There’s a moment in Proust when he relates the experience of discovering through a sudden, illuminating fragment of conversation, that the person with whom you’re talking, someone you’d assumed was perfectly civilized, intelligent and rational, is in fact quite and utterly, mad.
Peter Costello produced just such a moment of revelation in his address to the Catch the Fire prayer rally in Melbourne on Monday. Delivered by video, the man who for so long craved the Australian Prime Ministership, declares his firm belief that the Bible and the Ten Commandments form the foundation of Australian society and its property laws, and that any movement away from those “God-given commandments” will lead to a breakdown of social order. “As we look back over hundreds of years of Australian history, we can still see the benefits of God to us in this country,” says Costello, presumably surprising indigenous Australians, whose ancestors were here a damn sight longer.
Declaring one’s Christian faith is one thing. Arguing that only the maintenance of Christianity preserves order, directly implying that those of other faiths, or its complete atheistic absence, are a threat to that order, is an extraordinary statement from a major political figure in an allegedly secular state.
John Howard blocked Peter Costello from the Prime Ministership as long as he could, preferring even to take his party to defeat rather than let him run it. Based on this bizarre rant, it looks like Howard’s judgement was absolutely right.
(Enthusiasts can watch the full Peter’s Letter to the Nutters here. Just click on the picture:)
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He’s real Leap of Faith material and live in federal parliament daily. Pete’s turned into Jonas Nightengale with this load of nonsense sermon to a revival meeting for those of specific faith. How dare he test the separation of church and state with threats that non-followers of his brand of religion will cause a breakdown in social order. How unifying is this bucket of drivel to those outside his Christian circle and who’d rock up to a Liberal MP after this outpouring of bias? That MPs are allowed to run their elected terms in office unchecked is something we need to address. Costello has been pushing boundaries since he flounced to the back bench in a fit of the piques. I wouldn’t care a toss about his antics if my faith…my faith…in governance wasn’t being so rocked from its foundations. By the way Pete – Jesus was a dissident too and look what they did to him.
There goes the former Treasurer’s hopes of ever assuming party leadership. The video is highly disturbing cringe material as the guy comes undone before your eyes. It might be time for Victorian Christians to pray for Peter Costello. He’s the one obviously in need of all the help he can get.
What a bizarre message. One part pious drivel, one part right-wing political throwback and add water to taste. This is the sort of stuff that gets sent up at the drunken end of those dinner parties Costello would never be invited to.
The irony of the text of the ‘first sermon on Australian soil’ is that a bunch of convicts (and their guards and administrators) being asked to give thanks for arriving safely in a place that was not obviously a cause for thanksgiving. And to assert that a more Christian society will be more law-abiding is simply daft.
Not that there’s anything wrong with praying for one’s country per se, but life-denying fundamentalist religion is a serious danger to democracy. Catch the Fire is led by Danny Naliah, the first person to be successfully prosecuted on racial vilification charges in Victoria, following some unrestrained comments about the Islamic community. The resulting furor certainly made him a good friend of the Tories, er, Thatcherite Liberals. Certain Presbyterian congregations still pray for the repeal of the racial vilification laws here in Victoria — which is a very fine argument for strengthening them.
This pathetic screed comes from a man who couldn’t even produce a ghost-written book anyone would genuinely want to read. Nearly 12 months on, and the first print run is still on the shelves, and looks to be going into remainders some time soon. Still, how lovely of those nice Catch the Fire people to remember that Costello is still around…
Peter panders to the religious ideologues, but if he honestly believes this nonsense himself then praise be to Howard for keeping him out of the lodge.
I can understand that gods have acted as the invisible police force in the sky throughout history, keeping the uneducated masses compliant to the ruling class. And perhaps this social order did form the basis for our western civilisation. However, paying tribute to our history is a world away from clinging to hopelessly outdated beliefs.
Technology, society, and life are changing fast. Books written 20 years ago are outdated, let alone books written 2,000 years ago. As an appeal to our shared humanity, and our unique talent for logical reasoning, I would suggest that it’s time to take the training wheels off, put down the comfort books of faith, and start taking responsibility for our own thoughts and actions.
I wonder if he’s been off the radar for a while or is it just since Howard sent him round the bend back in 2006. There are all kinds of questions to answer now most particularly whether Glen Milne had his facts straight or was he led up the garden of Eden path too.