It seems that whenever Australian troops might be involved in international conflict there is talk in the media about the re-introduction of conscription. This happened after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington and the commitment of Australian troops to Afghanistan.
While the threat of an invasion of Australia is very low, the possibility of conscription or some form of enforced national service is not beyond the realms of possibility. The international situation can change very rapidly especially if Israel carried out its threats to attack Iran and Iran carried out its threats to close the vital oil routes to the West. War in the Middle East never seems far away.
If such an event arose and conscription was reintroduced, that would not be the time for brothers and sisters to ensure their behaviour conformed to the standards required by Christ. We need to prepare over a lifetime of faithful service to our God to show that, while we sometimes fail, we continue to strive to follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Master.
The Defence Act of 1903 was amended in 1992 and consolidated in 1999. The Act now has some important differences to the Act under which Christadelphians claimed exemption from combatant and non-combatant service in the past.
First, women as well as men are now eligible for call-up. Christadelphians of both sexes between the ages of 18 and 60 could be required to give account of why they should not be conscripted into the armed forces.
Second, the Act now prescribes that applications for conscientious objection will be heard before a Tribunal. The presiding member of a Tribunal must be a legal practitioner of not less than seven years standing.
Third, the aim of the Act is to make the atmosphere of any hearing to determine conscientious objection status less adversarial. The Act now stipulates that members of a Tribunal must be capable of ascertaining facts other than by courtroom type methods. This could mean that applicants may not be subjected to as arduous an examination as applicants experienced in the past. It still means, however, that applicants will need to present a comprehensive Bible-based case for exemption supported by evidence of a life lived in conformity with the Commandments of Christ.
These new provisions, while attempting to remove a court-like atmosphere, do not mean that the process will not be thorough and demanding. The Act requires that an applicant for exemption from military service demonstrates a conscientiously held belief.
“Clearly, the Tribunal is under no obligation to give the ‘benefit of the doubt’ to an applicant. This places responsibility squarely on the applicant to have a very well-prepared case, preparation for which commences in a conscientious life well before a Tribunal hearing.”(AACE Conscience In Action p204 Stallard and Potter 2006)
What does this mean on a practical, day-to-day level? Well, we can’t have it both ways! We can’t live lives that make us a part of the world and still claim to be servants and followers of Christ. Simple every day things are important such as obeying the driving laws, making sure we pay all taxes due, obeying regulations that govern occupational health and safety in our businesses, obtaining appropriate licenses for pets, if required, and for fishing. Other matters that might not have a legal basis but indicate the type of people we are include the activities we engage in, the computer games we play, the internet sites we visit and the types of magazines we buy. We cannot be a Christadelphian for a day and not expect the skilled people on a Tribunal to see through any hypocrisy to the person we really are. And even if we do ‘fool’ them, we have not fooled God and can expect consequences more far reaching than we can possibly imagine.
It would not be at all unreasonable for a Tribunal to seek to understand the level of commitment a brother or sister has to ecclesial activities. If we claim we are committed members of a religious organization, where is the evidence? Do we regularly attend religious activities? How often does this occur? At what level are we actually involved in activities? Do we help plan and implement events and participate in the memorial meeting, youth group activities, gospel witness, Sunday School, Bible study groups, sisters’ classes, help those less fortunate in the ecclesia, and similar activities? There is so much an ecclesia does, what part do we play? We cannot claim to be conscientious objectors to military service, even if we can present a wellargued Bible-based case, if we do not demonstrate that commitment through our actions.
“… now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2).