It was sometime in the late 1990s that I first interviewed Alan Webster about New Zealand’s part in a global Values Study.

It’s a fascinating snapshot of values in countries all over the world and I still remember seeing America grouped with many developing countries on a spectrum that had most English-speaking, democratic and developed countries grouped at the other end.

It charted belief in angels and other supernatural beings.

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It was a lightbulb moment that has always helped me remember how deep religious beliefs run in the US and how socially different it is from most Western, Enlightenment-inspired countries.

That memory came back to me when I awoke to the news that the US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade in a 6-3 ruling, eliminating a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion — a right that has been in place since 1973.

Abortion rights will now be decided state by state, with 26 states ready to enact laws that ban abortion, often with no exceptions. That means no abortion even in cases of rape or incest.

It is undoubtedly a landmark moment in US politics and law, the latest step (not the end) in a decades-long campaign by conservative Americans to overturn America’s most controversial and divisive law.

‘Enflamed debate, deepened division’
Writing the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that “far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division”.

He’s right, but the implication that this ruling somehow calms the waters is either deeply naive or deeply cynical. It does nothing more than flip the issue, like the handover of the ball in a football game, with what has been the team on defence now going on attack and vice versa.

And because change in and of itself is fuel for any fire, this only ensures abortion remains THE divisive issue in American politics for, well, who knows how many years to come?

Abortion has divided the country for decades; more so than foreign wars, economic policy and even gun control. It is the answer to so many questions non-Americans have about US politics.

Many around the world have been perplexed by the growing divisions in US politics, the loss of civility, the rise of Trump. There are answers there about the influence of money, taxes, changing demographics and more.

But at the heart of US political polarisation, often unspoken, masked or downplayed, has always been abortion.

One of the most confounding of political mysteries in the past decade was why 84 percent of white evangelicals in 2016 voted for a thrice-married alleged sexual abuser as president and why “character” suddenly fell down their list of voting priorities.

Today’s court decision is the answer.

Evangelicals motivated by abortion
Evangelicals are motivated by abortion more than any other issue and Trump’s commitment to swaying the court against it convinced them to vote for him even when it was against their economic interests and compromised other values.

Many in conservative religious circles in the US compared Trump to King David, arguing that God has long used flawed and corrupt individuals to bring about his will.

That faith has been vindicated today and Trump’s status as a moral hero is enshrined, despite his many other sins.

Such is the strength of belief for or against abortion. Its power to divide is so strong because, seen through different lenses, it is so obviously right or wrong to those on either side of the debate.

It is, to those on either side, obvious that they are right and they are horrified — not just perplexed, but horrified — that anyone might disagree with them.

Those celebrating today’s overturn are celebrating the end of mass murder, because to them the decision to abort a foetus is the decision to take a life. (Others, to be fair, see it as a legal issue, one that is not in the Constitution and so should always have been viewed as a political debate not a constitutional right).

Those weeping over today’s ruling do not see a foetus as a human life and rather see the courts telling a woman what she can do with her body, right to the point of that woman’s life and death.

Matter of life over death
When both sides see their view as a matter of life over death, you can understand the depth of feeling and pain on both sides and that, whatever Alito may be hoping, today’s decision will do nothing to heal America.

What’s more, the impact of today’s ruling on US politics will be deep. Three things stand out:

• Reproductive rights will dominate the 2022 mid-term elections and the US presidential elections in 2024. The court has said abortion is not a constitutional right, therefore it is up for grabs politically. Debate over national bans v national rights has already begun. That will mean less political oxygen for pressing political issues such as climate change, China and the Ukraine invasion.
• This could be the start of a conservative pendulum swing in US politics, led by the US Supreme Court. Judge Clarence Thomas in his support of the majority opinion suggests the now reliably conservative court could dive further into America’s moral dilemmas, ruling on same-sex marriage and contraception rights.
• Perhaps most troubling, it undermines citizens’ faith in their major public institutions. A majority of Americans favour at least some rights to abortion and some gun control. This week the Supreme Court has issued rulings at odds with public opinion on both. At a time when core institutions such as Congress and the media are losing the trust of citizens, adding the courts to that list is a major worry. If the foundations of liberal democracy are not serving the people, then those people start to look for alternatives, the baby can be lost with the bathwater and whole systems of law, order and government can start to look fragile.

These are perilous days for the American project and that has implications for all of us. The’s court ruling is yet another polarising decision in these most polarising times and it’s hard to see where the healing can begin.

Tim Watkin is a founder of political news website Pundit, has a long career in journalism and broadcasting, and now runs the podcast team at RNZ. This article was originally published on Pundit and is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The above photo is an image of how I grew up in Papua.

But before I share my story, I would like to extend my warm greetings to my fellow brothers and sisters who were on the day that I wrote this piece commemorating the 166th anniversary of evangelism in the Land of Papua.

As a fruit of evangelism, my parents had committed to be Christians and until now they still practise Christian lives.

• READ MORE: Other reports by Laurens Ikinia

My mom, who is the role model of my faith, has become a central part of my life. And I believe so do other people.

The following is a short story of faith which was accompanied by deeds that came true.

When I was studying in elementary school from grade 3 to 6 and in middle school from grade 7 to 9, I used to collect aluminium cans and sell them to a workshop so that I was able to buy a book, pencil, pen, and other school stationery.

For a 20 kg rice sack, I earned 5 cents. If I was lucky on the day, I sometimes collected 2 sacks in one day.

Needed new textbooks
I did this job when I needed a new book or to buy a textbook from school and sometimes to help my mom buy detergent to wash our laundry and dishes.

I normally started collecting the cans from the afternoon around 1 pm to 4 pm. I did this two or three times a week.

Sometimes I took my younger brother with me.

If I went with him, I bought him noodles and candies. Otherwise, he would cry and demand that I buy him candies, noodles or cakes.

As an older brother, I had to indulge his wishes and I always did.

That’s why sometimes I could not buy what I needed from a day’s earning. So, I normally saved left over money in my piggy bank.

I asked my mom to keep it. I had to do that to be able to buy a NZ$1 exercise book or NZ$5 textbook from school.

Hard-working out on the farm
My mom was and is a hard-working woman, so from morning to afternoon she was and is always out on the farm – traditional Papuan garden. Because she was so busy, she always asked me to look after my younger brother after school.

And my mom always prepared steamed sweet potatoes – sometimes small (just as big as a handful) and sometimes bigger than that, which was enough to still our stomach.

We are so fortunate that she always prepared something for lunch. My younger brother would always wait for me to come home and have lunch together.

My mom worked extremely hard herself as our dad was a chief and lived with his first wife. My dad thought that my mom’s children would not be successful in the future, so he paid more attention to his first wife and our older step-sister.

Long story short, we were and are so grateful to have a great uncle, my mom’s older brother who always treated us like his own children.

Due to my dad’s careless behaviour, my uncle took us in and raised us in his family. That’s why, when I was with my mom, she always advised me to work hard and never rely on other people and never forget to have some time for prayer.

She always encouraged us to go to Sunday school every Sunday morning. In my university studies, she always asks me to study hard and seriously.

Guiding your future
She always said that “Mom never went to school, but I have faith that when you study and pray, God will open many ways for you to be successful in the future.

“My prayers and hope will always guide you.”

My mom’s advice always became my inspiration to study; that’s why in middle school and high school I was always in the top 1 to 4 in the class.

In commemorating the 166th anniversary of the evangelism in the Land of Papua, let’s have faith and hope that the true mission laid by the missionaries (Carl Wilhelm Ottow and Johann Gottlob Geissler) as a foundation of the direction of our lives becomes our strength in viewing Papua as a land full of hope for future generations.

Waaa waaa waaa!

Laurens Ikinia is a Papuan Masters in Communication Studies student at Auckland University of Technology who has been studying journalism. He contributes to Asia Pacific Report. The article was first published on Ikinia’s social media blog.

By Benny Mawel and Budi Sutrisno in Jayapura and Jakarta

The killing of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani in Intan Jaya regency, Papua, last weekend – allegedly carried out by personnel from the Indonesian military (TNI) – is the third case targeting a churchman in Papua since 2004, says a church fellowship.

The TNI has denied involvement in all three killings, accusing pro-independence rebels of killing two of them and claiming that the other one was not actually dead.

Human rights institutions have called on the government to open an independent investigation to shed light on the killings.

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The president of the Papuan Baptist Churches Fellowship, Rev Socratez Sofyan Yoman, has alleged that prior to Yeremia, TNI members had shot dead two other pastors – Geyimin Nirigi and Elisa Tabuni – in separate incidents.

Geyimin was killed in Mapenduma district, Nduga regency, on December 19, 2018, he said, adding that the victim was reportedly forced to dig a grave in the backyard of his house, before being shot dead and his body burned.

“[Geyimin] had been a church pioneer since 1963. He was an old man, a figure who had received the gospel in Nduga,” Rev Socratez said.

Socratez said a TNI spokesman at that time had denied the allegation, saying Geyimin was alive and well.

Investigation results
However, he added, the results of an investigation by the Papuan Human Integrity Justice and Peace Foundation showed that Geyimin had died, allegedly at the hands of TNI personnel.

Meanwhile, Elisa Tabuni was reportedly handcuffed and shot dead by members of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) in Tingginambut district, Puncak Jaya regency, on August 16, 2004, Rev Socratez said.

He said the TNI had also denied this allegation, claiming that Tabuni had died at the hands of Goliath Tabuni, a pro-independence leader based in the district.

Rev Socratez strongly condemned the recent killing of Pastor Zanambani, as well as the other two cases, saying that it was “an accursed act before God and man”.

“The cruelty, violence and savagery of the TNI against the pastors is an affront to humanity and should be condemned,” he said.

Local news reports in Papua have reported that Pastor Zanambani was shot dead on his way to his pig pen on Saturday, at the same time as a military operation was taking place.

Rev Socratez said at least seven churches had been emptied, with many members of the congregations fleeing into the forests, as a result of military operations in Papua.

Rev Zanambani was the head of a theological school in Hitadipa district in Intan Jaya and a pastor in the Imanuel Hutadipa congregation of the Indonesian Evangelical Christian Church (GKII). He was also a Bible translator and a community leader of the Moni tribe.

Moni tribe investigating
Executives of the GKII and the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), as well as figures from the Moni tribe, are currently probing the incident.

The PGI has sent a letter to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, urging him to establish an independent team to thoroughly investigate this case, with support from the Papuan Police and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in Papua.

Rev Socratez urged Jokowi to end military operations in Papua. He also urged the Papuan Council of Churches (WPCC) to write to the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) to urge Pacific island nations to raise the issue at a United Nations forum.

Komnas HAM commissioner Beka Ulung Hapsara said the commission had received a report regarding the latest incident from Papuan Students Alliance head John Gobay on Monday, and had immediately launched an investigation into the case.

“We have not concluded who is responsible. However, Komnas HAM believes that the government needs to evaluate its security approach in Papua to stop the cycle of violence involving TNI, armed groups and civil society, to which a long list of people have fallen victim,” Hapsara said.

Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid urged the government to investigate Rev Zanambani’s case and provide an explanation whether TNI personnel were responsible for the incident.

“This shooting again shows the failure of the state to bring peace to Papua. Since the beginning of the year, there have been at least 15 cases of extrajudicial shootings there. When can Papuans be free to live in peace?” Usman said in a statement.

Armed group
The Papua Police said the latest incident was committed by an “armed group”, aiming to attract global attention ahead of the UN General Assembly scheduled for the end of this month, although the police were investigating the motive behind the shooting.

TNI spokesperson for the Joint Regional Defence Command III in Papua Colonel Gusti Nyoman Suriastawa also said Rev Zanambani had been shot by an armed group, although he said he was still waiting for the results of an investigation by the Cendrawasih Regional Military Command.

“I don’t know [if there were two previous cases]. It’s been a long time. I’m afraid I might provide an incorrect statement. Let’s all wait for the investigation while we mourn the deceased,” he said.

Cendrawasih Regional Military Command spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Reza Patria said on Tuesday that his team was still investigating the incident and declined to elaborate further.

Wenda condemns Papua ‘killing zone’
At the United Nations, United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) chair Benny Wenda issued a statement condemning the killing of Pastor Zanambani.

New Zealand churches with US links are being blamed for spreading covid-19 misinformation.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins has said some of the 43 people linked to the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship church “mini-cluster” in Auckland were sceptical about the seriousness of the pandemic, as church and community leaders say they face a battle to check the spread of false information.

Pakilau Manase Lua grew up in the Seventh Day Adventist church and said his own friends and family were guilty of spreading conspiracies and false information about covid-19.

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“I’ve personally received lots of private messages regarding information that people think is useful but is purely disinformation, either about the virus itself or fear around the vaccine,” he said.

Pakilau, who is the chairman of the Pacific Leadership Forum’s Pacific Response Coordination Team, said this spread was especially rife among those with links to conservative evangelical or pentecostal churches in the United States.

“It’s been spreading like wildfire through social media.”

Losing the battle
Media chaplain and Wesleyan Methodist minister Frank Ritchie said some ministers were losing the battle to stem the flow of misinformation among their congregations.

“What I’m seeing is ministers who are doing the right thing, but their people are being indoctrinated online.”

Some congregation members were angry their minister did not agree with what they were reading on the internet about covid-19, he said.

A study by Te Puunaha Matatini found there was a spike in mainstream media coverage of conspiracy theories following the fresh outbreak of covid-19 in August.

Researcher Kate Hannah said they were often spread by marginalised people who were historically distrustful of science or government.

But there was hope.

“Good news spreads just as fast as bad news does on social media and on mainstream media,” she said.

‘We can share and talk’
“So we can share and talk about positive things that help people reinforce their trust public health interventions.”

Hannah said the key was to use role models relevant to those communities affected by conspiracies and misinformation, in order to rebuild trust.

Pakilau, who set up an online Kava Club during the March lockdown, said the forum was often used to spread fear and misinformation about the coronavirus.

But he was also using it as a space to challenge that, with some success.

“We tell them straight up ‘that’s rubbish’ and ‘here’s the other side’,” he said.

“So we give them the information and evidence and every now and then we’ll have a win, but it is hard because there is so much disinformation out there.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has asked for all 332 members of the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship, and anyone who has been in close contact with them, to be retested for covid-19.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

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