A Discussion on Christianity and Australian Indigenous Spirituality
A link
One of the greatest pleasures of my recent Australian sojourn was the opportunity to meet with certain representatives of the country’s Christian indigenous—Aborigine and Torres Strait Islander—communities; and the special high point of the experience was the evening spent at the Anglican parish church of St John’s Glebe in conversation with Ray Minniecon and Gabriel Bani, guided by Tony Golsby-Smith of “Gospel Conversations.” Below is a link to the Youtube recording of the event.
Looks to be a great follow up to your ABC interview, which I found a rewarding listen.
Do you have a book or two on indigenous American spirituality you might recommend? Any good works on how Christianity is understood by particular indigenous groups, and how their cultures inform Christian practice and faith?
This conversation was a reminder for me of just how flexible and “perennial” Christian practice and doctrine are as people incorporate them into their lives and various cultures. The way I experience Christianity is an export from an ancient Middle Eastern culture and I should not assume that in meeting Christ that my values and culture magically disappeared and were replaced with Hellenized Judean culture of the 1st century; clearly my values transform faith and faith should also challenge my values.
I loved the comment I’ll paraphrase as “Christ was already here before the missionaries arrived.” Beautiful.