Talk and Walk
Indigenous Talk and Walk
Julieanne Manson (Indigenous Education Officer Oceania Province)
Contact Details:
jmanson@edmundrice.org
Phone (02) 8762 4200
Mobile 0408960875
Current Copy
Did God come off the boat in 1770?
The answer would be a resolute 'NO'.
Theology was not, is not and will never be a 'terra nullius' for the first peoples of Australia. Time and circumstances do change however, especially in the face of the persistent challenges to Indigenous Australians from the legacy of invasion, dispossession and dislocation and the enduring resistance, by so many non-Indigenous people and structures, to the claims of justice and human rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Australian Indigenous theology is not new, but it is always timely. A central affirmation of this is that Indigenous Australians have always been accompanied by the Creator Spirit and sought to move on in this relationship. This is reflected in the particular culture, landscapes, stories, dances, law and relationships of the respective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of the land we now call Australia.
Did Indigenous people have a theology before 1770?
Indigenous Australians say 'yes'.
Connecting to the greater being was traditionally through initiation into law and culture, much of which has been lost or obscured for many Indigenous Australians today. It is in their mythology.
Indigenous peoples see a continuing sense of God in creation in Indigenous experience, stories, connections with land and the movement of nature. This is a deep and intimate connection where God speaks through creation.
Indigenous theology is naming God from where Indigenous peoples stand.
At the heart of this is the question of how Indigenous people name God.
READ THE STORY I hope you enjoy it. Julieanne.
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