I read today in an Australian Christian Lobby newsletter that the Lord’s Prayer has been successfully retained in the Victorian Parliament. This was after the premier, Jacinta Allan and the Labor government changed their minds at the last minute and decided not to scrap it after months of threatening to do so. The ACL mounted a big and emotional campaign to retain the Lord’s Prayer and are now pretty excited claiming a big “victory”. Mind you, there were many more voices campaigning than just the ACL – “This is a wonderful win for the Christian community in Victoria, …” read the letter.
I did not sign the campaign petition for the retention of the Lord’s Prayer in the state parliament. In all good conscience, I couldn’t. Once upon a time, the Lord’s Prayer was appreciated and a revered part of the opening of our parliamentary sessions. Once upon a time, Victoria (and Australia) was a very different place where Christian values and practices were held sacred by Christians and unbelievers alike. There was a God-consciousness that flowed through our culture and there was an almost universality about church and Christianity that still informed and influenced us in so many good ways. Even at ANZAC day commemorations, included with many other sacred readings from scripture – “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13 – the Lord’s Prayer was recited and nearly everyone joined in. It was part of our “Christian” culture, though, even back then, that culture was giving away to another which is, today, in full flight.
Back then the Church, or Christendom (the inherited culture of Christianity from Britain and Europe), was still pretty much at the centre of Australian culture. And so, any suggestion of ditching the Lord’s Prayer from parliament at the time would have caused a great hue and cry from nearly everyone. Why? Because it was one of our sacred rites of passage, or ways of doing things, it was connected to our roots, our identity and so on, it was part of who we were.
This is not the case anymore. An enormous amount of change has taken place in the last 80 years. Yet, all Australian parliaments (except on the ACT) currently feature some form of Christian prayer/s, generally read at the start of each sitting day. But the church is no longer at the centre of culture. It hasn’t been for decades, and is increasingly being pushed to the margins of culture. Christendom has all but disappeared. According to The Age newspaper (4/08/21), it was the Labor government of the day that vowed to axe the century-old tradition of reciting the Lord’s Prayer in State Parliament if re-elected. Upper house MPs at the time debated a motion to remove the prayer, which has been said at the start of each sitting day since 1918, but a final decision was deferred – which is where we are now. The campaign to retain began back in 2020, and some of the campaign material along with prominent Christian voices kept referring to “our rights” with regard to retaining the Lord’s Prayer in the parliament. Yes! Several times I heard, or read this: “our Christian rights” are at stake. Well, I seriously question this. Appreciating, very much, the great work of the ACL, I cannot reference anywhere in scripture that supports such a “right”. It is nowhere to be found.
Whilst I, very much, understand the angst many Christians might feel (or might have felt) at the prospect of such an embedded Christian tradition being deleted from our parliamentary procedures, in reality, that’s all it has become in our culture today for the vast majority. No longer are we a “Christian” nation – that faded very quickly from the 1960s. We are now, very much, a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-belief, syncretistic nation, and the real church very much in the minority and with little influence. So, to impose the Lord’s Prayer on others is hardly biblical or helpful to the gospel, in my humble opinion. What “right” does the church have to impose their spirituality on anyone else and expect them to respect that, or enjoy or appreciate the experience? From where is this “right” derived? No, all of this is a throwback to Christendom which was originally forced upon Western Culture and forcibly held in place for centuries against the will of millions. This was about power in so many ways, and not the gospel cause.
I only make the point here to raise the stakes a little more for the church. All the campaigning on this issue and the money and time spent – a lot of it shrill and unbiblical, and derived from the Christendom “born to rule” arrogance – has only served to reinforce negative Church and Christian stereotypes in the parliament, the media and society. Yet, it was trumpeted by Christians in the parliament as a big victory … that was more than a week ago, and there has been virtually no serious media coverage. Back on August 1st, Evan Mulholland MLC, a fine Christian and upper house parliamentarian said, “Last night in Parliament, we had a big win for faith communities and for inclusion here in Victoria. After repeated attempts by Labor and their friends in the Greens to remove the Lord’s Prayer from the Legislative Council, the government were forced in to a stunning backflip, as Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes abandoned their election commitment to remove the Lord’s Prayer from Parliamentary proceedings.”
I listened to this comment on YouTube, and my heart sank. Is it just me? I don’t think so. Suddenly, our Christian faith had become a political club with which to belt other non-Christian MPs in some very public victory lap. It was so lacking in grace – and with a mere 10,000 signatures on a petition from Christians, is hardly representative of the dozens of different faith communities now established in our state. I wonder what they think of it all.
I have questioned this campaign (to retain the Lord’s Prayer in our parliament) from the outset – the logic, the rationale, the non-existent biblical basis and the strategic value in terms of the gospel. In the end the ACL collected 10,000 signatures on their on-line petition. I question the value of the campaign. At best it was a pyrrhic victory, and won’t change all that much in terms of the great commission. At worst it has antagonised. The church is not called to dominate the culture, or control it - or even correct it; but to be a city on a hill – a beautiful contrast to the prevailing culture that would draw people to the glory of God coming off it. I am not saying that the church should not campaign prophetically – prophetically – when that is called for, when serious issues of injustice and morality are at stake. Of course! That’s part of our salt and light reason for being deployed here by God. This is part of our role and function as royal priests in the world. Ministering first to God, and ministering to the world in a way that lifts up the name of Jesus Christ – not the church. This campaign was none of that. It was a political fight with no ground gained for the gospel at all. Forgive me if I sound somewhat harsh here. I don’t intend to be. I just think we need to keep the main thing, the main thing as believers and as the church. I reiterate; I am a supporter of the ACL which does much great work. But I think they got this one wrong. I fear this campaign has been disadvantageous in the longer term.
Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
This is not about imposition, but about blessing and grace for the glory of God which is more powerful than any political fight. This campaign was not about the gospel – at all.
Think in these things.
Ps Milton