Bishop John

Where does ANZAC Day fit in a culturally diverse Australia?

This question is answered thoughtfully by Tim Soutphommasane reflecting on what ANZAC Day might mean for children of newly arrived immigrant communities. “They’d be asking those questions not because they find Anzac Day offensive or because their parents do, but because they  wonder  how they could be included in it.”

The article highlights the need for “a more  challenging national conversation. Not least one about what Anzac says about a  contemporary, culturally diverse Australia.”

At the ANZAC Day March and Service in Hobart we were treated to a fine example of 1. the inclusion of cultural diversity and 2. a challenging national conversation.

1. INCLUSION OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY was wonderfully demonstrated by boy and girl students from Turkey participating in the March and Service. Different perspective

A group of Turkish students joined this morning’s ANZAC Day march in Hobart.

Seven students from the Lisesi school in Istanbul are in Hobart for 10 days to learn how Australians commemorate the Great War. They are staying with students from the Hutchins School and St Michael’s Collegiate who visited Gallipoli last month.

Turkish student Berke Tekay says it is a great learning experience. “I’m looking forward to it because it’s the other side of the picture for Australia. I only saw my side of the picture in Turkey – how we felt about Gallipoli wars, so I’ll see your side, how you feel about Gallipoli wars.”

Hutchins Grade 12 student Damon Heather says the trip has given him a much greater understanding of war. “It’s opened my eyes to service people are doing today, it’s opened my eyes to that. It really takes a lot to commit to something like that to fight for freedom in your country.”

Hutchins School Principal Warwick Dean says the exchange program is about creating tolerance and understanding. “Here is a new generation of young people who belong to countries that who once were at war and are now friends,” he said.

Excerpt from ABC News article, Lest we forget: Tasmania remembers

2. A CHALLENGING NATIONAL CONVERSATION

Governor Peter Underwood used his last Anzac Day address before his term ends next year to call on Tasmanians to go beyond honouring the sacrifice of the fallen each Anzac Day.
“Anzac Day is a day on which we should also ask those hard questions about the meaning of wars, their causes and outcomes in order to become resolute about peace as well as resolute about fighting when fighting is a genuinely necessary and unavoidable act of self-protection,” Mr Underwood said.

From The Mercury, Tassie salutes ANZACS.

I am greatly encouraged by these two responses to the helpful question, Where does ANZAC Day fit in a culturally diverse Australia?

How would you answer this question? What has helped you answer/ reflect on this question?

A good friend of mine, Professor Ian Harper, recently wrote an article for The Australian: Atheists can’t see that faith complements science. Read the article here. (some news sites require registration, however if you copy the article’s title and google it, you should be able to read the entire article )

While New Atheists take issue with Christians of all stripes, they reserve special vehemence for those who profess to be both scientists and believers. Such people are clearly more deluded than the average faith-head. The fact that this combination characterises some of the greatest scientists who lived, including Galileo, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle, not to mention modern giants such as Francis Collins, is held of little account.

Prof Harper supports the Reason for Faith Coalition – learn more on their website.

C S Lewis, insightful as ever:

Where men are forbidden to honour a king they honor millionaires, athletes or film-stars instead: even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.

Mark Joseph goes on to conclude his article, The Universal Desire to Worship Someone,

The next time I see people with their eyes closed and hands raised to God, and begin to think it strange, I will remind myself that the desire to worship and praise is a universal one, that there’s nothing strange about it at all, and that one way or another, whether it’s in church, at an Obama rally, a Nascar race or a Motley Crue reunion concert, most of us do it, and all things being equal, I’d say the God of the universe is more deserving of that praise than Nikki Sixx or Jeff Gordon.

Full article,  The Universal Desire to Worship Someone -’Culture’ Huff Post April 12 2012.

There’s no controlling the Dean of Hobart.

THE reverend Richard Humphrey will play just about anything at a funeral service but he draws the line at Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. …

Dean of Hobart’s St David’s Anglican Cathedral, Mr Humphrey said the Anglican Church was open to requests as long as they did not go against the teachings of the church.

Highway to Hell was not appropriate, but Unforgettable perfectly acceptable, Rev Humphrey said. …

And more, including the Dean at his piano, Church music on the hop.   Also, The Dean on doughnuts.

Scary descent of end of life ‘treatment’ – not Meals on Wheels but Death on Wheels.

Even the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) which supports euthanasia is not comfortable with the mobile death teams. the Courier Mail (Australia) reported that:

But the (KNMG), which represents 53,000 doctors and medical students in the Netherlands, said it was sceptical whether Life-end clinic doctors could form a close-enough relationship with a patient to decide whether an assisted suicide should be done.

“We are not against euthanasia if there is no other alternative,” KNMG policy advisor Eric van Wijlick said.

“But euthanasia is a complicated process. It comes from the long-time treatment of a patient based on a relationship of trust.

“A holistic view of the patient’s treatment needs to be taken, including whether another alternative to euthanasia exists.

“We have serious doubts whether this can be done by a doctor who is only focused on performing euthanasia.”

We agree, we have serious doubts that a doctor who is only focused on performing euthanasia will actually follow the loose, but often referred to as strict, criteria. We are particularly concerned with the ability to protect someone from elder abuse, which is difficult to identify and a growing problem in society.

Article, Mobile euthanasia units started in the Netherlands today.  Also, Euthanasia a mistake: Dutch Minister  and  Euthanasia – Ending a life “Ahead of Time” (Bishop’s Sermon notes)