Answers from other contributors:

Aboriginal people who adopt Christianity found it a natural progression because of these parallels.
If you go back far enough, you will find that, originally, every civilization believed in a god and believed everything was created by a god. (They may not have obeyed Him, but that is a different story.) Aboriginals originally knew of God through creation, but lost this knowledge and turned to animism:-
The aborigines knew of God as Creator through the creation.
The aborigines believe very strongly that they are the the custodians of their land, but God comes along and says that He is the owner of everything, that He made it all, and it all belongs to Him. They had no trouble believing that " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
In "Jesus In All The Scriptures" by Anthony. H. Nichols (2007) ISBN978-1-921137-94-5 page 9 says:-

Aboriginal legend and dreamtime stories are full of "human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles".

Ceremonies can only point back to the past, not the future:-

Ancient Israel celebrated ceremonies and ritual which could only be really understood when they were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. In the same way, aborigines understood that their ceremonies and ritual could only point back to an earlier time ( "dreamtime") , whereas they could be really understood and come alive when God was re-introduced into the picture. Anthony. H. Nichols says :-

They knew how God reasoned through 'Payback':-

The aboriginal belief of 'payback' is where if someone murdered one of them, this was 'paid back' in kind by him being speared through the thigh as punishment and spilling his blood in payment in kind. There would be a fair bit of blood spilt, and it could be fatal (especially if the spear went through the Femoral artery) , but if he died, he died.

"The Aboriginals are ...very spiritual people and have a complex system involving sacred sites and some of the knowledge passed on from generation to generation is "classified" as secret mans or womans business. Their lawsand justice system are partly recognized by the Australian justice system and in certain cases Aborigines have been allowed to punish offenders with "payback" (which often involves bashing with lumps of wood and spears in the legs) instead of them being sent to jail. (Otherwise they'd be punished twice as after being released from jail they would still receive their payback)."

(from 'Amazing Australian Aborigines')

An example of 'payback' in WA in 1833:-

"February 1833 the first moves are taken to prevent Aborigines entering the area of the City of Perth.

April 1833 A false rumour of 200 Aborigines attacking the Preston Point Ferry, saw every man in Fremantle taking up arms to kill the Aborigines.

29 April 1833, whilst breaking into a store in Fremantle with two other Aborigines, Domjum, Yagan's brother, was shot dead.

30 April 1833 Yagan, Midgegooroo and Munday, in reprisal, killed two white brothers named Velnick, who had been behaving badly to Aborigines, on the road between Bull Creek and Canning River. Yagan had been seen by Mr Phillips of Maddington Farm, repeatedly spearing one of the two men.

1 May 1833 Captain Frederick Irwin|Irwin]] declared the three to be outlaws. Thirty pounds was offered for Yagan dead or alive, twenty pounds for Munday and Midgegooroo. They were hunted for the next three months. The three were unaware they were being hunted.

16 May 1833, Captain Ellis was informed that Midgegooroo's people were in the Helena Valley, and likely to cross at Drummond's Ford, near Guildford, that night. Four soldiers of the 63rd Regiment stationed themselves at the spot, but Midgegooroo failed to appear.

17 May 1833, the soldiers with Mr Hardey of Peninsula Farm Maylands, and Hancock, a local bushman, found abandoned Aboriginal campsites in the Helena River, and capturedMidgegooroo and his five year old son, after a short struggle, while he was looking after women and children whilst the men were away hunting, He was imprisoned in Perth jail.

21 May 1833, Midgegooroo was tried before Captain Irwin and the Executive Council, found guilty, and taken outside the jail immediately killed by firing squad, before a gathering of colonists. Those present expressed their satisfaction by loud exultations at his execution. Midgegooroo's tribe expressed dissatisfaction when it was learned that he had been executed, and two parties of six soldiers each were sent to patrol the Swan and Canning Rivers to protect settlers from angry Aborigines. At the same time, Constable Hunt, together with four soldiers and three colonists were sent to the Upper Swan to capture Yagan and Munday, said to be hiding amongst Weeip's people. Shortly afterwards Yagan approached George Fletcher Moore at Millendon, and in pidgin English insisted that it was wrong for Aborigines to steal from Europeans, and also wrong for whites to kill Aborigines caught stealing. When an Aborigine was killed by a white man, Yagan insisted that it was permissible for an Aboriginal to kill the European, as payback in accordance with their custom. Moore insisted that if a white man was caught steeling he would be shot too, as the Aboriginal had been. If killing and theft stopped, Moore explained their would be peace between the races. In Nyungar Yagan explained that the Europeans had come to disrupt the Aboriginal people in their lives, and are fired upon by Europeans in their own country. He declared the would take European lives in revenge for any death of Midgegooroo. The next day Mr Shaw informed Yagan that Midgegooroo had been executed. Settlers in Upper Swan seemed to be defying the order to capture him, and Lieutenant Ball gave orders to his servants that Yagan was not to be shot. Friendly overtures were extended to Weeip, despite the refuge he was giving to Yagan and Munday.

June 1833, the Agricultural Society Meeting discussed the growing problem with Aborigines and suggested pacific measures rather than extermination be followed. A fortnight later, a party of the 63rd Regiment, under the command of Captain Ellis set out to hunt Yagan, and was promised help by Weeip in finding him, but was unsuccessful. Weeip was taken to Perth by Mr Bull and others from the Upper Swan to meet with the Lieutenant Governor.

July 11, 1833, a young man of 18 years, William Keats, and his brother, two of Bull's servants, on a cattle drive, saw a group of Aborigines, including Yagan, approaching Bull's house for flour. The Aborigines were generally friendly. After two failed attempts over an extended period, William shot Yaganin the head, and was immediately speared to death by aborigines accompanying Yagan. James Keats then shot Heegan, one of the other Aboriginals who was about to throw his spear, and aimed at Weeip, also about to throw his spear, but missed. Keat's brother James, then escaped by swimming the River, and saw a group, including Weeip, spearing William repeatedly. William Cruse, after hearing of the affair, accompanied by six others returned to the spot, found the gun had been used also as a club, and then following the sound of crying, found the wounded Heegan and the dead Yagan. Heegan was then shot through the head, to "put him out of his misery". The Editor of the Perth Gazette condemned William Keats for his treachery in killing Yagan and warned settlers there would be another round of reprisals from Aborigines. Two weeks later, the Lieutenant Governor issued a proclamation that Munday was no longer an outlaw as sufficient retribution had been made for the death of the Velvick brothers. James Keats claimed the reward, and Heegan's family infomed others that James Keats would be killed in retribution for the death of Heegan. Lieutenant Bull encouraged Keats to leave the colony on board the Cornwallis."

(From 'Aboriginal History of West Australia')

Some Aboriginal payback law is the same as Old Testament law, both in practice and intent:-

Old-Testament law was 'payback', except that it was called 'an eye for an eye':-

Gen 9:5-6 LITV And surely the blood of your lives I will demand. At the hand of every animal I will demand it, and at the hand of man. I will demand the life of man at the hand of every man's brother. [v. 6] Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood shall be shed by man. For He made man in the image of God.

Exo 21:12 He that strikes a man so that he dies, dying he shall die.

Exo 21:23-27 LITV ... you shall give life for life,[v. 24] eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, [v. 25] branding for branding, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. [v. 26] And when a man strikes the eye of his male slave, or the eye of his slave-girl and destroys it, he shall send him away free for his eye. [v. 27] And if he causes the tooth of his male slave, or the tooth of his slave-girl, to fall out, he shall send him away free for his tooth.

Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar, to atone for your souls; for it is the blood which makes atonement for the soul.

Num 35:16-21 LITV And if he strikes him with an instrument of iron, and he dies, he is a murderer; dying the murderer shall die. [v. 17] And if he strikes him with a stone in the hand, by which he dies, and he dies, he is a murderer; dying the murderer shall die. [v. 18] And if he strikes him with a wooden instrument in the hand, by which he dies, and he dies, he is a murderer; dying the murderer shall die. [v. 19] The avenger of blood shall cause the murderer to die; when he meets with him, he shall cause him to die. [v. 20] And if he pushes him down, or has thrown at him by lying in wait, and he dies; [v. 21] or if he has struck him with his hand in enmity, and he dies, the striker shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood meets him he shall put to death the murderer.

"3.20 Disputes within Aboriginalcommunities are not generally perceived as restricted to individuals. The negotiation, mediation and conciliation involves everyone in the community. In particular, where the conflict involves an offence perpetrated by one against another, members of both the offender's and victim's families become involved. If physical punishment is appropriate, it is inflicted not by an authorised law officer, but rather by the people personally aggrieved by the behaviour. It is not uncommon for members of the offender's family to be asked to accept punishment if the offender is in gaol and therefore unavailable....

3.21 [In}...the operation of customary law, ...when there was a dispute, the elders met to discuss the punishments: their word was law... Aboriginal customary law is heavily influenced by the need to avenge the victim and that, to an outsider, punishments can at times appear arbitrary and harsh.Serious transgressions, such as murder, may result insome form of physical punishment, such as a payback spearing. However, it is also important to note that physical punishment is only one way, and not the most common way, for Aboriginal disputes to be settled."

(From 'Law Reform Commission Report 96 (2000) Sentencing: Aboriginal Offenders 3. Aboriginal Customary Law)

Aborigines would have accepted the God of the Old Testament as He taught the same thing ( 'an eye for an eye') as they did ( 'payback'). Once they understood where their traditional aboriginal custom came from, they would be more accepting of other things of God.

Commonality between Aboriginal legends and Bible record shows they have common source:-

"Introduction: Unknown to most people, the Australian Aborigines have many traditions surprisingly similar to parts of the book of Genesis, especially those regarding Creation and Noah's Flood. In fact, Flood stories which include the saving of only a few people and animals, are found in many cultures worldwide and provide fascinating circumstantial evidence that the common ancestor of Aborigines, Jews, and indeed all modern races of man was Noah. The Genesis account, however, is the most detailed and systematic of them all.

To refresh your memory, here is a brief summary of the major events associated with Noah's Flood, as found in Genesis 6 - 9.

1. Men had become exceedingly evil and violent.

2. Only Noah pleased God.

3. God warned Noah He would send a flood as judgment upon this terrible evil.

4. God instructed Noah to build a boat for his family and forthe animalsthat Hewould send to the boat.

5. The waters of the flood covered the whole earth, including the mountains.

6. All men and animals not on the boat were destroyed.

7. Noah first sent out a raven, and then a dove, to find out whether the land was dry.

8. When the dove returned with an olive leaf in its mouth Noah knew the land was dry enough to allow everybody off the ark

9. God sent the rainbow as a sign that He would never again destroy the earth by a flood.

10. All living men and animals are descendants of those who came off the ark

The points of interest in the 3 following Aboriginal traditions are in bold type and any similarity to the Genesis story is indicated in the margin.

Differences in the flood traditions are also relevant. The Genesis record talks of there being only one race of man from the time of the flood until the towerof Babel. At the tower of Babel, God dispersed the people over the surface of the world by giving them different languages. It is therefore to be expected that the stories of the flood would contain not only profound similarities but also differences. These differences would be due to both the confusion of tongues and the varying relationships to the true God which cultures had.

The Flood

(As told by Albert Barangga)

In ancient times the sea made the watermarks on the mountains and ranges. For example Mt. House, Mt. Waterloo, Mt. Hann all have these watermarks, they are right on top. The reason for this flood was men killed the old woman's third son, the one she loved.

This old lady went down and speared the 'eye' of the sea. It is said that she was staying on Nowulu Island. The son was dear to her. They told her "They have killed him; already they have taken his life", they told her. "Ah", she said. She wept once and did not weep again. "I'll finish them" she said. She went over to a place called Garajin and there she speared and poked the small 'hole' in the sea. The sea went back and back exceedingly, it sucked it right out. The place was left hard and dry and the fish were flapping about on the hard (bottom) place for there was no water. At that time the mountains were made.

We say, the present tides don't rise like this. For this sea travelled across like a range to them. The mountains sank beneath it. Then she finished them. They were drowned. While still there was no water, that is at the time when it disappeared, she picked up turtle and fish and took them up to the top of the hill at Nowulu The place is called Nowulu, it's an island, that the place she climbed up to. Here she remained and dug for water right on the top Then that one - the sea - was travelling and all the mainland was underneath it. That was the time it went back. That time it finished them; it drowned all those men. Only those who climbed right on top, over there, only those may be living. Then they returned this way. that was the sea that drowned all the men of that generation on the earth. Then (that time) they made themselves into turtle and fish and now those of that generation are living creatures in the sea. They were people first but they made themselves sea- creatures. The sea drowned them all.

Similarities to Genesis

* The Flood was a judgment upon evil. It was sent to destroy all men.

* The Flood covered the mountains.

* All the land was covered. Only a few were spared.

* All other men were drowned.

The Bundaba Flood Story

As told by Jimmy Bird.

Long, long ago there was a great flood. It originated from the fact of some children who found the 'winking' owl in a tree and plucked out all its feathers. They forced a grass reed through its nose and treated the bird most shamefully. The bird flew without wings, into the heavens and showed himself to Ngowungu, the Great Father. Ngowungu became very angry and decided to drown the people.

Later the people saw a small cloud rising which grew bigger and bigger till it spread all over the sky. The thunder began to roll and crash and the people were greatly afraid.

With the rain and thunder was a terrible wind which broke great limbs off trees and rooted up others. During this terrible storm there was a noise above the awful crashes of thunder. This noise was coming from the north. The salt water, the sea, came pouring over the ranges from the north. The flood rose higher and higher till all the land was covered except the tops of two or three mountains.

From further west a man and his wives with a dog were battling their way in a canoe when a bird with a leaf in its mouth flew in front of them showing them the way to Mt. Broome. They eventually reached Mt. Broome and landed there where some other survivors were.

Then Djabalgari, the great left-handed man incised his little finger and let the blood trickle down into the flood waters. The waters began to go down and eventually disappeared off the country. All other people were drowned.

Similarities to Genesis

* The flood was sent to judge wickedness.

* God sent the flood to drown all the people.

* It began to rain.

* All the land was covered.

* A man and his wife in a boat with an animal.

* A bird with a leaf in its mouth was the sign of dry land.

* They landed on a mountain. All other people drowned.

* There was a sacrifice of blood at the end of the flood.

A Western Desert Tradition

(contributed by W.H. Douglas)

KURANGARA

Long ago, in the Creation country across the sea to the west, some people saw these red-legged birds strutting along with their heads moving up and down. Whenever the people approached them they moved forward always keeping the same distance between themselves and their followers.

There were millions of these birds, and they were much taller than they are today. The men followed them to discover where they were all going. The birds walked east and eventually led the men to the coast of Australia. They stepped out of the sea where Fremantle is today, then turned north and walked up the coast. The men continued to follow them. When they reached the point just below where Port Hedland is now situated the great flood came.

The sky opened and the water poured down in a great deluge. Many people were drowned, but some were saved on mangrove boats. They paddled towards the ranges in Central Australia, the Mardudjara people (now camped at Jigalong) leading the way. They were the first people to take dogs to the centre of the continent.

At last they reached the MacDonnell Ranges, but then the receding waters turned to ice. By this time, another group of people had come into the north of Australia, so this southern group was trapped. At this stage, the 'Watt Kutiara' the itwo gods' came into action and began digging a way through the ranges, but this method proved too slow and the people would have perished before they could be freed. So, the Wati Kutjara blasted their way through, cleaving the ranges apart (as at Stanley Chasm) and so opened an escape route. The people surged forward with great relief and passed through the opening to salvation. However, they were faced with a great disappointment, for beyond the range there was only a great empty land.

Similarities to Genesis

* A Great Flood.

* The heavens opened.

* Some were saved on boats.

* Their animal too.

* The boats went to the mountains.

(From 'Australian Aboriginal Flood Stories, Collection by Howard Coates and W.H. Douglas, Introduction by John Mackay)

(10).Australian Aborigines, sacred objects and sites, and belief in the spiritual:-

Because Aborigines are spiritually-aware, they do not have to be forced to believe in God: it is natural for them to think this way:-

"The truth of the matter is that Europeans are not to be trusted in nature because they rape and pillage the earth, whereas your indigenous peoples regard the earth as their mother and treat her with the greatest respect....[The religion of the Australian Aborigines] is a sort of nature worship,... a sort of animism - the whole of nature is imbued with some spiritual quality so that every tree, rock and river is "sacred".

[But]. . only certain "special" objects or places are regarded as having spiritual energies. In the case of the Australian Aborigines, for instance, we have the tjurunga (or churinga) - a sacred object which is a sort of receptacle of spiritual energies of a spirit ancestor. Certain localitiesare also deemed sacred...... particular items in the landscape mark the spot where the spirit ancestors went underground, or emerged from the earth, or performed certain ceremonies. In other words, there are qualitative differences in places; some are sacred, some are not.

I vaguely remember a story told by Jack Absalom regarding a trip he did with an Aboriginal elder in the outback. The gist of the account is that the old Aborigine was pointing out significant features of the landscape as they travelled along - these rocks are where the spirit ancestorswent into the earth, and so on. Upon coming over a small rise in Jack's truck, there arose before them a huge rock of a most striking aspect. Jack was enormously impressed and asked his guide to provide some information: "Wow! What's this, Jimmy?" The old Aborigine looked at him rather strangelyand said: "That's a bloody rock, Jack."

..[Aborigines]. might aspire to a reality beyond the material realm ... because belief in a higher realitywould hint at a certain duality in human nature ... It provides for the possibility that tribal religions are, in this respect, similar to Judeo-Christianity. But, ... the man of the archaic societies tends to live as much as possible in the sacred or in close proximity to consecrated objects. In other words, "archaic man" ( "archaic" does not mean "primitive" but rather "traditional" or "not of the modern, secular culture") is always aware of an order of reality above that of mere material nature. This is absolutely clear in the accounts of the religions of the Plains Indians and the Australian Aborigines. They quite obviously have a notion of another realm of existence and their shamanism would make little sense without such a notion. Moreover, for the Aborigines, the whole idea of the Dreamtime presupposes a realm of existence quite outside the temporal order of the material world in which they live. It is primordial time"

(from Quadrant Magazine Environment March 2003 - Volume XLVII Number 3 Environmental Primitivism and the Noble Savage by B.J. Coman

(NOTE:-

ABOVE HAS BEEN CHECKED BY TWO (CHRISTIAN) ABORIGINAL ELDERS )

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