<
https://theconversation.com/morrisons-christian-empathy-needs-to-be-about-more-than-just-prayer-it-requires-action-too-177248>
"Over the past week, Australians have heard Scott Morrison make several
explicit references to his faith. Given Morrison has placed his faith front and
centre of his public persona, it is helpful to try to understand how he
perceives his faith and how it might intersect with his job as prime minister.
For me, Morrison’s recent comments about faith and prayer reveal a pattern of
human passivity, dependence on divine intervention, and potential abnegation of
power.
For example, in his 60 Minutes interview, Morrison’s response to a question
about his empathy was:
I’ve worn out the carpet on the side of my bed […] on my knees, praying and
praying […] praying for those who are losing loved ones, praying for those
who couldn’t go to family funerals, praying for those who are exhausted […]
To be fair to Morrison, it would be odd for a person of any faith not to
include prayer as part of their expression of concern for those who suffer or
struggle. Such an approach has a long tradition. But we might expect more than
just prayer from a devout Christian who also happens to be the prime minister.
In this response, he appears to prioritise prayer over action, which is
astonishing given the power he holds due to his position. In the Christian
tradition, prayer informs and even motivates action; it does not replace it.
Such a response is also, of course, a way of signalling his piety to certain
constituents.
It is not an isolated example. Take, for instance, his address to the
Australian Christian Churches National Conference in 2021, where he told the
crowd:
I can’t fix the world, I can’t save the world, but we both believe in
someone who can.
That someone, of course, is God.
On the one hand, it shows admirable humility to acknowledge that even the prime
minister cannot “fix the world”. But in alluding to the “someone who can”,
Morrison appears to be giving over his agency and responsibility to God. Leave
it up to God to act."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
