For hundreds of years, nursing has been a vocation for Christians who want to live their lives according to biblical principles, following the example of Jesus, by healing and comforting the ill. Christian nurses in New Zealand today face a stark choice: compromise your faith and beliefs or face professional censure and be forced to abandon nursing as a profession. This dilemma has been brought about by the current requirement for nurses to be culturally sensitive to Maori and highlights the conflict between a biblically-based life and Maori cultural practices.
At the heart of the conflict is the spiritism basis of Maori culture. Maori are polytheistic. Tane, god of the forest and Tangaroa, god of the sea are examples. Maori cultural practices flow from this foundation to be expressions of worship or appeasement of their gods. This is idolatry and condemned throughout the Bible as part of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:3-6) and confirmed by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 22:36-38).
Karakia, commonly understood as a prayer, is a Maori cultural practice in common usage. Which Maori god is the recipient of such a prayer? If conducted in Maori without translation, there is no way for a participant to judge. Other translations for karakia are spell, enchantment or incantation representing acts of witchcraft and sorcery. Witchcraft and sorcery are also condemned in the Bible in both the Old (2 Chronicles 33:66) and New Testaments (Galatians 5:20-21).
Make no mistake. Insistence on conformation to Maori protocol is a direct attack on Christianity, but what of the Christian who refuses to participate? The answer is mandatory Maori Cultural Competency Training.
The books of Daniel describe the failure of similar re-education that existed in biblical times. Young Hebrew boys were taken from Judea to Babylon and indoctrinated in the language, culture, and ways of the Chaldeans. Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down and worship the golden statue. We know them as Shadrach , Meshach, and Abed-nego, the names of Babylon gods which they were given as part of the brainwashing process.
Daniel was thrown in the lion’s den for continuing to worship God instead of the king. Those enforcing punishment for cultural insensitivity beware. God preserved the lives of his followers. The soldiers who threw the men into the fire all perished due to the heat from the fire and Daniel’s accusers, their wives, and children were all thrown into the lion’s den.
Christians faithfully following biblical principles, who might otherwise choose to become nurses, are likely to look elsewhere and, given the extent of governmental control over New Zealand’s healthcare system, may avoid the medical profession altogether. As Christians are driven out of healthcare, what of the Christian patients?
If you enjoyed this BFD article please share it.