Losing our religion threatens bedrock of our democracy

The true messages of Easter are lost amid holidays, soft toys and chocolate, says Sue Carlyon

EASTER has increasingly become synonymous with holidaying, barbecues and soft, cuddly creatures that promote the gastronomic delights of hot cross buns, chocolate eggs, rabbits, bilbies and chickens, none of which do anything to advance an understanding of the true meaning of Easter. And with the downturn in mainstream church attendance, the Easter message of salvation and eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross at Calvary, in the first century, is being lost among many, once-staunch, church attendees and their offspring, which is cause for deep concern and raises the need to preserve and restore our Christian heritage before it is too late. If Christianity is lost in Australia, the enviable political, religious and social freedoms and privileges we enjoy in this wealthy firstworld country will be seriously threatened, and possibly even lost.

The loss of Christianity will then open the floodgates for many and various political and religious ideologies to enter Australia that will ultimately lead to anarchy, in an already divided country, as each vie for their position of authority, superiority and control. Already there are worrying signs of this happening as the respect and honour with which our politicians were esteemed is eroded as a result of their failure to govern with integrity, courage and a clearly defined moral compass.

The federal election, on May 18, has the potential to either hasten the demise of Christianity or enable it to be resurrected and restored in a more meaningful way, based on the love commandments Jesus gave mankind, as documented in the Book of Matthew in chapter 22:34-40. This is the legacy of love Jesus gave the world through his death on the cross, and is what we now need to fight for in Australia because this is what will lead to a more collegial, respectful and caring society.

Hobart’s Chris Merridew, committed advocate for the preservation of our wonderful heritage, Treasury Buildings, has espoused the many valid reasons for retaining the buildings for the long-term pleasure and benefits of Tasmanians; one significant benefit being the financial flow-on from the growing number of tourists visiting our beautiful state to explore our early colonial history and the historical buildings that reveal so much of it.

Mr Merridew understands the enormity of the loss of these buildings if they are not protected in perpetuity for future generations to enjoy. The parallel can be drawn with our Christian heritage and the now urgent need to preserve it. But without there being the opportunity for voices such as my own to be heard in respect to the reasons behind the need to save Christianity in Australia, in the form it was initially intended to be presented, based on love, equality, respect and reconciliation, then ultimately it will become known as an ideology of a lost era with great lamenting for the political, religious and social freedoms that will ultimately be lost with it.

For these reasons, there is now an urgent need for an understanding of how Australia’s democratic society evolved from the Westminster system of Britain, post 1788, and the Christian tenets of our forefathers, to producing a lifestyle and system of governance that is the envy of the world, before this window of opportunity closes. And herein lies the significant need for the true meaning of Easter

to be understood. This is because all that Jesus taught, before his death in about 29AD, is fulfilled through his sacrificial death and resurrection, commemorated and celebrated at Easter time each year, by the Christian churches that preach the salvation and abundant life message of Jesus Christ.

Acclaimed former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, investigative journalist, and author Lee Strobel, produced a powerful argument in support of Jesus and his mission on Earth, through his compelling thesis presented in his book, The Case for Easter. Lee was determined to discredit the Easter story and Jesus. But after a long and expensive investigation, Lee came through his experience with a story he needed to tell, a story that revealed the truth about the extraordinary life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

It’s this Easter story that highlights the urgent need for Australia’s Christian heritage to be rescued and restored, while being revitalised with fresh revelations of who we are as unique human beings, created in God’s image as in the scripture in the Book of Genesis, in the Old Testament. And without the revelations that came through the life and teachings of Jesus, as recorded in the New Testament, the world would not now have a more complete understanding of our human makeup, particularly our spiritual nature and connectedness between physical, mental and spiritual aspects of our being. This knowledge is reinforced in 1 Corinthians 15:44 of the New Testament: “There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body”, and 2 Timothy 1:7, where Paul, disciple of Jesus, claims, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power and of love and of a sound mind”.

And for anyone who has an understanding of the nature and culture of our First Nations people, the significant spiritual aspect that was so highly evolved in them before 1788, can still be clearly identified as a profound aspect of their nature, particularly when it comes to connectedness to the Earth and to one another through kinship relationships.

So, the time has come for Easter to be honoured for the true message of spiritual insight it brings based on hope and peace, before this truth is lost through the commercial distractions of the worldly pleasures of holidaying, and indulging excessively in chocolate and hot cross buns.