What Christians can learn from Australian Aborigines
Eily Sim
Public relations editorial intern
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
An Avondale academic will now help select papers for an international heritage conference after presenting one himself that explored links between Aboriginal and Christian spirituality.
Cross-cultured: Dr John Skrzypaszek’s paper argues that where Christian faith can create a spiritual vacuum, indigenous spirituality provides a natural bridge for healing and emotional stability. Credit: Aaron Bellette.
Dr John Skrzypaszek’s “Cross-cultural sharing of spirituality” argues “the development of the Aboriginal Christian spirituality may be enhanced by the qualities embedded in its indigenous roots.”
While recognising “Aboriginal and Christian worldviews are distinctly different,” John writes “at the point where [the] propositional creed-based structure of the Christian faith creates a spiritual vacuum, the indigenous spirituality provides a natural bridge for spiritual healing and emotional stability.”
Indigenous spirituality does this because it does not differentiate between the secular and the spiritual—John describes the indigenous consciousness as being “immersed in the totality of the spiritual journey.” This safeguards Aboriginal Christians “from the dangers of developing a creed-based identity defined only by conceptual terminologies” and enhances the development of Christian spirituality by “reviving vibrancy and awareness of God’s presence in every aspect of life’s journey.”
John presented his paper at the second International Conference on Intangible Heritage, held in Tomar, Portugal, July 3-6. Having stumbled upon Sharing Cultures 2011 through a website promotion, John decided writing a paper for it would not only impel him to do more research on heritage—John is director of the Ellen G White Seventh-day Adventist Research Centre and a lecturer in Adventist studies in the School of Ministry and Theology—but also to meet others in the field.
He says his invitation to serve as a member of the Scientific Committee for next year’s conference is “an honour but also a privilege and an opportunity to learn more.”
John coordinated ministry to indigenous Adventists for nearly three years while serving as the church’s Ministerial Association secretary in northern New South Wales. Visiting church members and settlements introduced him to indigenous life and customs, which gave John a personal connection with the paper and perspective.—with Brenton Stacey
John’s paper is published in Sharing Cultures 2011 (Green Lines Institute), available through Avondale Library.