FACING UP Rule by the gun is unchristian

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 5, 30 June 1987, Page 10

FACING UP Rule by the gun is unchristian

We treasure our right to vote. Most of us take great interest in national elections. Also, with postal voting having been introduced there is evidence that there is a very high percentage of folk who take their local authority elections seriously. Democracy, like the word love, is used frequently. Perhaps we take for granted words like democracy. Like the water we drink and the air we breathe, democracy is just there. But suppose you awoke one morning to find that democracy was an unknown concept, that you had no right to select your councillor or parliamentarian. Suppose you walked to the

local council building to find a soldier there on guard who would not let you inside. Or perhaps, that very evening while watching television you noticed that the new leader of your country was dressed as a general or admiral. His words might flow along like this: "... after we have appointed a new parliament, we will change the rules to suit us. And, when things are right, as we see it, then we might let you vote ... but, only for one candidate, mind you. None of that nonsense about choice." I, for one, would not like that at all. And, more than half of the Fijian population don't like that either. There is nothing moral, correct, just or right about running a government by the gun. And, believe it or not it is

unchristian. Yes, it is unchristian! Right in the Bible, in the Book of Acts, in chapter 15 is the first clear expression of democracy in Christianity. The events of the first Council of Jerusalem are recorded in Chapter 15, revealing much debate, decision making and finally the election of Judas Barsabbas and Silas along with Paul and Barnabas to convey the decisions of that council to the Church at Antioch. You bet your life I value the democratic process because I believe all citizens have a right to express their opinions and choose whom it is that will represent them, and I value the democratic process because I am a Christian.

Father

Bob Peck