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Many Australian Christians don’t know a single Aboriginal person. Robyn Murray argues that reconciliation begins with honest history, prayer and a shared life in Christ.

Many of us, living in large cities and mixing with our preferred cultural subsets, don’t truly know any Aboriginal people. We may even secretly feel a little insecure about relating to them.

As we look within ourselves, we may find inherited prejudices and judgements against Aboriginal people influenced by our parents’ views, stories we’ve read, and stereotyping — without having any actual personal experience.

The history taught to my generation largely omitted the difficult truth of the past, so most Australians then were unaware of the extent of the injustice towards Aboriginal tribes in the early days of European settlement.

More importantly, omission has provided fuel to the rejection and discrimination felt by Aboriginal people. Murder, abuse and dispossession caused great suffering and death at the hands of the early settlers — only recently has this story begun to be properly told.

We now have statistics and research available to those willing to learn, regarding the many gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Research outlines the discrepancies in life expectancy, health and social factors that reveal the disadvantage experienced in many Aboriginal communities plagued by domestic violence, addiction, poverty and overcrowding. There is a lack of many things most Australians would consider basic human rights — education, work opportunities and safety. We know that these things are a complex consequence of many intertwined factors, but at least more people are doing the research into them.

Most Australians are now becoming more aware of both our nation’s history and the disadvantages experienced by Aboriginal people, thanks in part to the media. More recently, we are experiencing a huge increase in exposure to Aboriginal culture via the arts and the media, and our general awareness is growing. ‘Welcome to Country’ is becoming quite common, and the number of movies and series produced by Aboriginal artists allows us much more of a view of Australian Indigenous culture.

The Seeds Already Sown

My new book, Finding Gold, covers some history of Australia, both generally and in relation to missions — and some of the government policies that have been put in place over the years. It discusses some of the earliest attempts at missions, and the mindsets of the missionaries who were incredibly sacrificial and had the best of intentions. We look at the fruit, both good and bad, of those early efforts.

This is an excerpt from Finding Gold:

We can honour all the prayers and work, the sacrifices and offerings that have already been sown into our First Nations people. Bible translators have spent many years learning the heart language of small and remote Aboriginal tribes. Missionaries have gone out (with all their weaknesses and failings), sacrificing many years of their lives — sowing seeds that have borne fruit over time. There has been a lot sown and still is being sown into the lives of Aboriginal people for the sake of Christ — and the good far outweighs the bad.

Australian Christians pray. There has already been much representational repentance (repenting on behalf of those who went before us), forgiveness extended, and healing through our churches. Who knows how much worse things could be in our nation without prayer? And as we pray, we can ask for our hearts to be changed so that we care even more deeply about the suffering still being experienced. We can pray, asking God what He wants our own response to be.

God Is Not on Either Side

Mark Holloway, the author of Cry the Wounded Land, suggests that to have a relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous, we need God because He is not on either side! Both sides need to be involved in the clean-up together. We should champion the differences between us, and give honour and value to them. The way things happened in the past has had a crushing effect, so instead, now we need to ask our Aboriginal friends about things — let them go first and listen to them, in order to restore honour to them.

In Christ, we truly come together. Since my husband, Mark, and I moved to Alice Springs in 2020 to serve in ministry, spending just under three years there and visiting annually since then, this has been my experience: we become family in a spiritual way that is above any natural connection. My life is so different to theirs in so many ways — and as much as I struggle to relate to life for Aboriginal people in Alice Springs, I know that my Aboriginal friends there really can’t understand my life either. And that’s okay.

The Onus Is on Us

The onus is on us to know our shared history and its consequences, to endeavour to understand our brothers and sisters, and to honour and uphold them. It’s also on us to aim to present the gospel in ways that overcome language and cultural barriers; we can’t do this if we don’t try to understand. We’re also to seek out and call out the beauty in our brothers and sisters.

Our nation is made up originally of many tribes. As more nations have arrived on these shores, we have become a very multicultural nation. Unfortunately, it seems lately we’re becoming a nation with many divisive opinions. True reconciliation and unity are only possible in Christ, and will only fully come when Jesus returns and we are made perfect! As for now, as we follow Him, we can ask the Holy Spirit to change and soften our hearts to make them free of judgement — especially relating to our cultural differences.

We are called to reach out to the poor and oppressed, and to restore trust — to “earn” it in our connections and relationships. Our serving of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, without agendas, will help restore this trust.

Whatever the opinions, reasons, attitudes and arguments, we conclude that Jesus is the one and only answer. He alone can break the chains of oppression and set the captives free, as people see their need for repentance and turn to the Living God. And in following Him, we are set free.

When we view the situation through a biblical lens, the greatest need for every one of us in this land is to repent from our sins and know Christ. We are then called to seek justice: “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed.” (Isaiah 1:17)

Finding Gold: Christian Mission to Australia’s First Peoples: History, Politics, Realities and Real Hope in the Heart of Australia (2026) by Robyn Murray is available in print and ebook from robynmurray.net.

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Image courtesy of Adobe.