Jesus and Christians, and Christians having no input at all to how we live as a society.
The moderate response admits that there is a Christian story in the background of much of Australian life—for instance, in our approaches to work, law and education (‘tools, rules and schools’). There is a Christian heritage. But it also recognizes that Australia is far from ‘a Christian nation’—that title should be reserved purely for the Christian church and its people.
Some Australian values are Christian values. And some aren’t. I propose, then, a series of ‘Some’ statements to guide the discussion on Christianity and values.
1. Some Australian values are things Christians admire
| Of course they are. There is so much in the Australian spirit that
Christians want to celebrate and be proud of. We might include here a
version of ‘mateship’ that stands by a friend in the toughest of
circumstances. Perhaps Christians would call it ‘lovingkindness’ or
‘brotherliness/sisterliness’ instead. But whatever we call it, it’s a
part of Australian culture that matches really well with what
Christians value. Other contenders include an idea of fairness (‘the fair go’), respect for individual freedom and individual responsibility, and pursuing peace. The goal of peace is something that Aussies and Christians share. |
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2. Some Australian values can be traced back to Christian ideas
Here I am thinking particularly of something like caring for those in desperate need, a concept which in Australian welfare history springs directly from the words of Jesus in the Gospels
Often, such values can be traced back to some sort of Christian origin. Not always, but often.
3. Some Australian values are not Christian values
| Just think of the flipside of the examples in our first two statements.
One example is sticking with your mates, regardless of the cost to your
actual sister/wife/children. Another is ignoring those in desperate
need, as appears to have been the case with Delmae Barton up at
Griffith University, lying for six hours in a bus stop after a stroke,
without a helping hand being raised. When Australians act in this
way—Christian or not—the Christians have a tiny, underused word that
summarises the behaviour: ‘sin’. |
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We tend only to mention positive values when we draw up values list, but all of us could equally easily reel off a list of values Australians hold that are less than honourable. Ripping off the boss. Getting away with it. Doing the bare minimum. She’ll be right—when she won’t be right unless we get up off our backsides and do something quick! Ignoring the stranger. Using up more than our fair share.
The head of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Professor Ian Lowe, recently identified consumerism as Australia’s new unofficial national religion. And I suspect he’s correct. We worship at Westfields. In the chapel of David Jones. Now there’s an Australian value for our times that you will struggle to find in the Scriptures.
Christians don’t really expect people to live up to their values. Christians expect human beings to be selfish, fearful, angry and ignorant. We’re not pleased about it, but we’re realistic. Because we know that’s what we are like, too.
Somewhere within the values discussion, it needs to be noted that there are certain values which society implicitly or explicitly encourages and supports, that reflect badly on the human race. These are things for which Christians use the word ‘sin’.
4. Some non-Christian values are not Australian values
Despite the awkward double-negative, this statement is important. There are aspects of non-Christian value systems that most of us would call un-Australian. For example, feeding a cow instead of a disabled child is not in keeping with the way Australians value cattle or children. There will certainly be some values held strongly in non-Christian religious worldviews that are not compatible with broad Australian values.
5. Some Australian values are common to many religious and secular faiths
Here is where most politicians and secular commentators wish to locate the national discussion about values. There are indeed plenty of values on which many religions agree; there is a lot of common ground. Maybe we should just focus on that.
But if we make this statement the leading statement in the values debate, we are ignoring the insights in our first four points. We may lose a lot of significant input from specific religious traditions, too, and find ourselves flailing about for a new kind of ‘religion without a creed, just values’. Real, genuine values need to spring from people’s beliefs, not be imposed by an authority or a pledge.
If Jesus came to Australia today, would he be welcomed as one of us? A mate? I suspect the answer to that question depends not on your values, but on your beliefs about Jesus himself.
For if you have come to the conclusion that Jesus came into the world from God, took on human form so that we could know and understand God, and suffered death on the cross to make peace between us and God and then rose from the grave to conquer death and give hope to humanity … If you believe these things, then you would welcome Jesus with open arms. And you would not ask him to fit in with Australian values, rather you would be hoping to reform Australian values to be in keeping with his rightful authority over us.
For Christians, the challenge of the values debate is to live out Christian values (or better, Christian virtues and spiritual fruit) in our Australian context.
If you are not a follower of Jesus, I suspect you would find at least some of Jesus’ values at odds with your own, and want to reject him as a fellow Aussie. But I would encourage you to read what we know of Jesus and his values in the Gospels, to see where you stand.
To read an extended version of this article, please click here.
Dr Greg Clarke
Director of the Centre for Public Christianity and Macquarie Christian Studies Institute
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