There are two ways to celebrate Australian Day:

1. Blindly proclaim Australia’s excellence above all other nations.
2. Self-critically ruminate on the mistakes of the past and present.

As a migrant, I am able to look at Australia in a different way from those whose families have been here for many generations. Australia is a great nation. Though small in size, she is a leader in her region and an important figure on the world stage. She has esteems democracy and the rule of law, though the best approach to past mistakes remains contentious. Being born a New Zealander (and now an Australian dual citizen), it is interesting to consider when these sister nations have taken similar paths and where they have diverged.

However, on this day of national celebration, I must bring down the mood by drawing attention to one injustice that remains unrectified: the continued claims of Australia on the Pavlova.

For years the origin of the Pavlova was contested grounds, with competing claims across the Tasman, but academic Helen Leach has ended the debate by uncovering two sources earlier than the 1935 Australian recipe by Bert Sachse at Perth’s Esplanade Hotel. The fact that it wasn’t recorded until 8 years after Anna Pavlova’s second visit to Australian and New Zealand in 1929 should have rung alarm bells to begin with. Helen Leach cites a rural magazine from 1929 and a Mother’s Union cookbook from 1933 to put the matter beyond question.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The last thing I want to do is stop Australians from enjoying the Pavlova. The creamy meringue delight of Pacific’s Triple Star should indeed be heard afar! All I ask is that you stop taking credit for it.

I tell you what, if you agree plus renounce all claims to Phar Lap, I won’t mention underarm bowling and we’ll even let you keep Russell Crowe.

But I’ll still gloat when the All Blacks win.

Happy Australia Day.

Source: Pavlova wars: New Zealand reclaims its national dessert, Kathy Marks, The Independent, 11 April 2009.

Creative Commons: Pistachio Pavlova with Kiwi by norwichnuts

Yesterday, the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, a former trainee Roman Catholic priest, quoted Matthew 5:45. The following is an extract from a transcript of an interview with Kieran Gilbert of Sky News:

KIERAN GILBERT: And if it was another metre up, we’re already seeing thousands of people in the low lying areas, their homes inundated, all of them, for many of them their life’s work up in a few minutes, but then you have thousands of other having this reprieve today, it’s a bit weird isn’t it?

TONY ABBOTT: Look, the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. I mean, we know that it is a lottery here and the tragedy is that many people are impacted. The joy is that many people have escaped what could have been worse. But as I said, we must do what we can for those impacted, remembering that the aftershocks of this are going to be felt for many weeks and months and even perhaps years to come. This is the adrenalin surge phase of the crisis. We will soon be entering the true grit phase where people have just got to work long and hard and heartbreakingly at cleaning up and recovering.

There was a bit of comment about Mr Abbott using Biblical language, including that it was a “vengeful God quote“. The context here clearly shows that Mr Abbott was talking about how some people got flooded and some did not. If it seemed an odd quote, perhaps it would have been better to have quoted the whole thing:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV)

Instead of describing some indiscriminate allocation of good and bad circumstances, Jesus teaches here that the basic essentials of life, even the turning of the earth, are actively directed by God. In theology, this is part of what is known as Common Grace (as opposed to Special Grace, God’s undeserved mercy in saving people from sin). Of course, no one deserves anything good from God because we are all in rebellion against Him (hence the need for Special Grace), so if the benefits of Common Grace are withdrawn, we have no grounds to complain.

God’s behaviour towards us is put forward as His standard of how we should treat other people. At the conclusion of this section, the height of this standard is shown for what it is: unattainable. Instead of excusing us from the standard, we must realise how bad a situation we find ourselves in and call on this one who loves even His enemies to save us from His own just punishment of sin.

Creative Commons: rain on water by Andrew Rollinger

Danny Nalliah has shown his hand. In March, Victoria let of a collective sigh of relief as we realised that we’d had a great summer with very little bushfire trouble. Danny Nalliah released a statement defending his pronouncement that the Black Saturday Fires of the previous year were possible because God had withdrawn His protection of the state of Victoria because of the legalisation of abortion:

Catch the Fire Ministries (CTFM) president, Pastor Daniel Nalliah said following the backlash against him for stating that the bushfires signalled God had removed His protection over the state, linked to Melbourne’s abortion laws, the ‘global cooling’ this past month showed divine protection has been restored in Victoria.

See also: Pastor’s abortion dream inflames bushfire tragedy from the Sydney Morning Herald, 11 February 2009.

Now Victoria is experiencing the widespread flooding after years of drought. One wonders if Danny Nalliah would like to change his mind.

Examining his statement, it is quite clear that his claims to know what God is doing are entirely subjective. Notice that he says, “the ‘global cooling’ this past month showed divine protection has been restored in Victoria.” It’s not based on the Bible. It’s not based on a dream (like his claim that John Howard and Peter Costello were God’s ordained leaders for Australia). In fact, he doesn’t claim to have had any kind of spiritual message from God at all! He’s down to discerning God’s mind from the weather. What does the rain tell you, Danny?

In fairness to him, Danny Nalliah has been right. In an amazing insight, after Kevin Rudd’s election win in 2007, he predicted that Julia Gillard would stab him in the back (something I and most of the politically astute had expected ever since the day she helped him Labor leader). He recently dream of Julia Gillard conceeding defeat, he admits that,

‘There are so many types of dreams you have. Every dream is obviously not from God, but some dreams you just know are from the Lord. I really believe with all my heart that this dream was from the Lord and I pray that it will become reality soon.”

Ebenezer Scrooge agrees:

“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!”

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

Can we now conclude that Julia was morsel not a revelation?

Creative Commons:
Heavy Rain Shower Some rights reserved by AlmazUK
gravy Some rights reserved by rick