The best ideas are common property
Last night, over a communal dinner, the conversation turned to John 17, and then to the status of Judas Iscariot, and then to the notion of “perdition” (Jn 17:12), which may refer to “destruction, ruin, or ultimate loss.” From there, we skirted around the theology of predestination and Judas’s assumed eternal fate, and then on …
Continue reading "Should Protestants reframe purgatory as final sanctification?"
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is distinctive among Australian Christian denominations because of a particular way of being church: it is intentionally ecumenical in origin, conciliar in structure, dialogical in decision-making, and diverse in practice. Formed in 1977 through the union of Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions, it represents a culmination of ecumenical aspiration and an ongoing experiment …
Since the dramatic election result in South Australia last weekend, readers of news media, not least the Murdoch press, will have noticed a renewed emphasis on “patriotism.” Former Liberal Party Opposition Leader Alexander Downer was even moved to write an opinion piece provocatively headlined, “Liberals have forgotten patriotism. Now One Nation owns it.”[1] What is …
The portrayal of the entry of Jesus to Jerusalem (Lk 19:28-40) draws deeply on the theology and symbolism of Luke's earlier reference to Mary’s song, known to us as the “Magnificat” (Lk 1:46-55). Of the four Gospels, Luke’s account of the life and teachings of Jesus most clearly demonstrates an emphasis on radical social justice …
Continue reading "Palm Sunday through the lens of the Magnificat"
When first published, Miroslav Volf’s Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (1996) was quickly recognised as a significant work of contemporary political theology and theological ethics. A revised and expanded edition was released in 2019 by Abingdon Press, with a new preface, a 38-page epilogue reflecting on the work 25 years later, …
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