What This Aboriginal Christian Wants to Tell the Church About the Australia Fires

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2020

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Transcribed highlights of the show can be found in our episode summaries. Australia's wildfires have consumed million acres of brushland, rainforests, and national parks. More than 30 people have died and according to some estimates, one billion animals have been killed. The area that has burned is roughly the size of England. As CT reported earlier this month, the fires have forced some Christian missions teams to evacuate. Hillsong announced several weeks ago that it had raised more than one million Australian dollars to support those affected by the fire. And the board of directors of A Rocha Australia, part of an international Christian conservation group, said it was building partnerships with Christian and non-Christian conservationists to aid with the recovery. As an aboriginal Christian, Brooke Prentis hopes the tragedy causes Christians and the country at large to commit to listening to the voices of Australia’s indigenous people, who have lived on the land for thousands of years. “My deep prayer and hope is that while this is a tragic situation for us, but maybe it's through tragedy that finally Aboriginal peoples are included as part of the fabric of our political, social, moral, and religious systems in Australia,” said Prentis, the incoming CEO of Common Grace, a Australian organization that organizes ecumenically around justice issues. “And that we can work together to work out how we look at this situation in our present and into our future, and how the past has affected that present and will affect our future if we don't come together.” Prentis joined digital media producer Morgan Lee and CEO and president Tim Dalrymple to discuss why she’s passionate about unity in the church, the tragic significance of January 26 for the aboriginal community, and how to pray for Australia during this time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.
0:11.1	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion. Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail Del Rosario at Apologeticsky.com.
0:23.4	Australia's wildfires have consumed millions of acres of brushland, rainforest, and national parks.
0:30.1	More than 30 people have died, and according to some estimates, one billion animals have been killed.
0:35.8	The area that has been burned is roughly the size of England.
0:39.8	As CT reported earlier this month, the fires have forced some Christian missions teams to evacuate.
0:45.4	Hillsong announced several weeks ago that it has raised more than one million Australian
0:49.5	dollars to support those affected by the fire.
0:52.2	And the board of directors of Arosha, Australia, part of an international Christian
0:56.1	conservation group, said it was building partnerships with Christian and non-Christian conservationists
1:00.8	to aid with the recovery.
1:02.2	I'm just going to read from part of their statement.
1:04.6	They said, we are looking for our opportunities to engage Australian churches to see this
1:08.5	disaster through a scriptural lens and repentance
1:10.8	and obedience rather than simply as a political issue. This is a challenge for Christians in churches
1:15.9	in a nation where climate and environmental politics are so polarized, often being based upon
1:20.6	political ideology rather than science, the scriptures, and the new climate reality. And we felt
1:25.5	that these circumstances presented a good opportunity for us to learn more about the state of Australian Christianity.
1:34.6	You're listening to Quick to Listen, where we go beyond hashtags and hot takes discuss a major cultural event.
1:40.1	I'm Morgan Lee, digital media producer here at Christianity Today.
1:43.6	And I'm Tim Dowernble, president and CEO of Christianity Today.
1:57.3	Tim, I thought we should do a gut check for this week, specifically about the fires and everything that we've seen regarding the scope of this natural disaster in Australia.
	...

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