THE CHURCH AND VIOLENCE

The Communist view of violence is quite clear, which is a logical product of the philosophy of dialectical materialism. Robert Mugabe, "educated" at the London School of Economics, and the major African figure in the "Patriotic Front", proposes to "liberate" Rhodesia in accordance with the teaching of Mao Tse-tung. But what of the Christian Church?

Spokesmen for The World Council of Churches have justified Christians supporting African terrorists on the ground that this was an act of love. But it appears that some are beginning to have second thoughts about violence, although their concern is still rather selective. Canon Burgess Carr, for example, the Liberian Secretary-General of the All Africa Conference of Churches, was one of the first to speak out against Idi Amin of Uganda. He said that he believed that Uganda's Archbishop had not been killed in a car accident, as officially reported, but had been murdered.

A press report at the time read: "As tears rose in his eyes, Canon Burgess Carr asked, 'The question is how much longer the people of Uganda will have to endure this? How much longer will they have to live with the tyranny of one man? Will Africa do nothing?" But it was the same Canon Burgess Carr who in 1974 while in Kaunda's Zambia, said in Lusaka that there was a justifiable Christian theology of violence. He was attempting to justify the use of violence by "freedom fighters" operating against the Rhodesians.

In 1968, The World Council of Churches conference in Uppsala, Sweden recommended that Christians should engage in symbolic destruction of property and sabotage as a means for obtaining freedom. President Kaunda was a prominent speaker at the Uppsala conference. Soon the symbolic aspect of property destruction was dropped and the leadership of the World Council of Churches was giving its blessing to the destruction of hydroelectric schemes in Angola and Mozambique.

In 1970 the WCC opened, with an initial $200,000, a fund to support revolutionary movements in Africa, four of which were openly pro-Communist. In a pamphlet issued in London, "Guidelines for the National Liberation of Zimbabwe", Christianity is described as the main instrument for oppressing the black people. It is not surprising therefore that the would-be "liberators" of Rhodesia have gunned down missionaries in cold blood. This has produced some strong reactions from some Christian spokesmen, although some have attempted to justify these brutal acts by arguing that they must be seen "in the context of the Rhodesian situation."
Idi Amin's brutalities cannot be divorced from, and be used to divert attention from the other brutalities taking place in Africa.

It is time for Christians everywhere to call for repentance concerning the support that has been given to violence in Africa, and to demand that the growing assault on the peaceful Rhodesian people, both black and white, stop. Australian Church leaders should be asked NOT to endorse an international campaign against Rhodesia which, if successful, can only end in enormous loss of life and ultimately in famine and mass starvation.

LYNCHING THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY

"Canberra - The Treasurer, Mr. Lynch, has again called for a cut in real wages. Mr. Lynch, speaking at the end of an OECD Ministerial council meeting in Paris, said that there was a need in countries where real wages had run ahead of production increases, such as Australia, for higher returns on investments. He said there was also a need for recognition that there was reduced scope for increases in consumption spending." The Age, Melbourne, June 27th.

This latest nonsense from the Federal Treasurer is further confirmation of the fact that Mr. Lynch is but the public relations officer for the "experts" in the Treasury who, securely insulated against the effects of their destructive policies, are insisting that there must not be an increase in purchasing power by, for example, reducing inflationary indirect taxes.

The overall strategy for reversing inflation has been to attempt to hold wages down. The disastrous results can be seen in the number of bankruptcies and the growing unemployment. Any slowing of the inflation rate can only be temporary, while at the same time a revolutionary situation is being developed.

All those with any first-hand knowledge of the production system can assure Mr. Lynch that they would have no difficulty in increasing production to meet increased demand. The beef industry has a problem of trying to sell at a profitable price its enormous production. BHP has announced that it is closing down more of its blast furnaces because of a lack of orders for steel. At the same time Australia desperately needs a major expansion of its military defences.

The unheralded arrival of Vietnamese refugees on Australian shores has demonstrated just what a mockery Australia's coastal defences are. Australia's production system should be operating to the maximum to ensure that Australia has all the military defences essential. But Mr. Lynch and his "experts" keep on insisting that increases in consumer demand would be contrary to their anti-inflation policy. They are determined to continue on their present disaster course.

BRIEF COMMENTS

Under the heading "RHODESIANS 'TORTURED BLACK WITH SHOCKS"', The Australian of June 24th reports Dr. Selwyn Spray, an American medical missionary expelled from Rhodesia, as saying that "The guerrillas have nearly 100% support from the people, who look upon them as liberators." This absurd statement destroys Dr. Spray's credibility as a reliable witness concerning alleged tortures of blacks. Many, of course, have been tortured - by their "liberators". There was the case of Mr. Chikombe Madividza, who had the flesh cut from parts of his face by Dr. Spray's "guerrillas" while his wife was forced to cook and try to eat it. Mr. Madividza said from his hospital bed, "The people who did this are not human beings." The "liberators" were also responsible for the cold-blooded killing of missionaries who had given their lives to serving the Africans. They were murdered by the same type of criminal thugs who have "liberated" many other countries. Black and white Rhodesians are standing together to resist this type of liberation. All decent Australians must make it clear to Prime Minister Fraser and his colleagues that they do not wish to be associated in any way with this "liberation".

Those RSL leaders responsible for the 1977 RSL defence paper are to be commended for the realism of the paper. It stresses the fact that there is a campaign to maneuver people into accepting subversion against the established order of the country. "The aim is not so much to seize power but to weaken the economy and the national capacity to resist the aggressor, to destroy morale and prepare the country to accept domination. Particularly pleasing is the urging of the Government to study closely the emergence of communist governments in Mozambique and Angola and the mounting international pressures against the governments in South Africa and Rhodesia. It would be instructive to have the views of Defence Minister D.J. Killen on the RSL paper; it is the type of paper he used to present before he became a Minister. Needless to say, the RSL paper has been greeted with the usual type of smearing by the Liberal-communists in the media.

Addressing a group of businessmen in New York last week, in an attempt to persuade them to invest in Australia, Prime Minister Fraser gave his listeners some information which will astonish Australians. He explained his Government's anti-inflation policy, claiming that it was "working steadily and that the underlying rate of inflation in Australia had dropped by nearly a third in the past year." We have yet to meet anyone who can tell us what the "underlying rate of inflation" is. As Australians know, the financial cost of living has continued to soar over the eighteen months the Fraser Government has been in office. Any minimal reduction in the rate of inflation has been at the expense of vastly reduced business profits, bankruptcies and hard-pressed primary producers. If the Fraser Government continues with the policies Mr. Fraser claims are "working", we can predict with absolute certainty that even with more bankruptcies, squeezed profits and growing unemployment, the inflation rate at the end of this year will be at least what it was at the beginning of the year.