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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. [Volume 39, Number 2. 11th March 1976]

SCM: Beer, Marx and Students

SCM: Beer, Marx and Students.

For 7 days over the New Year, 70 odd people gathered in a place called Glen Tui in North Canterbury to attend the annual summer conference of the N.Z. S(tudent) C(hristian) M(ovement). Although the theme of the conference was 'Leftovers' the ideas presented were hardly a re-hash of familiar old thoughts - the principal speaker, Basil Moore, saw to that.

Basil, a South African now living and teaching in Adelaide started off as a Fundamentalist Methodist preacher who moved through liberal humanitarianism to Christian Socialism and now aspires to a form of Marxism. At various times he has been President of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), the President of the (S.A.) University Christian Movement, banned by the S.A. Government as a Commo, and the coordinating secretary of the British and Irish S.C.M.'s.

It should be pointed out that at the time of his 'banning', Basil was unaware of Marxism and had never read any of 'that sort of thing'. After his banning he became interested to know what he had been accused of though!

Basil started at the point that if, in a capitalist society, ideology ha's an economic class base, then so does theology, and theology therefore seves the class interests of those who propound it. All very obvious to any good Marxist but not so to good Christians. Not resting at that gauntlet thrown down before the assembled multitude, Basil went on to question the role of middle-class organisations - like SCM - and to try and determine whether Christianity was in any way 'of the Left'.

Naturally this type of question caused considerable discussion among those gathered and after 'siesta' many persued the point down at the local boozer, to the confusion of the locals and pleasure of the publican.

The evening sessions were supposed to be instructional in alternative lifestyles but rarely get beyond discussions on whether it was better to work for short term institutional changes or long-term structural changes. After these early evening discussions the nights slowly degenerated into games of '500' and an occasional swim. The only thing shining during the conference being the moon.

As a workshop on a Marxist understanding of Christianity, the conference probably proved to be both thought provoking and useful. However any uncompromising Christian who attended would probably view SCM as having lost its 'C'. But then SCM has always been condemned by its detractors as being only slightly Christian at best. It is probably SCM's openness to new views - particularly left-wing ones - that has kept it going these past 5 years and this conference was merely one more view for the confused SCM to chew over and do with what it will.

— J. McDavitt.

Copies of Basil s papers are available from N.Z.S.C.M., P.O. Box 9792, Wgtn.