The background to the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi included a remarkable move of God among Māori, from the 1830s onward, with very large numbers embracing Christian faith, and the concern of some influential British humanitarian Christians that the British government should step up and protect Māori from the injustices and oppression of lawless and unregulated colonial settlement (which was already beginning, through the New Zealand Company, which had little or no regard for Māori wellbeing, and which was purchasing huge tracts of Māori land to sell to thousands of new settlers).

Understandably, many chiefs were extremely cautious about the proposed Treaty, and it only got over the line because of the reassurances given by missionaries, who were held in high regard by many Māori.

The English and Māori versions clearly reflect different cultural perspectives. But in both versions the Crown and the chiefs agreed to a British Governor (kawanatanga), to the retention of chiefly authority (tino rangatiratanga), lands and fisheries, and to Māori having the same rights and privileges as British citizens.

The Treaty was a civil agreement, not a sacred text as such. Nevertheless, some Māori (and others too) have seen it in covenantal terms, akin to some biblical covenants.

Tragically, under the weight of massive colonial immigration and settlement, the Treaty before long became widely disregarded and breached, especially regarding land, and Māori language and culture were increasingly marginalised.

In recent decades, the work of the Waitangi Tribunal to bring some redress, and the efforts of wider society to honour Māori as tangata whenua, are consistent with Christian principles of justice, reconciliation, and loving your neighbour as yourself.

With all the ferment that can sometimes take place around Treaty issues, it is important that Christians be guided not by politics and fear, but by the spirit of Jesus. Of all people, surely it should be Christians (whether Māori, Pākeha, Pasifika, Asian, or whatever) who are great examples of inter-cultural respect, friendship, and generosity. As James 3 says, “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness”.

Whatever our culture, it remains critically important that Christians honour and worship God alone (Exodus 20:3; Isaiah 44:6, 45:18, 21-22).

Let us pray for a wonderful, God-sent renewal of vibrant Christian faith in this land – among Māori, Pākeha, and people of every culture.

Author: Dr Stuart Lange

Dr Stuart Lange is the National Director of the NZCN and is a Senior Research Fellow at Laidlaw College, where he was formerly Vice Principal. Stuart wrote and presented the historical DVD documentary Te Rongopai: 200 years of the Gospel in New Zealand, 1814-2014.