Tag Archives: Basis of Union

It’s one of our eternal questions with no easy answers: what happens to us after we die? Although the statistics suggest many Australians believe in the afterlife, what exact form that takes is still up for debate, whether you’re a Christian or not. Rev Dr David Mackay-Rankin explores the afterlife, the Christian theology underpinning it and its depiction in popular ...

In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany and the rest, as they say, is history. Luther’s call for debate on the faith would lead to the Reformation which shook the very core of European thinking on religion, politics and culture. To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation Dr Janice ...

In secular society the term “evangelism” can carry negative associations with heavy-handed preaching at others but how do we boldly share the faith when it could lead to a hostile reception? Rev Shane Kammermann offers his thoughts. My answer to this “how” question is pretty simple, but also complex! I have become wary of “isms” which tend to make ideals ...

The word might be in the church’s name but “uniting” carries a profound sense that there is still work to go before a “united” destination. Should we still be uniting with other denominations? Rev Janet Staines offers her perspective. When the Uniting Church inaugurated in 1977 there were great aspirations to continue the work of “uniting” with other denominations as ...

The Basis of Union is the foundational document that provides the Uniting Church its renewal and encouragement but how much do we really know about its origins and its evolution from the fifties to the seventies? Rev Dr D’Arcy Wood delves deep into the Basis of Union’s past. The early decades of the 20th century saw rapid developments in ecumenical ...

When we use the term “youth”, to whom are we really referring? I’ve had discussions with people in the church who would consider those under 40 as “youth”, others seem to think the under 20 brigade best fits the term. For what it’s worth the United Nations defines “youth” as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24. Whatever ...

As the Uniting Church celebrates its fortieth anniversary Ben Rogers revisits the excitement, challenges and hope behind the historic union of Congregationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians in Australia in 1977. For younger members of the Uniting Church in Australia who have only ever known its current incarnation, the period surrounding church union in 1977 is past history. Visiting Wikipedia’s rundown of ...

The Basis of Union may have been completed in the late sixties but it provides an ongoing instrument of renewal and encouragement. Rev Dr Andrew Dutney reflects on the Uniting Church in Australia’s foundational document’s past and what it offers us in the present. It’s no secret I’m a fan of the Basis of Union. But I also realise that it ...

Here in Queensland to promote his new book, Disturbing Much, Disturbing Many: Theology provoked by the Basis of Union, Rev Dr Geoff Thompson sat down with Journey to delve deeper into issues of faith, society and the Uniting Church in Australia’s foundational document, the Basis of Union. Journey: If there’s one takeaway from the book, what is it? Geoff: The ...

Journey sits down with Rev Dr Geoff Thompson to discuss his new book on the Basis of Union and its relevancy to issues alive in the church today. A new book by Rev Dr Geoff Thompson exploring the Uniting Church in Australia’s foundational document, the Basis of Union, recently brought the former principal of Trinity Theological College back to Queensland ...