Inspiring Christian voices at Waitangi

Inspiring Christian voices at Waitangi

Thanks for all the feedback to last week’s blog/article, in which we sought to give a balanced Christian perspective on Te Tiriti matters. If you didn’t see it, here’s the (slightly revised) website version.

On Waitangi Day earlier this week, against the backdrop of much concern and pain, and heard by large crowds and the whole range of politicians, there were some outstanding Christian voices. We particularly commend the talk at the Dawn Service by Dr Alistair Reese, who spoke inspiringly of the Christian undergirdings of Te Tiriti, You can watch it here [Please note you’ll need to sign in to Shine], or read his script. He also spoke similarly at the interdenominational service later that morning. Watch here, or read his script. You may also wish to watch the whole Dawn Service or the whole Interdenominational Service. In the former, it was great to watch the testimony of Angela Pehi.

In the footage, both on the platforms and in the crowd, many good friends of NZCN, both Māori and Pākehā can be seen. These include Bishop Pikaahu (who gives excellent Christian leadership), and Andrew Urquhart (fronting the SHINE coverage).

Let’s continue to pray for our nation, that this unique taonga that is the Treaty of Waitangi may be upheld in a way that honours God, and that a renewed Christian faith, love and generosity of spirit may grow in this land, among all its peoples.

The principles of the Treaty of Waitangi: a Christian perspective

The principles of the Treaty of Waitangi: a Christian perspective

Unsurprisingly, there are many varying interpretations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi /the Treaty of Waitangi, some of them helpful, and some of them distorting.

Any interpretation of the Treaty does need to reflect both what it actually said, and how it was understood at the time.

A key historical factor behind the Treaty/Te Tiriti was humanitarian Christian concern to have Māori protected from lawless Pākehā and from the destructive impacts of unregulated colonisation. From the late 1830s it was clear that New Zealand was about to be colonised by the New Zealand Company, which had little regard for Māori wellbeing.

Christian missionaries in New Zealand did not want or welcome colonisation. But, in order for Māori to be protected, they wanted New Zealand to come under British law and order. For that to happen, Māori chiefs had to assent to British jurisdiction by way of a treaty, and to receive reassurances about their rights.  This Christian humanitarian motivation behind the Treaty needs to figure more strongly in public discussion of its meaning and intent.

The assumption that the Treaty/Te Tiriti was just a deceptive pretext for colonisation and injustice is understandable, but confuses intentions and outcomes. Harmful outcomes did not arise out of the Treaty itself, but from its disregard.

In Article 1, Māori chiefs agreed to the British Crown’s governorship over New Zealand: ‘kawanatanga’ in the Māori version, and ‘sovereignty’ in the English version. The Crown’s overall governance over New Zealand was primarily so that the British Crown could regulate Europeans and protect the rights of Māori.

Te Tiriti was not about initiating large-scale European colonisation, but in effect it did help facilitate that. In accepting the Treaty and the Crown, however, the Māori chiefs were not in any way signing up to subjugation, cultural domination by settlers, or the loss of their own land and language.

In Article 2, Māori chiefs were guaranteed full rights to their own chiefly mana and authority (tino rangatiratanga), lands, fisheries, and property. It also implied a considerable degree of Māori self-determination, especially at that time. The subsequent breach of these promises, especially with regard to land, caused considerable harm and hurt among Māori, which has required redress in various ways.

Sure, in some respects times have changed: Māori have become a minority in a country that was once theirs alone, Māori rangatira no longer exercise quite the same power over their people that they once did, New Zealand is now ethnically and culturally very mixed, and Māori themselves hold a range of views. But the co-existence and balance of Crown governance in Article 1 and chiefly rights in Article 2 does imply some ongoing partnership between Crown and Māori, and that there should be an appropriate recognition in New Zealand of Māori voices, guardianship, language and culture. Such recognition is not ‘racism’ or ‘apartheid’, as some claim.

In Article 3, Māori were given the same rights and privileges as British citizens. This was an important assurance to the chiefs, that in effect Māori would not become second class citizens subjected to injustice and oppression from Pākehā. This article was likewise significantly compromised. Nowadays, it reminds us that all New Zealanders, whether Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika, Asian, or whatever, have equal rights in law. However, none of that precludes this nation honouring Māori as the tangata whenua, the original people of the land, who in signing Te Tiriti in effect opened their country to all who have subsequently made Aotearoa New Zealand their home.

Christians should neither disregard nor distort the Treaty, nor deify it. It was a governmental document, not a religious document. But we do well to remember that among other things it reflected Christian biblical values of justice, order, and human equality.

Te Tiriti was also promoted among Māori chiefs by Christian missionaries, who in good faith assured the chiefs that the Crown would always act justly. It was signed in trust by Māori chiefs, many of whom were also Christian. Many Māori – though not all – came to regard Te Tiriti as a sacred kawenata (covenant), an agreement made in the sight of God which should be honoured. Later, British governors and settler governments seriously violated the Treaty, but against the strong protests of a number of prominent missionaries.

Of all people, Christians must always be on the side of justice, truthfulness, respect, generosity, and reconciliation.

Also, we need to remember that spiritually, in Christ, there is ‘neither Jew nor Greek’, Māori nor Pākehā, nor anyone else: despite our ethnic, and cultural distinctives – which are to be respected and treasured, not devalued or erased – those who belong to Christ can have a transcending unity in the Spirit of Christ.

Prayer suggestions for the holiday season

Prayer suggestions for the holiday season

Please pray for:

  • clear and attractive presentations of the Christian message amidst all the opportunities of the Christmas and holiday season
  • Christmas family gatherings that they may bring togetherness and not strife
  • those who at this time experience loss, sadness, serious illness, depression, or loneliness
  • some to seek and experience God
  • the Spirit of God to grant rest, strengthening, and inspiration to Christian people and their leaders
  • the spiritual renewal of the New Zealand church in 2024
  • those New Zealand Christians serving God overseas
  • the persecuted church worldwide
  • those suffering extreme poverty, hunger, and deprivation
  • those ravaged by war, and those who work for peace
  • those who lead the nations, and for those who lead New Zealand, that they may all work for the wellbeing of everyone
Some changes in the NZCN team

Some changes in the NZCN team

We are very pleased to welcome some new part-time staff members to our NZCN team.

Rev Dr Malcolm Falloon
Associate National Director

Malcolm is an Anglican minister with over thirty years’ experience in pastoral ministry.

He currently pastors Church of the Ascension in Auckland, which is affiliated with the Church of Confessing Anglicans. Through his work with the Latimer Fellowship (an evangelical society within the Anglican Church), he has experience in connecting leaders together for mutual encouragement and support in the Gospel.

Malcolm is a keen student of New Zealand mission history, and has a PhD specialising in the Māori conversion to Christianity. He is married to Sue and they have three adult children.

Esther Tredoux
Communications and Content Coordinator

Esther, wife to Albert and mum to Noah, is from South Africa. She and her family immigrated to Hamilton, New Zealand in April 2023.

Esther has experience in marketing, social media, and public relations. She has worked for various Christian non-profit organisations (including Mission Aviation Fellowship South Africa), as well as companies specialising in Software as a Service (apps) and in Public Relations.

Marcela Ferreira
Administrative and Financial Manager

Marcela comes from a Christian upbringing, finding joy in reading and studying the Bible since her early years. She comes from a small Presbyterian church in Brazil, where she joyfully volunteered across various ministries.

Professionally, Marcela delved into finance, banking, and entrepreneurship.

In 2018, her family moved to New Zealand, where she pursued and obtained a Master’s in Finance, deepening her expertise in the field. She lives in Auckland with her husband, Marcelo, and their two daughters, Laura and Sara.

Some challenging data about Christianity in New Zealand

Some challenging data about Christianity in New Zealand

It has been interesting over the last month or so to hear numerous important statistics being articulated abut Christianity in New Zealand.

In this issue we highlight some of the data shared with the recent New Zealand Christian Leaders’ Congress by Associate Professor Geoff Troughton of Victoria University. His presentation, “A Snapshot of Christianity and the Churches in New Zealand”.

From the 2018 Census (the 2023 data is not yet available), Dr Troughton noted that 37% of New Zealand census respondents identify as “Christian” (in 2013 it was 49.1%, in 2006 it was 54.2%, and back in the 1960s it was over 80%).

The substantial decline of Christian affiliation was matched by a new high of 48.2% of New Zealanders identifying with “no religion” (up from 41.9% in 2013).

In both categories (Christian and “no religion”), Maori and NZ European percentages were the same, and growth in “no religion” is strongest among young people.

Dr Troughton commented that Christianity remains “by a long way the largest religion in New Zealand”, that other religions were only 8%), and that the growth in other religions is largely fuelled by immigration. Nevertheless 27% of Asian people in New Zealand identify as Christian. Auckland is both more diverse and more Christian that other major New Zealand cities.

From the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (a longitudinal survey-based study begin in 2009), Dr Troughton reported that in 2019 about 14.4% of New Zealanders attended church at least monthly (down from 20-25% in 2009), but the largest proportion of those attended weekly.

In response to all that, we might ask ourselves: what is behind all these changes? Clearly, the church is being buffeted by many ideological moods that pervade western society, not least scepticism, post-modernism, consumerism, individualism, and hedonism.

How can the Church stand, in the face of such powerful tides? Not by complacency, not by complicity, not by just doing just what we have always done.

These are times that call the Church to a more robust faith in Christ, to greater love, to more prayer, to more power of the Holy Spirit, to more authentic Christian living, to more effective discipleship, and to more passion for sharing our faith with people around us in a way that respects and connects.

In the next NZCN News we will reflect on some findings of the 2023 Faith and Belief Study and the 2023 Church Life Survey.

More on Gaza

More on Gaza

Christians are among who deplore the bloodshed and horrific atrocities of the Hamas attack on Israel. Christians generally uphold the existence of Israel as nation state, and many also see its establishment as a fulfilment of biblical prophecy and a significant end times development. They pray for Israelis to turn to the Messiah.

However, many Christians have growing misgivings about the wisdom and humanity of Israel’s current siege, bombardment and invasion of Gaza, and the colossal loss of civilian life. It can be acknowledged that this is an extremely difficult situation, in which everyone has limited options, and there is no obvious middle ground: Hamas is determined to destroy Israel, and Israel is determined to destroy Hamas. But will this tragic war achieve anything other than further inter-generational rage and bitterness among the Palestinians, and among Arabs and Muslims elsewhere?

We can but pray. How magnificent it would be if by the grace of God these two peoples could somehow turn away from hatred and bloodshed, and discover a radically new way of living peacefully alongside each other in the same space, drawing on their common humanity, reflecting most ordinary people’s desire to live in peace, and picking up their respective values of justice and mercy. And even better, if they found reconciliation in the Prince of Peace.