IN ‘Christian faces in politics are good’ (CL 5/6/05), statements attributed to Tony Abbott, the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, certainly invite comment.
Thankfully Editor Marcus Kuczynski did comment on one of Mr Abbott’s statements.
Mr Abbott further stated when referring to political decisions: ‘… it’s always got to be something which is judged by human standards, not by God’s standards, because let’s face it we don’t know what God’s standards are’.
Strange! I thought that Christian thinking was very clear.
Didn’t Our Lord state that the greatest commandment was ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’, and the second most important commandment is like it, ‘You must love your fellow man as yourself’?
Throughout history, the human standards with emphasis on acquiring wealth and power at the cost of exploitation of other human beings have only been overcome when Christian standards have triumphed.
One typical example — the British Industrial Revolution which began in the 18th century — was hailed as a glorious achievement.
However, the costs — the loss of human dignity, the suffering, and injustices meted out to so many were overwhelming.
Because women and children were the tools used to achieve this great might, the precious heritage of family life was lost.
Mothers and their children were forced to work long hours for a bare existence, the dreadful unsafe machinery frequently resulting in horrific injuries.
It was people with Christian standards who fought the powerful lobby of exploiters — the factory owners and politicians, to ultimately have laws in keeping with God’s laws.
This gradually resulted in the restoration of the sanctity of family life and justice for the labourers providing the immense wealth.
A just remuneration, restricted hours of work, and safety precautions were installed.
It was a long, hard fight, but Christian standards did finally triumph over human standards.
Thankfully, throughout history, there are many other examples of God’s laws being upheld and implemented.
These days, we are being inundated at election time with promises purporting to ensure our well-being.
However, if our elected representatives are believers in implementing human standards instead of Christian ones, what hope is there for mankind?
MAUREEN FOX
Gatton, Qld
