'Faith and Community’ bulletin is a survey of recent Australian theological writing on issues of public and social concern.

This bulletin is written by Rev Dr Brian Edgar, Director of Public Policy, Evangelical Alliance

	Faith & Community Issue 8 21-Jun-07 |  FaithAndCommunity8.htm |  59.0 kB In this edition we provide you with summaries of two significant analyses of aspects of faith at work in the Australian context. Ian Barns has written about faith in the public arena and Paul Tyson about contemporary youth spiritualities. Both of these are substantial articles and we provide in this email a summary of them, as well as the opportunity to connect to the EA website to obtain the full text (still for free).
	Faith & Community Issue 7 01-Nov-06 |  FaithAndCommunity7.htm |  95.2 kB Have Christians anything in particular to say about climate change? Yes, there are important theological issues for those who believe God is both creator and redeemer of the world, and there are significant moral issues for those who are among the world’s worst polluters (that’s Australia, unfortunately) especially when the ones who suffer most from climate change tend to be the poorer nations. Consequently, the Evangelical Alliance has produced a statement on climate change (which you can find below) which discusses the biblical and ethical issues involved in this critical issue.
	Faith & Community Issue 6 16-Aug-06 |  FaithAndCommunity6.htm |  66.0 kB Embryos, welfare, the environment, education, human rights, economics and Australian values and character There is something on all of these in this edition of ‘Faith and Community’.
	Faith & Community Issue 5 20-Jun-06 |  FaithAndCommunity5.htm |  120.1 kB The inner, community life of the church is strengthened and enhanced by significant levels of interaction with wider society. A church which is isolated from the events of the world cannot be a living demonstration of God’s love. The teaching ministry of the church must include cultural analysis and theological engagement. The material in Faith and Community will assist in this engagement.
	Faith & Community Issue 4 15-Sep-06 |  FaithAndCommunity4.htm |  59.0 kB Should every congregation be a mini-theological college? Frank Rees (Professor of Systematic Theology at Whitley College, Melbourne) thinks so and shows how biblical and theological thinking can permeate the life of the church. Thanks to the permission of the Evangelical Review of Theology (where the article recently appeared) we have attached a pdf file which contains the complete article. Two very significant articles relating to young people have been produced lately: one on youth spirituality and the other on young people and the (increasingly monetary) meaning of work. If you are working with young people you should obtain both of these. Os Guinness is a well known writer on public issues and he is coming to Australia soon to speak at the Christian Management Australia conference. We cannot provide those addresses but we have provided a link below which will take you to a web-site where you can download a dozen or more of his addresses on other topics. We have also included a summary of the first encyclical of Benedict XVI – ‘God is Love’ and a host of other references to other articles on politics, violence, work, management and public values and more…... In this edition of ‘Faith and Community’ there is another feast of material showing the public relevance of biblical and theological thinking.
	Faith & Community Issue 3 26-Sep-06 |  FaithAndCommunity3.htm |  62.0 kB The community tensions exposed by the Cronulla experience remain even though the worst of the disturbances have ceased. Although newspaper headlines are no longer full of descriptions of riots the issues that have come to the fore are not dealt with quickly or easily. It is important for Christians to continue to reflect on the experience and there is one simple reason for re-affirming multiculturalism: it is an essential part of the gospel. It would now be a good time for pastors to teach, and for churches to reaffirm the value of different cultures. This edition of Faith and Community provides a number of resources for those who wish to think, teach or preach theologically about Australia’s multicultural, multi-religious society.
	Faith & Community Issue 2 26-Sep-06 |  FaithAndCommunity2.htm |  51.7 kB Thank you to those who responded so positively to the first ‘Faith and Community’ digest. It seems that this summary of material is needed. See some of the actual responses here. We will try and keep you abreast of an important range of material which is primarily Australian and which contributes towards a serious theological analysis of contemporary society.
	Faith & Community Issue 1 26-Sep-06 |  Email News 1.htm |  57.3 kB Do you find it difficult to keep up with the latest material on how biblical and theological principles relate to contemporary issues? For instance, Who is most likely to be lonely in Australia? And what does that mean for a church’s ministry? What biblical principles relate to the industrial relations debate and the needs of people in your congregation? What is being written in Australian publications in regard to public theology? How does theology relate to stem cells, secularism, sustainability and citizenship? What theological principles help when people ask whether Intelligent Design should be taught in schools?’ Difficult questions to answer simply? But there is a lot of useful material produced by numerous Christian organisations and individuals. The problem is being aware of what is available. Now help is at hand.