Contemporary Aboriginal Spiritualities
Aboriginal Spirituality - A sense of belonging... '...when I talk about Aboriginal Spirituality, I am talking about something which had its beginnings over 40,000 years ago... So because our diversity of cultures and diversity of experiences when, as Aboriginal people, we talk about Aboriginal Spirituality, we must be careful. It is we who must define and take responsibility for how our Spirituality is presented. For us to let others define our spirituality is to allow them to say, 'This is Aboriginal Spirituality', and they would put it in a little box and say, 'Look, this is it here'. Does a concept of Aboriginal Spirituality from another culture adequately express and articulate to all Aboriginal clans in Australia that it is good for us to come together and talk about Aboriginal Spirituality' where we come from, how it has sustained us, and how the Spirituality of some of our brothers and sisters has been oppressed, how it has ripped them apart? Are we going to define it for ourselves, or are we going to define for all our brothers and sisters who are not with us today? We need to look at Aboriginal Spirituality. We need ti be talking about it, but we cannot put it down in writing. It cannot be studied like theology and sociology or cultures and societies, because we come from an oral tradition and we are all at different stages of understanding our own Spirituality.' -Cynthia Rowan, a descendent of the Birra Birra People, north-west of Rockhampton, at the 'First National Conference on Aboriginality and Perceptions of Christianity', 1990 in Anne Pattel-Gray, Aboriginal Spirituality: past, present, future, pp. 13-16 Cited in the Living Religion textbook, Third Edition (2007) page 243-245 | Religious Expression In Australia
Religious Expression In Australia... "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love: where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy". (Saint Francis of Assisi) “I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love”. (Mohandas Gandhi) "There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions without dialogue among the religions". (Dr Hans Küng) "There is no solution for us other than to agree on a united approach, through dialogue among religions and civilizations. We all believe in one God... It is the duty of religious leaders to work together to restore respect for ethical values and to avoid a clash of civilizations." (King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud) "We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race." ( Kofi Annan) "I appreciate any organization or individual people who sincerely make an effort to promote harmony between humanity, and particularly harmony between the various religions. I consider it very sacred work and very important work". (The Dalai Lama) "Peace among religions is a precondition for world peace". (Swami Agnivesh) "Never before probably has the need for interfaith commitment been nearly as great as it is at this very moment". ( Walter Cronkite) "Let me say this loud and clear. There is a world of difference between terrorist acts and the Islamic Shari'a. Islam is not only a religion, but a way of life. And at its heart lie the sacred principles of tolerance and dialogue". ( King Hussein of Jordan) "As believers we all have an opportunity and moral obligation to recognize our spiritual common ground; to rise above our differences; to combat prejudice and intolerance." (Queen Noor of Jordan) "I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others". (Thomas Jefferson) "Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others." (John F. Kennedy) What interfaith seeks to do is to not allow religion to fall back into confrontational modes, into contemporary crusades and jihads, rather to move onwards to a new level of interfaith harmony and understanding." (Dr. Karen Singh) The Interfaith Alliance has to become an ongoing sustaining and powerful movement whose interest is to prove that religion has a healing side as well as a killing side, and that democracy is the consequence of conscience. (Bill Moyers) Love is a fruit in season at all times and within the reach of every hand. Anyone may gather it and no limit is set. Everyone can reach this love through meditation, prayer, sacrifice, and an intense inner life. ( Mother Teresa) We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience. (Pierre Teilhard De Chardin) Everyone is on a spiritual path; most people just don't know it. ( Marianne Williamson) We can find common ground only by moving to higher ground. (Jim Wallis) |
Last update: February 8, 2010
