New Faith info/chat/links etc

22 September 2008 by Age, 7 Comments

So I thought as it seem to be a buzz of conversation I would put some links up.

The Article -http://www.theage.com.au/national/new-faith-throws-out-the-ten-commandments-20080915-4h3d.html

the followup article from today http://www.theage.com.au/national/gentle-rebuke-over-ministers-new-faith-20080921-4l0o.html

Uniting Church Statement of Faith:

UCA web page http://victas.uca.org.au/

Following media reports on the views of the Rev. Dr. Francis Macnab, many people will be interested in the policy of the Uniting Church in Australia regarding scriptural authority and Christian belief.

The Acting Moderator of the Uniting Church, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania has written a response to the issue.

The Rev Professor Chris Mostert, Professor of Systematic Theology at the Uniting Church Theological College has provided a theological response, available here.

The Basis of Union is the foundational document for the Uniting Church in Australia. It clearly stipulates the place and value of the scriptures and the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Paragraph?5 of the Basis of Union refers to the Biblical Witness.? Paragraph?3 and Paragraph?4 discuss the person and work of Jesus Christ. Please also refer to Paragraph 11?regarding the Scholarly Interpreters of the scripture.

Basis of Union document

Statement of Pastoral Concern from Moderator

Further to recent comments by Dr. Francis Macnab launching a ‘new faith’, the leader of the Uniting Church of Victoria and Tasmania has released a Pastoral Statement of concern. Please click here to download the statement.

7 Responses to “New Faith info/chat/links etc”

Helen 24 September 2008 at 10:53 pm #

If he doesn’t believe in God what does he believe in???!!!
Age 25 September 2008 at 5:24 pm #

Well if you go by what is reported a presence beyond ourselves and better than ourselves but not an interventionist God.

It seems to be a reduction of God from creator, sustainer, redeemer, hope etc etc to stuff that is good, tender which of course is part of a christian view but I think God is more than we know and not seek to reduce God’sself further – For God to be truly God/ holy other etc God must be more than we comprehend. We are all wrong.

I am wondering…. Following or not following Jesus the nothing special peasant as a minister in the Christian Church for at least 37 years. It begs the question why stay inside the church? Why take the pay and the Church building? If your beliefs are outside the christian church then cool – go be that faith just like everyone else of different faiths. ??? Walk the talk… plenty of people hold and practice similar views but most don’t ask another religion to support them. Seems strange.

Again I don’t know the truth of the reporting…… it has raised good questions and the UCA expects diverse and conflicting views to be in our mix – so we will see. I think the UCA response and links have been good – they look at the theology and seek to care for the people involved.
Dave 26 September 2008 at 6:51 pm #

Oh that one is easy…….You don’t get the prestige of that buliding and the pay when you start your own religon….
redfish 1 October 2008 at 11:47 am #

Check out the youtube address on stmichaels.org.au for the horses mouth…
moore tim 1 October 2008 at 5:42 pm #

“allows for differences of opinion in matters which do not enter
into the substance of the faith” (paragraph 14)

For those of you who share a common opinion of “the substance of faith”, you find other differences easy to cope with. The only problem comes when there are differences of opinion on what constitutes the substance of faith.

This guy obviously thinks the substance is still there. You may disagree. The Basis of Union at least gives you a framework to engage with another opinion, and for the congregation, at least, to accept the minitstry of their pastor.

If the fact of his engagement is cause for you to celebrate, then you’re in the right movement; if not, then perhaps you should be part of a church movement which doesn’t seek to unify, and which is happy to draw a distinction on which ever issue or belief defines you.

This is the both the strength, and the weakness, inherent within the Basis of Union. Take your pick
Age 2 October 2008 at 11:26 am #

Thanks guys. Yep good point Tim.

the horses mouth seems to be pretty normal to me (maybe a bit boring)…. in fact he refers continually to Jesus as the authority of his a rational liberal position – new faith thing. Also he seems to refer to God, life and love as being within and part of all of life and the universe. Then affirms the creeds.

So “substance of the faith” from the horses mouth is not very different – particularly for the UCA. However, what he says does seem very different from what was reported. ie. “Jesus the Jewish peasant who certainly was not God. No God, in the usual sense of an interventionist deity” these do seem to be in “the substance of the faith” realm and would make affirming the creeds tricky.