Letters

Radical love but what next? Thank you Rev Dr Peter Hobson for your challenge for us to join the mustard-seed conspiracy in response to violence and terror in our world (July 2017 edition). This is indeed a radical (at the root) response. In the safety and privacy of our homes and local churches, it is not hard to picture praying ...

Forgotten or neglected? I noted with interest your heading “5 Forgotten hymns” on page 18 of the April edition of Journey. I believe that the heading should have been “5 Neglected hymns”. A hymn which should have been included is “Low in the grave He lay” (Methodist Hymn Book 211). My opinion is that no Easter celebration without this hymn ...

To drink or not to drink To drink or not to drink is an individual decision hopefully based on factual information. While the alcohol policy from the 23rd Queensland Synod is admirable, the effect of alcohol in human suffering, family violence, child abuse, neglect and poverty as well as cost to industry and the community must be highlighted.  I do ...

Searching for Jehova My name is George Harper and I am a reader of every issue of the Journey. I read it because I am interested in what individuals write about their interest in spiritual matters. I have never seen in any portion of Journey the name Jehovah, yet when I was a young boy we went to a Methodist ...

More memories at the Crossroads  Just to add to Rodney Boyce’s plea (“To the editor”, November 2016 edition) for a future reference to Crossroads in Journey. In January 1978 I left as minister of a country parish in Queensland (we were refugees from Bjelke) to take up the position of “Christian Education Officer” for the (then) Uniting Church in Australia ...

That’s us in the corner? The title of the secular band R.E.M.’s 1991 hit single “Losing my religion” was supposedly taken from a southern United States expression meaning “At my wit’s end”, as if things were going so bad you could lose your faith in God. So what has this to do with Rev David Baker’s statement that Australia has ...

Cartoonification of Noah’s Ark I was shown a copy of the August edition of Journey. My attention was immediately aroused by the cover image for the very good reason that Creation Ministries International has just produced an article in our latest issue of Creation magazine that focused on the cartoonification of Noah’s Ark. It was sad to see the perpetuation ...

Fundamentalism and progressivism Last month’s Journey made me thankful for my Trinity Theological education once again. Lecturers like Rev Dr Geoff Thompson helped us navigate the extremes of Christianity exemplified by Ken Ham (fundamentalism) and Val Webb (progressivism). Both positions are responding to the same perceived problem. Both make the same mistake. Both bow to the idol of the enlightenment—science—mistakenly ...

Looking at the recent Journey (July 2016 edition) I am concerned at the apparent level of support for ‘feminist’ agendas. I have no problem with women seeking jobs but I wonder whether the headline should have read “Smashing the glass floor”. I feel there is such a pandering to status-seeking in feminist ‘conversation’ which does a disservice to the faith. ...

Disappointing that your excellent article on Julie McCrossin (June 2016 edition) brought in the denominational issue. Sydney Anglicans’ ideas are represented in one wing of our Uniting Church, while Rev Dorothy McRae-McMahon is represented on another. Those of us somewhere in the centre thank God for our Christian fellowship with both wings. I don’t have any worry about your excellent ...