In the Local paper they have been trolling the percentage of people who said they are “Godless”, claiming they have no religion. Apparently this is highest in the Capital. This aligns with the thesis from a day or so ago: the elite are apostate.
Rich Kiwis have turned their backs on God and religion, with religious New Zealanders living mainly in poor suburbs.
Wellington is the “godless” capital of New Zealand, with five in 10 people there saying they have no religion. And Dunedin is the godless capital of South Island, with almost half of the city’s population declaring the same
It is far more interesting when you look at the details. For example, where I live over half proclaimed a Christian faith while the suburb I used to live in Auckland only a third did — there was a Hindu temple at one end ot the suburb and a mosque at the other in Auckland, but Dunedin is full of Christians and neo pagans.
What is also interesting is the way religious people are seen by the public. Note that the Christian bishop is an older feminist: the other leaders are clearly Eastern. And the modern person is portrayed as an atheist.
What is also clear, from looking at an interactive map, is that there are clusters. We see this in the poorer suburbs of South Auckland, which are two-thirds Christian, and in the areas of the self selected elite, such as the Aro valley[1], were 60 percent give no religion, and under 30 percent state they are Christian.
What makes me cheerful here is not the headlines, nor the number of people without faith. I must admit the idea of sending a few Missionaries to Wellington does bring a smile to my face.
What is apparent is that in every community a large majority or minority have faith. They are ignored by the elite, but they are there. Living the faith out may move one out of the corridors of power, but those are now clearly shut to anybody who does not ascribe to the correct thinking.
And we ave enough to do within our communities, congregations, and consistories. We still have churches. We need spaces bigger than coffee shops, and what we do has more meaning than a conversation over a short black.
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
From the passage, one has to ask what is the prayer of faith? From the context, the prayer of someone who is righteous. But none are righteous: not even the leaders. Our righteous comes from Christ, the ability we have to pray for healing and forgiveness comes from Christ, indeed our ability to forgive comes from Christ and it is not our doing.
And forgiveness of our perdition is linked to healing. We need to pray that the broken are made whole. That those who are Christian in name are Christian in act. For it is not the elite who are the salt and light of the world, but those who are of Christ.
So let us ignore the teachings of the apostate, disregard what they see the church as, and reform ourselves: that requires no regulation from the state, nor permission from them.
And let us consider our capitals and university towns as the mission fields they are.
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1 Aro Valley is a small, dark, cold inner-city suburb in Wellington. Home to students, liberals and the odd pot-head, it is arguably the capital’s most colourful community, and is the chosen home to about 3800
