Opinion

THE BOOK of Proverbs tells us to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” If that isn’t an invitation to apply one’s Christian faith to the political sphere, I don’t know what is! When values and ideals ...

Phil Smith (June Journey) points to the reluctance of many members to respond positively to God’s call to this ministry. In too many Congregations, the role of elder has been restricted to that of pastoral carer, so that congregation members gifted in other areas have felt that they have no place on Church Council as elders, and some present elders ...

ONE OF the most common questions I’ve been asked in the past few weeks is, “What do you think about a PM who does not believe in God?” This causes us to think about how Christians engage in the political arena in a pluralist society. Julia Gillard is not the first Australian Prime Minister who has not claimed to hold ...

On the 22nd June the Uniting Church in Australia celebrated it’s 33rd Birthday. This anniversary prompted me to think about who we are as a church and what we stand for. At 33 you’re a grown up and you know who you are. I think it’s appropriate on our birthday to reflect on how we got here, who we are ...

I BELIEVE one of the greatest and most powerful ways we can experience God is through his creation. I have found this in my own experience of God and seen others, both believers and non-believers, find God in nature. There is nothing quite like spending a day in the bush or sitting on a beach looking at what is around ...

CREATION HAS an apparent randomness. Some people I meet demonstrate this more than others. If I were the creator there would have been a lot more straight lines involved. There is a natural tendency to seek methods and procedures that bring order. I feel more control when there is order in my life. Yet I find fulfilment when I give ...

A YOUNG child went walking with her dad in a forest. As some children do, she wandered off without the adults noticing. Creating obvious panic he searched in vain, calling in everyone to help. Night fall descended and the search had to be called off. Before first light the dad was back in the forest searching for his little daughter. ...

ACCORDING TO the most recent census statistics, atheism is the fastest growing “religion” in Australia. So often science is blamed for undermining the faith of people. It is still popularly believed that science and religion are in opposition. However historians of science argue that the rise of natural science, what we in the west describe as “modern science”, grew out ...

Journey continues its exploration of Brian McLaren’s 10 questions that he says are transforming the church. This month we look at the gospel question. I RECENTLY came across a writer who suggested that we should be able to summarise the Christian gospel in 10 words or less. “If you can’t summarise what you believe in 10 words, do you truly ...

AS A SCIENTIST I have always believed that the world we live in has form. By this I mean that it has laws, symmetries, and admits to mathematical logic. These are there to be discovered and are not simply an invention by humankind. Sure, we label them as well as manipulate what we have discovered, but the intrinsic form of ...