“The freedoms of Western liberal democracy have largely been taken for granted over our lifetimes.”
I suggest the above statement is confirmation that we are blind to the restrictions of others until it also restricts us. Martin Niemöller has effectively and consistently articulated this unfortunate mentality. Although I aim to discuss the limitations on minorities in Australia, we must not ignore the contribution of our corporate Church in perpetuating this ignorance in different countries, which may persist unless individuals champion the rights of others. These reflections were sparked by a recent article in a church publication using the phrases “coercion” and “cancel culture“, reminiscent of right-wing extremist language used to in-still fear in followers.
With the arrival of an actual war, World War I, our church reversed its stated support for pacifism. L.R. Conradi, president of the European Division of Seventh-day Adventists, wrote that loyal SDAs would serve in whatever capacity their country instructed.¹ Members who adhered to the previous policy found themselves ostracized by the church and jailed or forced to the front line in countries on both sides of the war.¹ After the war, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC) defended and reaffirmed support for leaders who promoted the state over the church.¹
Infamously in the lead-up to World War II, with tacit support from the GC, German members were explicitly instructed in church to vote for Nazi policy. Members with Jewish heritage were disfellowshipped and lost their lives.² Members who refused to support Hitler and refused to work on the Sabbath were disfellowshipped, with some being tortured and killed by the state. History records that after the war, a pointed official letter came to the GC from the US government, identifying the SDA church as the only group that had not yet removed Nazi supporters from their leadership.²
In Australia, our church internal monologue is of terrible consequences if our freedoms are restricted, but apparent blindness when restrictions are placed on others. For more than a century, we have excused our intransigence through claiming that human rights are merely politics. We must become unblinkered, to see others as Jesus sees them. We can only reflect Jesus to others when we recognize the egregious restrictions placed on others in comparison to the minor restrictions felt by us.
Prior to 1901, some states included Indigenous Australians as people with equal rights, and some specifically legislated them out of existence. Pandering to the racist states, the new constitution held Indigenous Australians as non-people: “aboriginal natives shall not be counted.”³ Terrible dispossession, oppression, and control became the lot of any Indigenous person. This evil included the horrific policy of kidnapping native children to give to white settlers and religious orders, often as slaves to abuse.³ While there were some state exceptions, personhood for most was not recognized until 1967.³ It was 1984 when full equality as Australian electors was achieved. Racial slurs, hate speech, and deliberate ignorance are still openly signaled by politicians who promote anti-indigenous policies.
Capital punishment was common worldwide. Some states had ceased capital punishment earlier than others, but it was finally outlawed nationwide in 1985.⁴ Given what we now know of deliberate perjuries and accidentally mistaken identities, we understand that innocent people have lost their lives because no one stood up for them.⁴
The Immigration Act 1901 was a deliberate racist policy ensuring only English white people could enter Australia. The dictation test was 100% effective in barring non-whites from entering, and ensuring an existing minority or individual could be jailed, then deported.⁵ The dictation test was given in any European language to any person, including children from five years old. Enforcers had no restriction, and carefully chose languages the unfortunate individual could not speak, so jails were quickly filled until the “problem” went away.⁵
Only after World War II did the government begin to ease immigration policy, allowing entry of young white people from white European nations. The policy change was driven not by humanity, but by economics. Australia needed fit young people to work in farming and construction, and ultimately the government also allowed slightly tanned individuals from other European nations such as Italy.⁶ Racial discrimination laws were not dismantled until 1973, and laws outlawing racial discrimination followed in 1975.⁶
Australian censorship laws were draconian. While they regulated some morally dubious works, they could also be used to ensure Australians would not be cognisant of something the government, or even a single official, might find detrimental to hide the inhumane treatment of unwanted minorities and other actions the government wished to conceal.⁷
The terrible loss of life and destruction of women’s health occurring because doctors were jailed for performing abortions only began to unwind after regular reporting by newspapers on the plight of poor women.⁸ When laws finally changed, newspapers began reporting on the actions of Christians, not because of acts of kindness, but because Christians harassed and attacked women, vandalised clinics, and murdered clinic staff.⁸
The effects of the failure of Christians to stand up for the downtrodden minority throughout Australia’s history remain deeply embedded in the history of Christianity in Australia. The majority of Australians see Christianity as condemned to die by its own hypocrisy and failure to advocate for and protect the vulnerable. While the Seventh-day Adventist Church maintains a good reputation for its hospitals and has done good work with missions to Indigenous Australians,⁹ the average Australian is unfortunately correct that Seventh-day Adventists are no different than other Christians.
To be continued….click here
References
Beastly Mini-marks. (2024, May 29). Adventist Record.
Bull, Malcolm, and Keith Lockhart. Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventism and the American Dream. Indiana University Press, 2007.
Schnabel, Ernest R. Seventh-day Adventists and the Nazi Crisis. Andrews University Seminary Studies, 1985.
Attwood, Bain. The 1967 Referendum: Race, Power and the Australian Constitution. Aboriginal Studies Press, 1997.
Lewis, Robert. Capital Punishment in Australia. Oxford University Press, 1993.
York, Barry. Australia and Refugees, 1901-2002: An Annotated Chronology Based on Official Sources. Parliament of Australia, Department of the Parliamentary Library, 2003.
Lack, John, and Jacqueline Templeton. Bold Experiment: A Documentary History of Australian Immigration since 1945. Oxford University Press, 1995.
Censorship in Australia. National Archives of Australia Fact Sheet. National Archives of Australia.
Cannold, Leslie. The Abortion Myth: Feminism, Morality, and the Hard Choices Women Make. Wesleyan University Press, 2000.
Hughes, Philip. The Impact of Christianity on Australian Society. Christian Research Association, 2001.
Leave a comment