God & Menzies
Robert Menzies regarded faith as the cornerstone of a civilised society, argues David Furse-Roberts at the launch of his new book.
The following is an edited transcript of the author’s speech delivered at the online launch of God & Menzies: The Faith that Shaped a Prime Minister and his Nation.
Listen to Nick Cater interview David Furse-Roberts on The Watercooler Podcast.
Thank you Nick, and thank you John, for that incredibly generous introduction. A very warm welcome to you all tonight! I wish I could greet each of you in person, but an opportunity for that will come shortly!
Well it was my great pleasure to have written God & Menzies and I am so grateful for the wonderful support that made it possible.
So with this book, the question is: What spiritually made our longest-serving Prime Minister tick?
Well in his own faith, Menzies was an old-style, broad-church Presbyterian who cherished the Scottish heritage of his church. As the son of a Presbyterian-turned-Methodist preacher, his faith also lived and breathed the spirit of John Wesley whom he revered for bringing life to the English Church.
To be sure, Menzies’ form of Christianity was not deeply theological. In its breadth, it resembled the “mere Christianity” of C S Lewis with the Bible as its chief source. From his family background and the ministry of the Evangelical preacher, C H Nash, Menzies inherited a love of scripture “as the repository of our faith and inspiration”. Added to this, his faith was shaped by the socially engaged Protestantism of the Melbourne University Christian Union which affirmed the importance of serving in public life to enrich the common good.
The interdenominational nature of this Union also furnished Menzies with a broad, ecumenical Christianity that transcended sectarian divisions. As Prime Minister, Menzies felt at ease in all church circles, whether it was at a Methodist or Presbyterian Church service, a Salvation Army rally, or a Catholic gala dinner. In a 1963 speech, he remarked that “whatever branch of the Christian church we may belong to, we must all thank God that the work of the church goes on”.
Esteeming the Old Testament roots of Christianity, he admired the Jewish tradition and its remarkable contribution to Australia and the world. Menzies enjoyed an excellent rapport with Australia’s Jewish community, officiating at their events, denouncing anti-Semitism, welcoming post-war Jewish refugees and standing firm with Israel.
Menzies affirmed religious freedom for believers and non-believers alike. The freedom to pray, to worship, to assemble and to exercise one’s religious credo without hindrance was the defining hallmark of a free society.
For Menzies, freedom did not exist in a spiritual vacuum. A truly free society was just as much about responsibilities as it was about rights, and Menzies credited faith for giving people a “sensitive understanding of their obligations”. “In a civilised community”, he said, “not one of us can live to himself. In the immortal phrase of St Paul, ‘we are members one of another’. My freedom must be limited if I am to live at peace with my neighbour and their freedom”.
The French philosopher Alexis De Tocqueville once said that freedom cannot be established without virtue, nor virtue without faith, which is faith in something greater than ourselves. For Menzies, this faith was not in the dialectical materialism of communism, nor in a selfish consumerism, nor in whatever brand of identity politics, but in what he described as the old, yet new evangel of Christ.
For Menzies, and for millions of Australians, this message of New Life was the fountainhead of his enduring beliefs. His affirmation of human dignity and freedom, faith, neighbourly love, character, civility, honest work, family, community, and justice for all remain the guarantor of the “good life” for people of all creeds. May his ideals, and the faith that nourished them, be an inspiration to you all.
Thank you very much.
God & Menzies: The Faith that Shaped a Prime Minister and his Nation by David Furse-Roberts was launched on 15 September. Click here to buy the book.
