TY - JOUR AU - George, Anderson AU - Borneman, Rachel PY - 2019/08/25 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Anderson's view on Aboriginal Christian Spirituality: "Who are you putting first in your life?" JF - Australasian Pentecostal Studies JA - APS VL - 20 IS - - SE - Articles DO - UR - https://aps-journal.com/index.php/APS/article/view/9536 SP - 55-76 AB - <p>This paper explores the faith of Anderson George – a Wuagalak Aboriginal man who now lives on<br>Jawoyn country, Wugularr community (also known as Beswick). Anderson's Christian experience is<br>foundationally shaped by his convictions of the Holy Spirit in his reading of the Bible. The paper unpacks<br>Anderson’s experience of culture, and the way in which it has informed his spiritual life and navigation of<br>Christian and Indigenous traditions. While the primary objective of this paper is to allow Anderson George to<br>speak on his own terms, some supporting literature enables the authors to frame Anderson’s position on navigating<br>both cultural traditions, both in terms of presenting the nuances embedded in anthropological notions of<br>indigenisation along with Anderson’s, and the “One Way” movement’s theological distinctives. As such, these<br>conversations distinguish the argument in this paper from one purely about culture to one that is directed by<br>Anderson’s active discernment of the spirit/s.<br>The interaction between Dreaming and the Christian faith is often contentious in communities. For<br>example, in Beswick, some respected community men have taken a stand to say, “no more sacred ceremonies.”<br>As one of these men and as an Aboriginal Christian leader from this community, Anderson George shares his<br>view on the way in which the Holy Spirit has convicted him about sacred and smoking ceremonies (particularly<br>worshipping other spirits). While Anderson’s particular approach, which involves a rejection of Aboriginal<br>ceremony, is contrasting to those who express a desire to “redeem” Indigenous culture, including by those who<br>also profess a sincere Christian faith, Anderson’s perspective contributes a unique voice to this discussion,<br>representing the diversity of spirituality within Aboriginal world. In so doing, he challenges some of the<br>presumptions about Aboriginal spirituality that often underlie the surface of such discussions.</p> ER -