Lion Hudson Books, 176 pages RRP: $34.95 I was pleasantly surprised by this concise historical coverage of a two millennia history. I wondered about the title, because nowadays the term is used sometimes apologetically and sometimes aggressively. However, I was impressed as the story of the Christians, in their many forms and in their diverse circumstances, was well covered, with ...

Jesus feminism The Uniting Church is unusual in a number of ways—one of them being its wholehearted embrace of women’s ordination. The Uniting Church has ordained women since union, as did its constituent denominations before that. We stick out among Australian churches in this regard; while other denominations ordain women, few Australian churches match the Uniting Church in their conviction ...

There’s no denying that patriarchal bias has existed in Christianity throughout the ages but as feminist theory gathered pace in the 20th century so did feminist theology. Rev Dr Anita Monro explores the movement and how it links to the Basis of Union. Feminist theology is now well over 50-years-old. What has it contributed to the Christian faith? Feminist theology ...

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. ...

Knowing where to stand First and foremost, I want to say I’m thrilled that we are talking about feminism in relation to faith (“Storming the old boys’ club”, September 2015, page six). But I must stress the importance of understanding our movement in order to speak with authority on it. We don’t need to be experts, but making errors on ...

The dreaded “F” word: bra burnings and angry women are so last century yet the stigma around feminism remains. Ashley Thompson speaks with four Christian women reclaiming feminist values for ministry and mission. Simply put, feminism is a stand for the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. It is the belief that men and women should have equal ...

Edited by Warren Bonett Scribe Publications, 2010 RRP $35.00 Reviewed by Merv Bengston. As a member of the Lay Forum I was interested to read how the book would promote atheism. It is an anthology, perhaps overly long at 440 pages, and comprises widely varying essays by 33 authors. The first essay gives an account of the achievements of some ...

Reviewed Rev Seforosa Carroll, Convener of Assembly’s Relations with Other Faiths Working Group Praeger Publishers, Connecticut, 2009 This four-volume set looks at the impact of September 11 on interfaith relations and world religions according to the following four themes: Religion, war and peace; Religion and human rights; the interfaith dimension; and spirituality. Each volume carries a theme, which is explored ...

Blue Bottle Books RRP $24.95 A Spectator’s Guide to Worldviews provides a challenging introduction to various ways of looking at the world. A worldview is the framework or fundamental belief that shapes how we understand the world around us and the picture of our ideal world. The guide achieves its aim of presenting a balanced view of each ‘–ism’ that ...

ULTIMATELY, IT matters little whether the Uniting Church in Australia is in fact the first ‘home-grown’, truly indigenous expression of Australian Christianity. The only question that should concern us now is, have we been faithful to what has been entrusted to us? Thirty years ago, the Uniting Church had the chance to liberate itself from the tyranny of ecclesiastical inertia, ...