A recent Vatican commission report on women’s ordination as deacons was inconclusive. But allowing women priests would help the Catholic Church achieve much-needed reform.
In the Bible, heaven is where God resides, rather than a place of eternal life. But over time it has become conflated with ideas of paradise and eternal salvation.
“Hell” in the Bible is a highly symbolic idea designed to persuade people to stay faithful to their God, not to set out a precise agenda for the afterlife.
The Catholic Church has previously expelled perpetrators of child sexual abuse from the priesthood following internal investigations – known as canonical trials.
The Uniting Church has been grappling with questions of faith and sexuality for decades - and its openness has led to relatively smooth changes to doctrine and practice.
In response to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia, conservative clergy have hardened their stance against it, causing even more pain for same-sex Christian couples.
Some Australian Christians claim to be persecuted – this is not only wrong, it is an insult to thousands around the world who are at risk because of their religion.
As the Ruddock review of religious freedom is about to report, we need a more sophisticated understanding of what religion is and the ways its expression can be curtailed - or can curtail others.
A new book explores the complex and nuanced place the Bible has held in Australian culture since hundreds of copies arrived with the First Fleet in 1787.
For centuries, Mary Magdalene was wrongly depicted as a repentant whore, diminishing her vital role as witness to the resurrection. A new film portraying her life does much to restore her character.
It is time for fundamentalist Christians to examine their own theology and face up to how it has contributed to the abuse of women, intentionally or otherwise.
Trust Me, I’m An Expert: Episode 1
The Conversation, CC BY-ND81.9 MB(download)
In this episode of Trust Me I'm An Expert, we're wading into the same-sex marriage debate with experts on the Bible and the law, and fact-checking claims that kids do best with a mother and a father.
Even if secular law changes to allow same-sex couples to marry, churches are protected by religious freedom to choose who they will - or will not - marry.
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity