Reverend George Capsis is a Greek Australian and a celebrated Australian Baptist Minister having at one stage been the New South Wales Baptist Evangelist travelling around the State preaching Jesus' Salvation with his mix of humour and challenge.
The Reverend George Capsis many accolades includes being the Cronulla Sharks Rugby League Team chaplain for 18 years. His Community Ministry in the Sutherland Shire has seen many a call from the local Police asking him to find housing for people in need.
He was also a Commonwealth Masters Weightlifting Champion and he's spoken both at home and internationally at sport mission conferences. George is one of those very special people who the Lord has touched in his breadth of ministries.
Moreover George is Greek. His family is Greek. He fits right in to the hilarious but serious "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and like many Greek Australians, cannot wait to see the up coming No 2.
He tells a story at many of his ministry engagements to capture his audience celebrating his Greek heritage, when a boy, his house was between the Jewish and Australian families and at 8.00am each morning the three mother's would each be at the front door waving off to school their respective lads. The Jewish mother would say"Rohan, do you have your books?" The Australian mother "Tommy, do you have your football?" His Greek mum" "George, do you have your playing cards?"
Yes, all very stereo-typical, but his audience was with him. Melbourne is the largest Greek city outside of Athens, Darwin is the second largest. Australian Greeks are passionate about their heritage, they have numerous festivals, protective to their Greek Orthodox Churches, love their restaurants and they make money.
This is multiculturalism Australian style – a celebrated culture who recognise the value of democratic free Australia making the most out their good fortune with family, friends, associates and anyone else who wishes to join in.
Another story
The New Daily recently ran a story giving a very different version of how multi-culturalism can be abused and designed to use such laws.
The article cites an Australian conference of young Muslims with a video tape address by British Muslim activist Moazzan Begg - "they (we) will not seek social cohesion at the expense of honour and dignity. We know they want to extinguish the light of Allah. These governments are targeting our belief system."
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott frequently labelled the conference host, Hizb, often calling them, un-Australian and apologists for terror. One speaker Hanon Dover stated: "Once we alter our behaviour to conform to the government we become trapped. They are trying to stop us for our beliefs, our ideas. Allah has given us the solution. We have the Koran."
The article stated: "The ever-controversial Hizb spokesman Wassim Doureihi praised the activism of a younger generation of Australian Muslims and said he refused to accept the narrative of moderate and extreme Muslims. He closed the conference saying: "Our history is a history of the best of mankind, sent to us from Allah."
Outcomes
These two components of multi-cultural Australia demonstrate, how on the one hand cohesion within the main stream has become the by-line for social, financial, and cultural success.
The other stands aloof, everyone must step aside in order for this cultural group to follow their political-religious agenda, they are primary and the main stream must by law acquiesce to their legitimate legal demands of Australian multiculturalism. There will never be compromise.
Australian Greek descendants represent 8.5% of the Australian population. Muslims in Australia are 1.7% of the Australian population – moreover there are more people in Baptist Churches across Australia each Sunday than there are Muslims in the country.
Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke who cheered multiculturalism dreamed of a nation celebrating the many cultures happen-stance in Australia. What we have now is a far cry from such dreamy eyed notions.
We may find ourselves in the throws of America in the 1920's-30's (as illustrated by the television series 'Boardwalk Empire') where such multicultural groups came against each other and the American dream. What this might mean for Australia is that elements the 8.5% of Greek heritage may one day rise up to defend their Australian dream and put paid to the menace that threatens their ideal of fair-play multicultural security.
There are Australian Christian groups today who have so succumbed to the multiculturalism shouted from the leftie roof tops, that their 'first love' is being challenged within their own Christian traditions.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html