It is Waitangi Day in New Zealand today; the day where we remember the signing of the treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

This morning at church I had the privilege of hearing a very interesting talk from my Pastor, Rev. Dr Stuart Lange about the lead up to the Treaty signing. Stuart is a church historian and something of an expert on the history of Christianity in New Zealand. When he is not being a pastor at Massey Presbyterian Church he lectures in Church History at Laidlaw College where he used to be Vice Principal.

Stuart looked at the role of missionaries in NZ society. He pointed out some interesting facts, such as: the relationship between early missionary Samuel Marsden and William Wilberforce, the famous evangelical reformer who spearheaded the abolition of the slave trade in England; and that prior to the Treaty being signed, large numbers of Maori converted to Christianity; he touched on the role of Missionaries in brokering peace between warring tribes, and how these conversions lead to Maori tribes liberating their slaves who then carried the gospel back to their homes. He also noted that, in many respects, prior to 1840 Christianity was more prevalent amongst Maori than the colonial settlers, many of whom were fairly unscrupulous and had little time for serious evangelical commitment.

He noted also the theological and pastoral motivations of the missionaries in pushing for the Treaty; they were concerned to see that, with colonialists arriving in great numbers, the indigenous people they worked with were protected. He also noted the role of several missionaries in speaking out against early violations of the Treaty.

Stuart is apparently giving a 90 minute lecture on these issues at Congress 2011: 2020 Vision – The Gospel in the Decade Ahead, a Christian leadership conference in Wellington later this month – check it out if you’re in Wellington. This was a very brief snippet of that talk but it was thoroughly interesting and it was delivered with Stuart’s characteristic humour.

I have posted on some of the moral issues around the Treaty before and I plan in the future to write some more on this topic but now  I also plan to look into some of the theological history as I found this talk fascinating.

Anyway happy Waitangi Day fellow kiwis! Let us today all pause, consider and celebrate our country’s heritage and future together – take up Pat Brittenden’s idea and have a Waitangi Day barbeque! Kia kaha.

RELATED POSTS:
Maori and Pakeha are Not Partners to the Treaty of Waitangi
Sovereignty and The Treaty of Waitangi
View “Marae: The Great Waitangi Debate” Here
The Foreshore and Seabed Repeal: The Inconvenience of Due Process

Tags:   Christian History · Laidlaw College · New Zealand Christian Network · Samuel Marsden · Stuart Lange · Treaty of Waitangi · Waitangi Day · William WilberforceNo Comments