Rodney Scott Bower is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
priest and social activist. He was formerly the
Rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of Gosford, on the
New South Wales Central Coast
The Central Coast is a peri-urban region in New South Wales, Australia, lying on the Tasman Sea coast to the north of Sydney and south of Newcastle.
The local government area of the Central Coast Council has an estimated population of 33 ...
, and
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
for Justice Ministries and Chaplaincy in the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, and is now their Director of Mission. He is most known for his church signs that advocate
progressive causes.
Theology
Bower has said:
"When we explore, perhaps, what I mean when I use the word 'God' we can come close to a common ground ith atheistsbecause I'm not talking about some divine being. God is the very act of existing. And so there's a point of meeting for atheists and people of faith. I don't really believe in Heaven and Hell at least not in the traditional sense. If there is a Heaven it must be a bit like Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
."
Activism
Bower is known for his controversial political activism in which he promotes progressive causes through the Gosford Anglican church's message sign. He has promoted issues relating to
gay marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
,
refugee rights,
gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.
Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
,
anti-nationalism, and anti-
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
's media monopoly. Bower also supports
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. He says
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eut ...
should be considered and that there is a need for
illicit drug test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of drug ...
ing.
He has stated his views have been inspired by the
liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". In ...
proponent
Dom Helder Camara.
Bower first began his activism in 2013 when he put up, "DEAR CHRISTIANS, SOME PPL ARE GAY. GET OVER IT. LOVE GOD" after delivering the last rites to a dying man whose family hid the man's partner due to fear of the church's stance on
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
.
After an image of the sign became popular online, he continued using it as a method of activism.
In 2014, he began participating in the
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...
wearing his clerical attire.
Israel Folau
Israel Folau ( to, ‘Isileli Folau; born 3 April 1989) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who plays for the Shining Arcs in the Japan Rugby League One and the Tonga national rugby union team.
He has previously played Aust ...
quoted from the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
,
1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Bower says, "FOLAU IS WRONG, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM". Bower, along with others, set up a
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...
page in response to one set up by Folau.
In 2017, Bower was criticised for a Gosford Anglican church sign, referring to
Peter Dutton
Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...
, the Australian immigration minister, which said, "DUTTON IS A
SODOMITE
Sodomite may refer to:
* A person who practices sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- ...
". Bower stated he was referring to the biblical story of
Sodom, which in his interpretation was "about hospitality, or more to the point lack thereof, and particularly about the condition of the heart that leads to inhospitable behaviour". However, there is an alternative Biblical explanation for the word 'sodomite' from that articulated by Bower. The assistant archbishop of Melbourne said the term
Sodomite
Sodomite may refer to:
* A person who practices sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- ...
was, "a very personal slur on a government minister".
In 2017, Bower chained himself to
Kirribilli House
Kirribilli House is the secondary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia. Located in the Sydney harbourside suburb of , New South Wales, the house is at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue. It is one of two official Prime M ...
to protest the Manus Island detention centres.
His controversial signs relating to multiculturalism and anti-nationalism has led to counter-demonstrations by
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
groups. In 2016, The Party for Freedom interrupted his service clothed in
Islamic dress
Islamic clothing is clothing that is interpreted as being in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Muslims wear a wide variety of clothing, which is influenced not only by religious considerations, but also by practical, cultural, social, and ...
to protest his "
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
agenda". In April 2018, after putting up a sign stating "Lest we forget
Manus &
Nauru
Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...
", he received a threat by a member of the
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
that they would "set that church on fire". Later in the same year, a group interrupted the service wielding fake weaponry.
In 2016, Bower was criticised by
Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959) is an Australian right-wing social and political commentator. He has worked at the News Corp-owned newspaper company The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for many years, for both '' The Herald'' and its success ...
for his relationship with the
Grand Mufti of Australia
The Grand Mufti of Australia is a Sunni Muslim cleric, or Grand Mufti, chosen to represent and answer questions from the growing Muslim population. Nominated by the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), the current Grand Mufti of Australia ...
,
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed (alternative spelling, Ibrahim Abu Mohammed) is an Egyptian-born and educated Sunni Islamic scholar and Grand Mufti of Australia from September 2011 to March 2018. He became Grand Mufti again after Afifi's death.
Personal ...
, who had called homosexuality an "evil act". In 2019, Bower was criticised by the Australian Jewish Association for comparing the Nauru processing centre to the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
.
Political career
In 2018, Bower announced he would run in the
2019 federal election for a
New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
senate seat "to give a voice to the marginalised". He has expressed an emphasis on policies surrounding "
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
,
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. and basic
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
". Bower ran under the
Independents For Climate Action Now
Independents CAN, formerly Independents For Climate Action Now (ICAN), is an Australian political party which was registered on 10 April 2019. It seeks to prosecute policies relating to climate change, such as planning for climate change related ...
party ticket in New South Wales, receiving only 0.6% of the vote and was not elected.
Bibliography
* ''Outspoken: Because Justice is Always Social'' (Sydney: Ebury Australia, 2018)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bower, Rod
Anglican archdeacons in Australia
Australian activists
Living people
People from the Central Coast (New South Wales)
People from Gosford
1962 births