It would be easy to write that "nothing much happened today" and leave it at that. This last week seems to be just a continuation of the same old stories in a never-ending stream of dismay, trivia and hype. It is hard to remain optimistic in the current morass of propaganda, lies and deceit that we allow to pass as politics, religion and the media. And then there are the "reality" TV programs, Mike Moore mocumentaries, episodes of the Sopranos, the Late Show, Ricky Lake and Benny Hinn. Whatever you do don’t get me started on the newspapers, commercial radio and my so called "local ABC".
But enough of the whinging. Yesterday a small group gathered outside the local Anglicare office to give a hardy Gippsland welcome to the Minister for pasty faced responses, Philip Ruddock, who was in town to open some program the religious organisation was running. As I understand it Anglicare is the second largest non-government provider of government funded welfare services in the country, just pipped by the Uniting Churces UnitingCare.
The small group of banner bedecked Gippsland Welcoming Committee members stood out in the cold and waited for Ruddock to arrive. An even smaller contingent of young police stood between them and Ruddock to ensure that Ruddock’s personality didn’t make a sudden and unexpected reappearance, as he was whisked inside to the warm and cozy offices while they remained out in the cold (literally).
Ruddock was no doubt treated to a nice talk and probably said some nice words himself as he made various comments about how wonderful the government was and how the government was very aware of the increased need for services and how the church was just wonderful for doing all these wonderful deeds. So while Ruddock was warm and snug inside and the small group of Gippsland Welcoming Committee members waited outside I got to thinking about the separation of religion and state.
I grew up in a home that revolved around the church (of a strict Scottish Presbyterian variety) and one of the tenets of my parents faith was the separation of church and state on the lines of the "render unto Caesar that which is his" kind. So while the church my parents belonged to was heartily involved in various missionary works in Africa and South America, they were funded entirely by the ‘offerings’ of the church members and I suggest that any hint of government contribution would have caused the church fathers to convulse.
How things have changed. The very institutions that say "have faith" are now so intimately wound into the fabric of political endeavor that the boundaries of doing the bidding of the state and providing humanitarian, just and equitable services are blurred beyond repair. In order for the modern western Christian churches to survive, at least among the larger denominations, they have had to make some rather ‘pragmatic’ choices.
Either they accept that they need to allow the separation of church and state to diminish their income producing capacity (due to the growing range of religious ‘product’ in the spiritual ‘market place’) or they compromise and take the money and all the conditions attached and step into the world of tied grants, restrictive contracts and measurable service delivery outcomes. In other words, the institutional church had to move away from their faith-based foundation and take a stand with the state. I’m sure critics will argue that the churches haven’t been passive in all this, that they have stood up for their beliefs and made sure that their contracts allow them to do what it is they want to do. I personally know of a number of cases where this has occurred and where religious groups have refused to sign contracts because of government restrictions or proposed interventions. However, these more principled decisions have been made by small groups and involved small amounts. Not the billions tied up in the growing welfare ‘industry’.
I want to argue that the small band of hardy Gippslanders, standing in the freezing cold outside the warm Gippsland Anglicare offices were doing more of the work of Jesus that the bureaucrats and politicians inside. They at least were physically willing to put themselves on the line and stand up and say, shame on you Ruddock and your government for the way you treat the most needy. But of course the Anglicare bureaucrats inside wouldn’t say that as it would bite the hand that puts the cash on the table that allows the senior managers to pay for their children’s private education.
The question of the links between religion, politics and class is one that has not been discussed too often in Australia. We know that The Shrub is an avowed ‘born again, washed in the blood’ Christian. We know that Blair confesses the same and we know that Howard calls himself a Christian. But what about the connections between the Christian and secular right in this country? Where is the analysis of the links between the church leaders and the political processes? I suggest it was no accident that Costello (the young, suave, new-wave political figure) was invited to speak at the recent evangelical, pentecostal, cashed up Hill Song convention (where the young, sophisticated, new-wave christians go). As a piece of political networking a very good move.
What is it I’m trying to say here? My point is that acres of print, hours of TV and days of radio are taken up with the trivia of life. How to get rich, how the rich live, how the rich fall (at least the cell mates of Martha Stewart will eat well), how to fix your teeth, how to fix your house, how to make up and all the other so called ‘infotainment’ programs that fill the schedules. Then there’s the US sitcoms, dramas about places we don’t even understand, the music videos, computer games and other distractions.
Sure we need to have fun, blow off steam, spend a day lazing in front of the idiot box or veging out with a no brainer DVD. The problem is that for many of us this has become the first option. The propaganda war has been won – and not by those concerned with human rights, justice and equity. My feelings of despair were high until I saw the Gippsland Welcoming Committee doing their thing and reminding me that in the small corners of otherwise quite places, good works are being done in the face of huge adversity by people whose names are unknown and whose lives are insignificant in the ‘scheme’ of things.
The real works of faith are more and more no longer being carried out by the mainstream fundamentalist religious organisations but are increasingly being done by those who first concern is with doing good works for their brothers and sisters no matter what their color, creed, sexual preference, gender choice or intellectual capacity is.
The question for the religious leaders and those who call themselves by the name of their founder is, do they want pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye or do they want to mitigate the hell on earth that is experienced by many people in their own cities and towns. Their answer will demonstrate their true faith and allegiance. The Gippsland Welcoming Committee has already demonstrated where their faith is.