Tag Archives: Christianity

It’s a word we hear almost daily in some form or another but Dr Gilbert Bond explores the history behind “sorry” and how we can forgive others when confronted by horrific acts of inhumanity. On any ordinary day one hears the word “sorry” uttered on numerous occasions. Without “sorry” the friction of ordinary interactions between people would eventually generate intolerable ...

It might be quickly catching on as an Australian calendar fixture synonymous with horror-themed costumes and teeth-rotting lollies but what should Christians make of Halloween? Rev David MacGregor examines the history behind the commercialism and the practice of “trick or treat”. What do you make of Halloween each year? I’ve long wondered that. Halloween is of course huge business in ...

Grevel Lindop’s look at fantasy writer, theologian and magician Charles Williams celebrates his achievements at the same time as it reveals his darker side. Nick Mattiske evaluates how this new biography succeeds in capturing the man and his mystery. Grevel Lindop’s biography of writer Charles Williams is titled The Third Inkling, but when Williams joined the Oxford literary gatherings of ...

For many Australians the word “jihad” means one thing in an age of terrorism, but Dr Aaron Ghiloni explores the complexities and nuances of Islamic struggle and what lessons it offers non-Muslims. I was researching “jihad” on the day the Brussels airport and metro were attacked by ISIL. It could have been any day. Whether war is dubbed “cold”, “just”, ...

A new forum to explore outside-the-box thinking was a smashing success at Synod. Journey reports. Hundreds gathered for Unchained, a half-day festival held during Synod in Session to air dangerous ideas about how the Uniting Church might re-imagine itself and its place in the world. The event evolved from a suggestion first made by the moderator that the Synod needed ...

When Michelle and Yusef chose to embark on life together as a married couple, some things were sure to become a little complicated. For Michelle, an Australian-born Christian, and Yusef, a Muslim, one of their first experiences of balancing two different religious traditions was deciding how they would get married. And more specifically, who would conduct the service. Uniting Church ...

The October edition of Journey magazine is now available to download. The heart of community When I was in Sunday School, it was drilled into me that church is not a building, it is a community. Church can happen anywhere, “wherever two or three are gathered in my name”. It is a body and a family which grows and changes, reflecting Christ’s love ...

In the wake of 2013’s year of discipleship, the Queensland Synod continues to invest in the spiritual life of the church by designating 2014 the year of growing faith. Rohan Salmond explores what it means to have faith and how faith can grow in the face of adversity. “My faith really is a Paul on the road to Damascus-type experience,” ...