The Possibilities of Christianity in Australia

The Possibilities of Christianity in Australia THE POSSIBILITIES OF
CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA
By Colin Smith This year college debate teams throughout this country will be debating the advisability and possibility of this nation’s, pursuing a policy of strict economic and military isolation from a great portion of the world. I am not here to discuss that question from the economic or civil standpoint; but from the religious standpoint I have no hesitation in assuming that the churches of this land have no intention of adopting s,uch a policy. My experience among you has shown me that you realize that the church has a world-wide mission. Every nation is included in the Great Commission, and the kingdom of God can become nationalized only at the peril of its own existence. For us, national barriers have ceased to exist. My presence here on this program is proof of that. The church throughout the world is one, and an opening in any country is a challenge to all Christians in every other country.

I believe that in Australia there is an open door of opportunity and, of course, many adversaries. The latter I do not believe are unconquerable if a deliberate and determined attempt to overcome them is made. My faith in the power of the simple New Testament gospel has been greatly increased as a result of my visit to this country, and particularly to this college. I came here expecting to find a few small groups of Christians scattered over the land, struggling for an existence as are all religious bodies, in Australia. I did not dream that you could have succeeded in establishing New Testament churches to the extent that you have. Like David you have routed the giant Goliaths of erroneous ideas and unscriptural practices and all that remains is, to possess the land. In Australia we have not yet found the sling, nor even learned to recognize the giant when we see him.

Nearly a century ago the movement to restore primi-tive Christianity sprang up in my country, but early in our history visitors from this country, coming to Us as wolves in sheep’s, clothing, began gradually and cunningly to lead away the flock of God. Admittedly the infant church in the far away land should have been watching, but it thought that this country was the center of our present civilization; it thought that American people were so much like Australian people, that anything coming from the restoration movement in this country would be beneficial in Australia.

First the young church, before it was, old enough to form properly its own ideas, was told that effective evangelistic, educational and social work could be done only when the churches were acting as a unit. I believe that the church must be united; a house divided against itself must fall sooner or later. But under the influence of visiting' teachers, the small churches were led to believe that united efforts could be made only through conferences and the committees and societies that result from conferences. As a result of that idea a system of district and state conferences, grew rapidly, and usurped the responsibility that God had placed on the local congregation. At least they aimed at doing that, but succeeded only in crippling the individual initiative of the churches, ana stifling any progress that might have been made. The barrier having been broken by the introduction of conferences, other innovations followed, until today practically every congregation uses instrumental music in the worship. Of course, that all happened before my time, and the voices, of protest became lower and lower until today they are almost inaudible. If one dares to protest against unscriptural innovations he is silenced with the argument that in this country the non-progressives are rapidly dying out, while the progressive or liberal element of the restoration movement is growing by leaps and bounds. That was the opinion I had, in common with others until Brother John Allen Hudson visited our shores about two and a half years ago. Then I began to see that his reports could not be harmonized with the unpressions left by other visitors. I thought the conservative section was composed of a few ignorant and bigot ted people who were rapidly dying out; but even with such a misconception many of us were dissatisfied with conditions in the churches of Christ in Australia. We could see that no progress was being made, and we began to blame the system under which we were working. The coming of Brother Hudson served to stimulate our thinking and confirmed us in the belief that such things as conferences were introduced without Scriptural authority. Today, many m Australia, though not separated from the digressive element are beginning to realize that there has been something of a departure from the restoration plea, which of course means a departure from the New Testament as an all sufficient guide able to completely furnish us for every good work. Our task is, to stimulate that line of thought, and save something from the whole body in Australia. Let me add, that I know none in Australia who would endorse all of the practices of the First Christian Church in this country. All are much more conservative than that, and believe that they are working towards the restoration of Christianity as, taught and practiced in the first century by the apostles. Inside congregations that have introduced unscriptural innovations, there are numbers who are opposed to those things. Becaus.e religious prejudice is not so marked in that country as it is here, we have an opportunity to reach those people.

There are some groups that have remained loyal, or as we say in Australia, “in the old paths.” In these groups there would not be a total of more than 100 disciples. Most of them are in the vicinity of Sydney, a city with a population of almost a million and a half people. Some of these small loyal churches are meeting in homes; some of them have their own church houses; none of them has ever used im strumental music in the worship, nor have they been connected with conference organizations. Sydney then, becomes our logical centre from which to work. There we would have access to the pulpits of the more liberal churches, and for at least a few years there would be no clear line of demarkation between the. “Old Paths” churches and the digressive churches. The division would most likely come along later when the “Old Path” s.ection gained strength and became worthy of attention. However, considering that the Australian people fear division more than they fear an innovation, I do not think there would ever be the prejudice and bitterness that unfortunately exists in this country.

Besides the opportunity that exists for teaching inside the liberal churches, there are, I believe, remarkable opportunities in other fields. Our State educational regulations give recognized religious teachers the right to enter all the schools for the purpose of giving religious instruction. Naturally there are some requirements that have to be met lest children receive instruction from incompetent teachers, or against the will of their parents,. But the people are so indifferent to religion that practically every child in the public elementary and high schools could be reached once a week, if we had sufficient workers. Our educational system presents an open door that is being neglected by every religious group in Australia. About a month ago I received a letter from a teacher whom I have never met. He deplored the fact that no religious instruction was being given in the schools of Tasmania despite the provision made in the laws of the land. Naturally we cannot expect the state to give education in religious subjects, but Christians should be alive to their opportunities, and obligations. Religious instruction is particularly necessary in the schools of Australia because of the absence of religious colleges.

Some day we may be able to remedy that lack, but at present will have to plan on reaching the students in the high schools. Much also could be done in the primary grades, but without a whole army of workers I think it will be more profitable to work with the high school boys and girls. In the Universities too, much could be done if we had the workers, but I have referred to the high schools because I believe the students there are much more impressionable than college students. To supplement the work in the schools and churches, we also have an opportunity to teach by means of the radio. Our radio system in Australia is, similar to that here. No religious body is at present using the radio to any extent. I do not at present know whether we can attempt anything along that line, or whether it will prove too expensive. In this country much of your success has, been due to the printing press. You are fortunate in having men who are prepared to publish literature and periodicals devoted to the preaching and defense of the gospel. In Australia the Austral Publishing Company publishes a weekly paper, “The Australian Christian,” representing the churches of Christ. This paper however, does not represent our ideas, and will be of no use to us. I hope that we can soon arrange for the publication of another paper. Until about nine years ago “The Restorationist” was, published monthly, but the publisher dropped it. Whether or not he can and will re-commence publication, I do not know. Whether or not he does, we can use large quantities of literature from the churches here in America. However, literature published there would possess advantages that are obvious,. Supplemented with tracts and per-iodicals from here, mimeographed matter could also be used to good advantage. Perhaps too, we could do something with a library of good doctrinal books to circulate amongst the churches.

Thus you can see, we have three great open doors of opportunity at Sydney. Every school door is, open invitingly. Work done in the schools would bear fruit in later years. Further the name of one speaking to the students in the high schools, would becomje known, by name at least, to the parents and friends of the boys, and girls. Boys and girls there are the same as boys and girls here, and would talk to their mothers and dads about the preacher whose coming brought a welcome respite from the monotony of regular lessons. That is casting no reflection upon the school teachers, but may be assuming that the preacher has something to say, and can say it in an interesting manner. Thus we can build up easily a potential radio audience. Then with the parents and children interested in the preacher, some of them would read tracts and other literature. The opportunity is there, but the work is not going to be easy or rapid. With forty years of digressive teaching, error is firmly entrenched. The Australian people are conservative, and largely indifferent to religious matters. An estimate made last year showed that only about 7% of the people attended religious services. We will have to start with the rising generation, and educate them spiritually. Naturally results will not be seen immediately. Here a preacher has a large body of Christian school teachers who have been educated in this and similar colleges. They can influence the boys and girls in the schools. In Australia most teachers are religiously nothing, and are a hindrance, rather than a help to our cause. Ultimately we may be able to establish some religious colleges in that country, but for the present perhaps we had better aim at having some of our young men attend this and similar colleges in America. Probably we should arrange to have someone come here from the churches in Australia and major in music, so that he can return to Australia and help with the singing. However I have been treated so well here, that I would be compelled to advise a restrictive clause placed in his passport so that he would have to return to Australia rather than settling down here where it is much easier to do religious work, amongst so many Christian associates.

I have been talking about the opportunity at Sydney because that is our largest city; but similar opportunities exist in many other cities. Australia is approximately the same size as the United States. It does not have any cities as large as New York, but it has several states larger than Texas. Not one of all our states has in it a single preacher devoting his, time to the preaching of the New Testament gospel, and opposing the introduction of unscriptural in-novations. As you cast your eyes on the map of the world, you can visualize a whole continent populated by a people who are speaking your language and enjoying the same standard of living that you enjoy; many of them worship the same God, and have been baptized with the same baptism, but have been led astray by men pretending to represent the churches of Christ in this country. A whole continent without a single preacher devoting his time to the work of extending the borders of God’s kingdom and fighting against errors from within. A nation that has taken the cross as its, symbol because every night the Southern Cross shines over it, and yet a nation led away from the simplicity that is in the Cross of Calvary. I look forward to the time when the cross that has, been placed in our sky and in our flag will be a symbol of the cross that has won our hearts.

I have taken time to tell yqu about the opportunities at Sydney because I am planning to make that the center from which we will work. Melbourne is almost as large as, Sydney; it is the religious center of Australia, and its inhabitants have a greater interest in religion than do those of Sydney. But it has been the center from which the seeds of digression have been sown. Tares there are getting s,o thick that the wheat has been choked out. As far as I know, there is not a single “Old Path” congregation in Victoria, the state of which Melbourne is the capital.

Tasmania is my owrn state, and like the others pre-sents plenty of opportunities. I would like to work from there as a center, but that state is not centrally situated geographically as you will see if you look at the map we have here. The history of the restoration movement there has been glorious in the past, but with a departure from the Bible as an absolute authority in faith and practice, a decline followed, and over the doors of many of the buildings could be written “Ichabod,” for the glory has departed.

However, Tasmania is not so far from Sydney that it could not be visited sometimes. In the state there are two or three small groups that are loyal. Two of these are in country districts; the other is in a city about the size of Abilene. Like Elijah of old, they are beginning to think that they are the only ones left. If only through the years we had been making some contacts with the great body of Christians here, we would have felt less discouraged; but we believed that here too, the people with instrumen-tal music and conferences were making all the progress, and that the conservative section was doomed to almost certain extinction within a generation or so. A message from here occasionally would afford great encouragement, and would show them that God has reserved for himself a great host of people who have not bowed the knee to Baal. I know those people; I believe I know every family in every church in Tasmania whether they are ‘‘Old rath" brethren or not. I know that many who have in the past year or two occupied positions of distinction in various conferences and committees, are beginning to see that such aids are a failure. And they are a failure. If better work could be done by means of conferences etc., God would have included them in his plan. Like David’s new cart, that he made to carry the ark, they shift the load from the Levites to the oxen, but sooner or later the oxen stumble. Then there are plenty of men like Uzzah who are ready to steady the ark. Uzzah tried to help with his hands; the modern method is to add a few more conference committees to help preach the gospel, and a few mechanical instruments to aid with the singing. So effectively do such things aid the church in her work and worship, that groups of Christians, once welded together by the faithful preaching of some good man, have nothing for which to live, and we see the spectacle of churches closing their doors!

I could relate similar facts about each of our six states, for the experience in all has been the same. New Zealand too, is in a similar plight. A few small churches struggling against almost overwhelming odds, and discouraged by all sorts of inaccurate reports from this land! Why it ijs. that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, purchased by his own blood, and established in all whiteness and purity to be his bride, should be the victim of erroneous teaching from within similar groups in other lands, I do not know. I am not going to assert that the church of the Lord in Australia and New Zealand was free from error before the advent of teachers from this country. From the very first the influence of Christians there was handicapped by their failure to see the need and scripturalness of supporting their evangelists. Believing in the British “Mutual Ministry” system, they considered that preaching and teaching was the work of the elders. 1 would be the last to assert that elders are absolved from that work even when they engage the services of an evangelist or preacher. However the experience in Australia has shown that a preacher is terribly handicapped when forced to earn his living at secular work, while trying to prepare sermons for the Lord’s day. Perhaps if we had given some men an opportunity to study as well as to preach, innovations would have been more difficult to introduce. In fact such things gained an ingress because the preachers sent from this country were more highly educated than the unpaid preachers in the Australian churches. Then realizing the influence that educated and trained preachers could have, many promising young men were brought over to attend such colleges as Bethany, and Butler, and T.C.U. These men on their return to Australia naturally became leaders in the movement, and for forty years have watched their ideas take root and grow. Truth and error cannot exist together, and the growth of one results in the suppression of the other.

We need now a succession of men who will work to uproot the errors that have got a foothold in, and ultimately taken control of the church in Australia. I said we needed men because all of God’s movements to save men and women have been conditioned upon human cooperation. In his conflict with Baal in Old Testament times, God used Elijah; after Christ finished his part of the atoning work he used Peter to preach the first gospel sermon; when he wanted to get the message to the Ethiopmn eunuch, he took Philip away from a successful meeting in Samaria because without the help of some man the Ethiopian did not understand what he was reading. Jesus went back to the Father in heaven, where he will remain until the times of restitution of all things whereof God spake by the mouths of the prophets, but the work of human redemption was not finished, and will not be finished until the gospel has, been taken to every creature in every land and country. This part of the task was left to the church. If we fail, then Jesus fails because he has made no other provision for the extension of his kingdom and the salvation of men. In one generation the message of reconciliation was preached in all the known world, and the apostle could go to the martyr’s grave saying, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing.” Surely those who love his appearing, are those who are busy doing his will, preaching the gospel either personally or by means of their wealth and influence, throughout the whole world.

I can think of no field that presents greater pos-sibilities than does Australia. Occupying the position it does, it is the key to the myriad islands of the Pacific Ocean: it is the key. to India with its countless multitudes of men and women made in the image of God, and ignorantly bowing down to idols of brass and wood and stone, vainly groping after something they cannot define. It is. the key to Papua with its millions of cannibals who can be helped only by the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the task in Australia is not going to be easy in Australia. Before us we have a long and tedious job, but we know that the gospel is the power of God, and what has been accomplished here in America can be accomplished among people of the same blood in Australia. Over there, the church, the pillar and ground of the truth, is weak and sickly because it was led astray while it was yet a little child. Starved, or fed on adulterated food when it should have been getting the sincere milk of the word, it is looking to its, older brother in America, and with a voice already feeble, is pleading, “Come over to Australia and help us.”