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PCForum 2nd April

Published on by maureenshirley

Jesus did not conquer death: reassessing the agency of the resurrection

Join us at 7pm on Thursday 2 April at the Effective Living Centre, 26 King William Road Wayville, or via live stream, for Progressive Christianity Forum. Our guest speaker will be Rev Prof Bart Bruehler.

The image of Jesus defeating the powers of sin, death, and the devil has been a recurring theme in the Christian church’s portrayal of salvation. Recent liturgy and worship have focused strongly on Jesus conquering death in the resurrection—that Jesus arose in his divine power and defeated the power of death. Such a view forms a problematic basis for the Christian life and fuels movements like Christian nationalism, which seeks to exercise political and cultural power to achieve spiritual and ethical ends. However, this idea of Jesus conquering death does not reflect the consistent testimony of the New Testament that it was God (the Father) who raised Jesus from the dead. Reassessing the agency of the resurrection can transform the way we approach discipleship, ethics, and politics from a Christian perspective.

Bart B. Bruehler is the Director of Biblical Studies at the Uniting College for Leadership and Theology. He and his family moved to Adelaide from America where he worked with schools and churches in the Wesleyan tradition. He is the author of A Public and Political Christ and Holding Hands with Pascal as well as several academic articles. His research interests include sociorhetorical interpretation, spatiality in biblical narrative, and affect/emotion in rhetoric. He is married to Anne, and they have three children. They love it when he bakes bread and listen nicely when he plays his trombone. 
 

General admission $15, Concession $12, Live stream $5, or take out a full year subscription for $90.  See our full year program here.

PCForum March 5th

Published on by maureenshirley

Progressive Christianity Forum presents an interactive facilitated panel discussion with Marion Millin and Michael Dowling, chaired by Maureen Howland.

“People with a more progressive outlook tend to see the need for the tradition to keep evolving in response to changes in the world. I would describe progressive Christians as generally being people who are open to new ideas, who are adventurous and exploratory in their thinking. In many cases they are disillusioned with the more traditional, orthodox forms of church, whose doctrines, in many cases, they no longer find convincing and helpful. They tend to be people who are looking for a way of being Christian that fits with their 21st-century worldview.”
The late John Pfitzner
PCNet Progressive Groups Network Day, Effective Living Centre, Saturday 12 November 2011

Marion Millin and Michael Dowling are two people who fit John’s description – two people for whom the journey to Progressive Christianity has been both challenging and fulfilling.

“Someone remarked recently how our older generation had been through one of the greatest changes ever in human existence – I can look back and see how my own spiritual journey has progressed within it to now being on what I call the left wing branch of the vine! But it has also left me wondering how and in what form Christianity will continue into the future.“ Marion Millin

“On my very non-linear journey into ministry, I discovered within myself a passion to make sense of this life that we live! I developed an almost insatiable curiosity about the intersection between our lived human experience; the workings of the natural world of which we humans form an integral part; the ever-changing scientific understanding of the same; and our understanding of and faith in the God who loves us.” Michael Dowling

General admission $15, concession $12, live stream $5. Or you can take out a full year subscription for $90. Please see the full year’s program here.
Please book online here.

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New book review

Published on by maureenshirley

Neil Theise, Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness and Being, Spiegel & Grau, 2023, 205pp.
I wish I had read this marvellous book before I reviewed Matt Strassler’s 2024 Waves in an Impossible Sea: How Everyday Life Emerges from the Cosmic Ocean which was brilliant but rather hard going for a non-physicist and Neil Theise’s book would have helped. Theise is a longstanding Professor of (diagnostic) Pathology at New York University, an acclaimed stem cell researcher, and moved on from early Judaic studies to become a Zen Buddhist. His book explains complexity theory and demonstrates its pervasiveness throughout the universe in contexts from vast cosmology described by relativity theory to the minute scale of quantum theory, from atoms, molecules and cells to living creatures including human consciousness and mathematics, meditation and mystical religion. While exploring the hard problem of consciousness, Theise found that “complexity turned out to be a science of being”.

Kym Bills February 2026

See full review on Book Reviews page

PCForum February 5th 2026

Published on by maureenshirley

Join us at 7pm on Thursday 5 February  at the Effective Living Centre, 26 King William Road Wayville, or via live stream, for the first Progressive Christianity Forum for 2026.
 

The Future of Progressive Christianity: Generation Y, Z and Onwards 

Emilia Haskey and Ella Anderson, two young adult Christians who grew up in very different denominations will discuss their journey to discovering progressive theology, and the future of progressive Christian faith communities. This panel discussion will be open to questions and commentary from the audience to enable a thorough conversation around the future of progressive Christianity.

Emelia is a 25 year old candidate for ordination as a Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church in Australia. She currently serves as the Youth Worker at Brougham Place Uniting Church, and has recently started as the Pastor of Unley Uniting Church in a part time capacity. Emelia has completed a Bachelor of Media (Journalism Major) and is in the process of completing a Bachelor of Ministry at Uniting College for Leadership and Theology. 

Ella is a 22-year-old Events Technician who attends the ACC Church Futures Church Paradise, previously known as Influencers or Paradise AOG. She volunteers as a technician and youth leader across Fridays, Sundays, and most major events, recently becoming head of the youth tech team. While looking for the 2025 Uniting Church rainbow service, Ella found the Anglican rainbow service. Connecting over good food and coffee afterwards, Ella got herself on the Anglican Rainbow Network mailing list and found friendships with the other members.

General admission $15, Concession $12, Live stream $5, or take out a full year subscription for $90.