Preparing the way
“Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.”- Jeremiah 6:16
No-one can know what lies ahead on the path we choose in life.
We can only know where we have been, and through the lens of history and the stories of those who went before us, be prepared for how events might unfold.
Looking 'backward into the future' is a very Hebrew way of achieving context and a very indigenous way as well. The Japanese talk about one eye on the past and the other on the future.The Maori whakatauki (proverb) Kia whakatomuri te haere whakamua, “My past is my present, is my future” or “I walk backwards into the future, with my eyes fixed on the past” is a concept familiar to indigenous people groups including the Hebrews who were also fighting for their land during long periods of being dispossessed.
Jeremiah 29:11 has the Jewish prophet saying God promises “hope and a future” to the people enslaved in Babylon using the word aharit which translates to “looking back for what comes after”.
If we don't know where we have come from how can we know where we are going? It's time to get our bearings and I get a sense we are a tad off course.
If we take the time to learn something of the ancient paths followed by Maori and Pakeha heroes of the faith there's a sense that what we've often been told by educationalists and some historians is not necessarily the full story. Too often we're taken off course by cliches such as "Marsden the whipping parson" or "the missionaries only came to soften up Maori so the land could be stolen out from under them".
These oft repeated one-liners are based on the sand of bitterness and misinformation and feed urban myths. If we go back to the roots however and see the true intentions of the missionaries, their actions and the relationships they built with Maori, we can begin to understand a much surer foundation. In my reading, most of these pioneers were motivated by service to others based on a desire to share the Gospel.
The Bible & Treaty website looks at how history unfolded in Aotearoa at the edge of the world, from the late 18th century onward. The intention is to reconnect with the pioneers of Christian faith, who were among the first settlers in New Zealand, and to examine the strong relationships they established with Maori.
This is a much misunderstood period of history and as well as honouring the selfless missionaries who gave up all their creature comforts to come to these shores, I want to identify and honour the many Maori heroes of the faith who have been virtually written out of history.
While some missionaries clearly were not saints, the impact and influence of those who remained true to gospel principles of faith, hope, love and forgiveness, meant history unfolded far more favourably than it might have if greedy traders and self serving politicians had their way.
Humanitarian Christians in the Colonial Office in London gave instructions for the Treaty of Waitangi to be an equal partnership with the indigenous Maori people specifically to avoid the horrors of forced colonisation and slavery imposed on other cultures.
Once those conscientious advocates were no longer in positions of authority in the British government, nearly all the simple promises of the treaty were broken and both missionaries and the Maori were betrayed.
Sadly some of the foundation stones of New Zealand’s early history have been methodically eroded by half truths that have contributed to an inter-generational sense of injustice and bitterness.
My task here is to say Selah. Let us pause, research, rethink and re-story our rich past to see if we can’t get beyond the sense of betrayal to rediscover our common heritage so we can find point of agreement and walk together (Amos 3:3) into the future.
- Keith Newman
No-one can know what lies ahead on the path we choose in life.
We can only know where we have been, and through the lens of history and the stories of those who went before us, be prepared for how events might unfold.
Looking 'backward into the future' is a very Hebrew way of achieving context and a very indigenous way as well. The Japanese talk about one eye on the past and the other on the future.The Maori whakatauki (proverb) Kia whakatomuri te haere whakamua, “My past is my present, is my future” or “I walk backwards into the future, with my eyes fixed on the past” is a concept familiar to indigenous people groups including the Hebrews who were also fighting for their land during long periods of being dispossessed.
Jeremiah 29:11 has the Jewish prophet saying God promises “hope and a future” to the people enslaved in Babylon using the word aharit which translates to “looking back for what comes after”.
If we don't know where we have come from how can we know where we are going? It's time to get our bearings and I get a sense we are a tad off course.
If we take the time to learn something of the ancient paths followed by Maori and Pakeha heroes of the faith there's a sense that what we've often been told by educationalists and some historians is not necessarily the full story. Too often we're taken off course by cliches such as "Marsden the whipping parson" or "the missionaries only came to soften up Maori so the land could be stolen out from under them".
These oft repeated one-liners are based on the sand of bitterness and misinformation and feed urban myths. If we go back to the roots however and see the true intentions of the missionaries, their actions and the relationships they built with Maori, we can begin to understand a much surer foundation. In my reading, most of these pioneers were motivated by service to others based on a desire to share the Gospel.
The Bible & Treaty website looks at how history unfolded in Aotearoa at the edge of the world, from the late 18th century onward. The intention is to reconnect with the pioneers of Christian faith, who were among the first settlers in New Zealand, and to examine the strong relationships they established with Maori.
This is a much misunderstood period of history and as well as honouring the selfless missionaries who gave up all their creature comforts to come to these shores, I want to identify and honour the many Maori heroes of the faith who have been virtually written out of history.
While some missionaries clearly were not saints, the impact and influence of those who remained true to gospel principles of faith, hope, love and forgiveness, meant history unfolded far more favourably than it might have if greedy traders and self serving politicians had their way.
Humanitarian Christians in the Colonial Office in London gave instructions for the Treaty of Waitangi to be an equal partnership with the indigenous Maori people specifically to avoid the horrors of forced colonisation and slavery imposed on other cultures.
Once those conscientious advocates were no longer in positions of authority in the British government, nearly all the simple promises of the treaty were broken and both missionaries and the Maori were betrayed.
Sadly some of the foundation stones of New Zealand’s early history have been methodically eroded by half truths that have contributed to an inter-generational sense of injustice and bitterness.
My task here is to say Selah. Let us pause, research, rethink and re-story our rich past to see if we can’t get beyond the sense of betrayal to rediscover our common heritage so we can find point of agreement and walk together (Amos 3:3) into the future.
- Keith Newman
