In Daniel chapter 9, the prophet prays a prayer of confession. The thing that is strange about this prayer however is that Daniel is confessing the sins his ancestors had committed decades, if not centuries beforehand. So why does Daniel say ‘WE have sinned’ (Dan 9:5), when he wasn’t even alive when most of those sins were committed? Firstly, it is because Daniel knows the culture HE is part of produced the sins of the past. Secondly, the culture he is part of is enjoying the fruits of those past sins.
Modern Australia is one of the most blessed times and places in human history. We have a stable government, economic success, beautiful landscape, universal healthcare, and general peace and prosperity (for most). Yet these blessings come off the back of previous generations killing, oppressing, kidnapping (the stolen generation) and enslaving (enforced domestic work) Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islanders. While modern Aussies may not have committed these crimes, we enjoy the fruit of them.
Another issue is the intergenerational impact of these crimes. Being denied stable housing, standard education and fair employment impacts a family’s ability to accumulate wealth and rise above poverty. Even if some Indigenous people have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps (which not everyone can do, according to the Bible), they are still behind the eight ball compared to the average middle class Aussie whose family have enjoyed good housing, education and employment for generations.
As Christians we can simply sit back and enjoy the blessings Modern Australia grants us, or we can recognise those blessings have come at the cost of generations of Indigenous oppression. We can then repent of the sins our culture has been a part of, just like Daniel did. Only then can we start to right the wrongs of previous generations through (i) listening to what they need (rather than telling them), (ii) lending our voice to their struggle for equality, and (iii) looking for opportunities to provide them with what their forefathers were denied by our forefathers.
