Stimulus Vol 13 Issue 3 August 2005 |
Table of ContentsGospel, culture, and the public sphere Insert title here What language shall I borrow? St Imulus: Um, a Bible please The Gospel as public truth in a pluralist world Models and metaphors: Thoughts toward a theology of evolution and participation Wiremu Tamihana, Maori Christianity, and government policy in nineteenth century Aotearoa… Recent writings on the Old Testament Twenty years of the Church as a New Zealand public citizen Book reviews Violence, Hospitality and the Cross: Reappropriating the Atonement Tradition I Am: Biblical Women Tell Their Own Stories Working out my Salvation: The Contemporary Gym and the Promise of "Self" Transformation The Future of Christianity – Historical, Sociological, Political and Theological Perspectives from New Zealand (Australian Theological Forum Series 12) The Chosen Ones: The Politics of Salvation in the Anglican Church |
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August 2005 |
EditorialOnce again it’s election time and many of us are wondering how, perhaps even whether, we should vote. As Christians where should our allegiances lie? Are we called to support "family values", or should we support parties advocating responsible stewardship of God’s creation? Should we support candidates who have a personal faith, or is politics something entirely separate (and therefore neutral) to questions of belief? What, if anything, does religion have to say to politics, and, perhaps just as importantly, how should it be said? On 9 July 2005, a mix of academics, politicians, clergy, and members of the public gathered at Parliament for a colloquium entitled Gospel, Culture and Public Policy. The event was organised by the Wellington Theological Consortium, and on the Parliament side sponsored by United Future’s Gordon Copeland, Labour’s Marion Hobbs, and National’s Bill English. The papers, which constitute the core of this issue of Stimulus, are as diverse as those who attended. Together, however, they engage the question of how, and on what basis, Christians should engage and pursue public politics.
In the first paper Paul Trebilico sets up a biblical framework, and explores how the apostle Paul uses "tools provided by culture precisely against culture in the name of the Gospel." What Trebilico upholds, and against any supposed neutrality of gospel in relation to surrounding culture, is the "thoroughly political" character of Paul’s letters. Trebilico argues that Paul, refusing attempts to subordinate the Gospel to cultural norms, overwhelmingly emphasised that "Christ is Lord of the public sphere" – whether, following Trebilico, in "Philippi, or Rome or Wellington".
Chris Marshall takes the question in a different direction, and explores the challenges facing a rigorous public theology today. For Marshall, the challenge is how to pursue a theology that is publicly intelligible while still rooted in the Christian story. Against any supposed distancing of religion from politics, Marshall argues that Christians must "be able to speak the language of political discourse, albeit with a foreign accent."
Gavin’s Drew’s article, The Gospel as Public Truth in Pluralist World, provides the theoretical basis for this discussion. Drawing deeply on the work of missiologist Lesslie Newbigin, Drew charts the complex post-Enlightenment developments that have resulted in contemporary understandings of religion and politics.
Duncan Roper’s more historical paper, Wiremu Tamihana, Maori Christianity, and government policy, presents the ambivalent role religion played in the 1860s kingitanga movement. On the one hand, the Old Testament scriptures inspired Tamihana and others. On the other, however, the lack of support for the Maori King from Bishop George Selwyn forced the kingitanga movement towards militancy. Selwyn’s religiously grounded support for a policy of assimilation, in Roper’s reading, gave precedent for a legacy that continues both to haunt us and challenge us as to the importance of properly Christian political positions.
Finally, Salvation Army officer Campbell Roberts grounds the debate in reference to the contemporary New Zealand experience. Roberts characterises the changing role of the mainline churches in their relationship to Government as shifting from "punch drunk boxer," to "warrior" and to finally to "dancing with the wolves." Roberts outlines how in the eighties the churches were unprepared for the social impacts of Rogernomics. In the nineties they become increasingly organised, which culminated in the 1998 Hikoi of Hope. Following the Hikoi, the churches today have some effect on areas of social policy, but find themselves confronted with the constant challenge of balancing engaging and working with the system with the call to remain a prophetic voice.
As we approach the election, these five papers constitute an invaluable resource for reflecting on how our faith should frame our thinking. The contributors all refrain from offering any easy solutions, or from simply telling us whom we should vote for (which again doesn’t mean that faith is neutral to politics), but they do significantly clarify the terms and framework though which we should be making our decision.
Enjoy!
Mike Mawson
Douglas Maclachlan |
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GOSPEL CULTURE & THE PUBLIC SPHERE Gospel as public truth |
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“...to be part of the gospel imperative to transform minds and put faith in God into practice.” |
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STIMULUS THE NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT AND PRACTICE |