Opinion

In the Biblical tradition, and in the faith of the people of God, there is a strong, recurring emphasis on the role of God in creation. Creation declares the power and the greatness of God. The beauty and complexity of nature bear witness to the existence of God. I lost count long ago of the number of conversations I have ...

It has been a learning experience reflecting on our ecological situation while watching the succession of cyclones, floods and drought beset our state of Queensland. As an observer of our ecological dilemmas and often guilt-ridden citizen I have spent too little time theologising about my relationship with the earth in which I live and it has only been in researching ...

The emerging consensus between many theologians and scientists is that we are facing a global environmental crisis and it is becoming increasingly urgent that we should begin to address the “ecocrisis” facing our modern industrial world. It is not being melodramatic to say that the future of life on our planet is at stake and there are a number of ...

In 1990 the Queensland Synod agreed that we must respond to the environmental destruction around us in order to make any meaningful proclamation of faith in Jesus Christ. Fifteen years on it’s worth asking whether we missed the boat. But it is not only the environmental crisis which we need to respond to. How many of us have really allowed the ...

SEVERAL HUNDRED people took the long trek west of Hobart to the Styx Valley, an area of primal forest featuring majestic gum trees that were old when Captain Cook sailed up Australia’s eastern coast and for several years the focal point in the forestry debate in Tasmania. Those making this journey included church goers, forest workers and conservationists. They gathered ...

I am writing in response to the article in the April journey on re-thinking Easter by Noel Preston. Rev Dr Greg Jenks is quoted as arguing that Mark’s gospel “draws on cultural myths of the ancient world to recount a story of a ‘Divine/Crucified Hero'”. First, I wonder why Journey would promote such a story, taking up almost half a ...

I appreciate all that you and your team do to produce Journey on a monthly basis. It is manifest that there is a high degree of sheer hard work and much inspiration too to achieve and sustain such a high standard. I am forwarding this message for your information and not with a view to its publication though you are ...

Jesus, in his lifetime, identified himself, very especially, with the poor and the oppressed; the outcast and the under privileged. When crucified, who were on his right and left? To whom was he still reaching out? To two criminals! Meeting Jesus in prison necessitates viewing both sides of the same coin. Spin up heads to reveal our crowned Saviour and ...

A kaleidoscope of scenes whirls through my memory – moments, places, people – locked in a cell for four hours with two life sentence prisoners, sitting on concrete steps in intimate conversation with one woman while the things of earth grew strangely dim around us. Moments of prayer that have changed a woman’s anger into tears of healing, or have ...

I have a passion to see men come to a faith in God. Wouldn’t it be great to see a company of men praising God in our churches? I mean real men, men built like front row forwards, guys with tattoos on their arm, men with rough hands, men who aren’t afraid to say they love Jesus. Well, I have ...