Christianity is, among many other things, not just interesting, but and existentially gripping. Join us for an 8-week course, split into two halves, where we read some chapters of Migliore’s classic Faith Seeking Understanding as we seek to get to get to grips together with not only what some core Christian teachings are, but why they are significant for grappling with the challenges of life in 21st Century Melbourne.

Sunday afternoons in August and October, 4pm-5:30 (probably)

1.  What is theology -2/8

The name of Migliore’s book is “Faith seeking understanding”, which is an old definition of theology. But what does it mean to think theologically? Is the idea of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral useful to us? Why would anyone bother anyway?

2.  The Nature and Authority of Scripture - 9/8

I’m often struck by the thought of how odd it must be for someone who doesn’t know anything about church to come to our services. Week one - we spend the evening talking about a few sentences out of an ancient book. That’s interesting enough, in its way. Then, the following week, the next few sentences. And so on. Why this book, and not the Bhagavad Gita, or the Koran, or some book of contemporary wisdom?

3.  Christology - 16/8

Who is this Jesus person anyway? What’s the big deal?

4.  The Trinity - 23/8

The most ridiculous Christian doctrine, symbolic of all that is repressive, regressive, and anti-intellectual about the church? Or does it have something profound to say to us today?

5.  God’s Providence and Evil 30/8

A traditional objection to Christianity is that, given the suffering of the world, it must mean that God is either not all powerful, or all good, or neither of the above. What do we make of this powerful question?

6.  Humanity and Sin 11/10

Is there a more unfashionable word in the whole Christian vocabulary than “sin”? Can it have any useful meaning beyond chocolate cake or lingerie?

7.  Salvation 18/10

Another ancient term which might seem to need updating into the contemporary world. Does it help to know that the roots of the word have something to do with health?

8.  The Church 25/10

Why does becoming a Christian mean having to have dinner together with the same group of people every Tuesday night for the rest of your life? Unless you opt for the Sunday morning variant - and then there isn’t even dinner. What on earth is the point of church?