Opinion

The following opinion was offered as the Editorial for the December 2005 edition of Ruminations the quarterly journal of the Uniting Church NSW Rural Ministry Unit and was written by Bruce Irvine: There are some who say that the Uniting Church is a church divided. Divided implies that there are two opposing groups, or points of view. But on every ...

This issue of Journey looks at the Bible, a book written over a 1500 year period by more than 40 authors from every walk of life. Read by more people and published in more languages than any other book in history, the Bible has been translated, retranslated, and paraphrased more than any other book which has ever existed. The Bible ...

In this issue of Journey, with its emphasis on the Bible and how we read it, I want to reflect a little on the Bible as a manifesto for mission. A manifesto is a declaration explaining the intentions, motives and principles of actions to be undertaken. In that sense we can engage with scripture as one of the key ways ...

Evangelicals, like others, do not have a single method for interpreting scripture; however, despite the diversity within evangelicalism concerning specific methods of biblical interpretation, features remain which still enable one to classify certain approaches and people as “evangelical”. The defining features of an evangelical interpretation of scripture are found in its presuppositions, that is, those basic beliefs which shape one’s ...

Unexpected disasters are type cast – in two ways, the natural and the human. In 1974 Cyclone “Tracy" blew away Darwin. Brisbane was seriously flooded. Recently, a tidal wave so powerful as to destroy from Indonesia to Sri Lanka. Hurricane "Katrina" moved through three states – wreckage from New Orleans to Houston. An earthquake hit Pakistan (with effects in India ...

Rev Woodley is responding to the article Sensitive Multicultural Conversation. I have watched the debate about Resolution 84 of the 2003 Assembly over the past two plus years but have refrained from commenting publicly, apart from answering a question from a journalist some time ago which, at the time, prompted a clarification in Journey. However, I cannot let the report ...

Not normally a fan of Synod meetings, I have often approached them with a certain degree of caution and cynicism however, I found myself surprised and encouraged by the 25th Synod meetings at Carrara last month. A sensitive Convocation of Ministers at Ashmore on the first day of the Synod meeting set a remarkable standard of community and established the ...

I’ve been reflecting over recent weeks on biblical images consistent with commencing another new phase in my life and ministry, and have found myself returning once again to one of my favourite Old Testament stories. In Joshua Chapter 3, we see the Israelites, the people of God, at a critical point in their history, as they prepare to cross over ...

 It’s the journey, not the passport. Saying’ Jesus is Lord’ is more than a passport, it is a journey. The notion that ‘Christians are better than…’ or those songs that go ‘You made me whole…’ seem to miss the point of our humanity. Weare a work in progress. Jesus tells of the worker that had been working all day and ...

I guess subtle thinking is not much in vogue at present. Quick grabs and slogans are the order of the day. At worst, we resort to stereotyping or labelling those we disagree with, or those we presume may be in a different faction. Sometimes, we even misuse Scripture as a weapon. I think Christ’s church deserves better. I hope that ...