JourneyOnline
This edition brings profiles of two Christian Queenslanders who offer radically different perspectives on faith: Ken Ham (page 6) and Val Webb (page 10).
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While Val emphasises the importance of questioning in faith and brings an unmistakable progressivism to Christianity, Ken has an intense certainty in the Old Testament as literal history and is getting people around the world talking, for better or worse, about Christ, Genesis and how we interpret the Bible.
To be clear, Ken and Val are not presented to you as figures to rally around within a false narrative pitting progressivism against conservatism. Wherever you stand on a litany of theological and social issues, these profiles offer a fresh perspective on both people and help illustrate we are all far more complex and nuanced creatures than the religious and political labels we apply to others and ourselves.
Ashley Thompson’s fascinating feature on modern partners in ministry (page 12) talks to a range of ministers’ spouses in the Uniting Church to reveal the challenges and joy of life in “a fish bowl” as one interviewee describes it.
Finally, I have been repeatedly asked by readers why we don’t publish “Letters to the editor” as a regular section of the magazine. The simple answer is we receive very few, and they arrive at such an irregular cycle we couldn’t possibly keep a monthly section healthily-stocked.
Your letters are certainly welcome but a few things to consider before you put pen to paper or finger to key. Publication is at the editor’s discretion; Journey always reserves the right to edit those which are published for clarity and space’s sake (please try to keep them to 150 words or less); please keep the focus on topics raised within the previous edition; and please, please, please be aware of defamation laws when making statements about other individuals or organisations.
Having said all that, we all want the magazine to instigate discussion, reflection and civil debate, and your letters are a crucial way for us to gauge what Journey is doing right, what can be improved and where you, the readership, stand on key matters of concern for this church and the broader society to which it belongs.
Please send your letters via email or to the GPO box address listed in the magazine.
Ben Rogers
Cross-platform editor
