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Tag Archives: God

A real opening to remember

The 33rd Synod in Session of the Uniting Church in Queensland began with a First People’s Welcome from Brent Miller, a member of the Gubbi Gubbi people—the traditional custodians of the land at Alexandra Headland. Opening worship testified to the multicultural and multigenerational richness of the church of the Uniting Church in Queensland with lively worship music from Ami Pole ...

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Exploring the big questions of science

Although some might see an irreconcilable tension between science and religion, the quest for knowledge and meaning lies at the heart of both. While our understanding of the universe and humanity is constantly evolving as scientific breakthroughs occur, where does religious faith sit in our thinking? Nick Mattiske explores the big questions of science and faith in two books on ...

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Number crunching the health of the church

The 2016 National Church Life Survey (NCLS) data results have been released to the public but what do the numbers say about the state of the Uniting Church in Queensland and, more broadly, about Christianity in Australia? Queensland Synod Director of Mission Scott Guyatt investigates. Results from the 2016 National Church Life Survey are filtering through after more than 240 000 ...

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5 hip modern hymns

Looking for contemporary Christian music that everyone can sing to inspire your worship? Journey suggests five modern worship songs that will get your foot tapping and your heart pumping. “Hootenanny” by Tim Neufeld and the Glory Boys (2016) Saddened that worship music is generally bereft of banjos? Then Tim Neufeld and the Glory Boys are for you! The multi-award winning ...

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Serving those serving time

Correctional centres aren’t exactly the first place in which most people would want to volunteer but for volunteer chaplain Fotuika Ruiz it’s a place where she feels called to serve. Ben Tupou reports. The last line of the service promise for UnitingCare Community Prison Ministry reads, “Our strength, our resources, our blessings and our growth are all found in Him”. ...

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Book review: Why God?

Why God?

Religious faith draws in people from a wide array of cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds but what makes humans attracted to religion in the first place, and why does religion feature heavily in human societies? Nick Mattiske reviews Rodney Stark’s latest book Why God? to look for the answers. As religion supposedly declines in the West, those on the outside ...

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Faith and the big 4-0

Feet on dusty road

The number 40 is mentioned in Holy Scripture over 100 times and its use seems to have less to do with an actual number and more to do with signalling a time of completion and fulfilment, or trial and testing. The following seven stories from the Old and New Testaments where the number 40 is prominent illustrate ways in which ...

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The Big Questions: “Converting the heathen”

Duncan Barlow. Photo: Supplied

It may have been a common phrase in days gone by but talk of “converting the heathen” is now loaded with problematic connotations in a world scarred by western cultural hegemony and interfaith insensitivity. Who is left to convert today and should we be active in that mission? Duncan Barlow, pastor at Toowong Uniting Church who served in Indonesia for ...

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The Referendum and today’s reality

Brooke Prentis. Photo: Supplied

On 27 May 1967, Australia approved two amendments to the Constitution relating to the ability of the Federal Parliament to legislate specifically for Indigenous Australians and for their inclusion in determinations of population. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Referendum, Brooke Prentis reflects on the historic occasion and what it means for First Peoples today. The 50th anniversary of ...

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