Waitangi Day (New Zealand)

-
“Waitangi Day is a public holiday held on 6 February every year to commemorate the signing of New Zealand's founding document - the Treaty of Waitangi - in 1840. The national holiday was first declared in 1974, and since then has grown in significance for all New Zealanders through the Māori renaissance that has fostered better understanding of the Treaty’s ramifications. Official celebrations are held at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the Bay of Islands, Northland, but there are also many other events throughout the country.” (from newzealand.com)

I know a New Zealander who like to describe his home as that vast country found off the coast of the small island known as Australia. The official languages are English and Maori though Samoan is also widely spoken among twenty other languages. 53% of the population identify themselves as Christian and 18% of those are evangelical.

As I’ve been reading about this day and the Maori people of New Zealand, one fact does not escape notice. “Maori” simply translated ranges in meaning, to include the concepts of  “ordinary,” “natural,” and “normal.” The sense of the word also carries the implication of, “not divine”; that is, being distinguished from gods or spirits.

Perhaps this is over simplistic, but this is a good place to begin consideration for what it means to be human. One human is not above another though we are distinguished by geography, language and culture. We share the earth. On the other hand, there is one and only one who is fully human and fully divine and it is through His finished work we are united not simply as children of our Creator, but as children to our Father.

Popular posts from this blog

The Smooth-flowing Life

-
Image
Legend has it that the astronomer Ptolemy (1st century A.D.) suggested that falling stars were caused by the gods moving in the heavens, thus knocking stars out of their places. Somehow people reasoned that that if the gods were moving, they must be getting close to earth so they would lift their "prayers" or "wishes" (literally, "desires") whenever they saw the stars falling in hopes the gods would notice and grant a favorable answer. But how does one wish on falling star? Once you see it, it's gone before the wish or prayer can be made! The answer is simple: meteor shower. That's how to get your wish. Mrs. Ann Hodges had a wish fall right into her lap. Sort of. In 1954 Mrs. Hodges was sleeping on the couch when a 8 1/2 pound meteorite fell through her house and into her living room where it bounced off the radio and struck her left hip leaving her with a bruise. Not sure what she was wishing, but that's not how to do it. Epictetus hel
Read more

A Reflection in Plato’s “Republic” Book 2

-
Image
Early in Book 2 of Plato’s “Republic,” the discussion turns into the story of a man named Gyges who finds a ring that makes him invisible. Using the powers of the ring, he reports to the court of his king, seduces the queen “and with her help conspired against the king and slew him, and took the kingdom.” What would happen if there were two rings, one worn by an unjust man and the other by a just man? The story attempts to make the case that a just man will act unjustly if given the opportunity to think he is doing right, if only by himself. But what if he doesn’t? What if there was no ring, and what if there was a perfectly unjust man and a perfectly just man and both had everything they needed in life? The unjust man must cover his steps in order to be distinguished and succeed. In the eyes of others, he appears to be just. But what about the just man, who appears to be unjust?    “They will tell you that the just man who is thought unjust will be scourged, racked, bound-will have hi
Read more