Last year, the Greens made a push to scrap the tradition of saying the Lord’s Prayer in the upper house.
This year, the Victorian government have pledged to do the same, despite it being a tradition since 1918.
Instead, they want fellow parliamentarians to stand and reflect, say affirmations, or their own version of a prayer.
Reflection has a lot going for it. I meditate from time to time, too.
However, I wonder if parliamentarians would be so keen to scrap the Lord’s Prayer if they knew its true meaning?
Theologians don’t spend much time preaching about economics and vice versa.
Their training is focused on Godly matters of sin, sex, giving to the poor, and so forth…
However, if you’re going to have a conversation about social justice, you cannot avoid the subject of economics. And theology is apparently very concerned with social justice.
As it happens, for almost two centuries, MPs have been standing in parliament and praying, ‘…forgive them their debts’.
Yes — debts, not sins. You’ll see why below.
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