EFAC Australia
Welcome to the EFAC Website
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- Written by: EFAC Aust
Welcome to the EFAC Australia Website!
We are hoping this website will be used to connect members around Australia and keep everyone up to date with what's happening in their state. We have branches in each state plus the ACT and NT, so by clicking on your branch under the tab above, you can find out what is happening in your state. The site will be updated with news and events.
If you have any suggestions for the site please forward them to
In God's Image – A Confession About Human Nature
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- Written by: Michael F. Bird
I’ve long argued that theological anthropology is the # 1 issue that Christians must wrestle with today. Whether we are talking about sexuality, gender identity, transgenderism, transhumanism, artificial intelligence, disability, or even the soul, it is all comes down to “what is a human being?” What follows below is my Beta-Test of some ideas on theological anthropology.
Now, this is spectacularly hard and I might be spectacularly wrong, because some of these issues are very complex, they defy simplistic analyses or resolution, and they involve a combination of biology, psychology, and sociology. Or else, many theologians within the Christian tradition might legitimately dispute the validity or cogency of the various assertions I make below. But these are the issues that we simply must address today in the second quarter of the twenty-first century.
I’m using a format of we confess, we affirm, we deny, and we commit. I hope it reads well - but remember, it is only a first draft!
THE IMAGE OF GOD
We confess that all human beings are created in the image of God, bearing inherent dignity, worth, and value that cannot be diminished or destroyed (Genesis 1:27-28).
We affirm that by God's grace, this image is present in every person from conception to death.
When Memory Fades Memory Remains
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- Written by: Sarah Bull
Imagine, for a moment, what it might feel like if your mind began to slip into confusion and forgetfulness. Imagine the disorientation of not being able to attend Sunday services week by week, to no longer participate in the ministries that once filled your heart with joy, or to miss the regular fellowship of believers who have long been your church family.
Now imagine knowing that others think you are “faithful and solid” in your faith—someone who has walked steadfastly with Christ for decades. They assume you are fine, confident you will endure to the end. But quietly, you begin to doubt. Bible passages you once recalled feel lost. You find it difficult to bring the right words together in prayer. You long for the closeness of God’s Word and His people but feel your capacity slipping away.
This is the reality for many older saints among us. And this is where the beauty and necessity of seniors’ ministry comes into sharp focus.
Authentic Anglicanism
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- Written by: Sydney Anglican Doctrine Commission
A REPORT OF THE SYDNEY DIOCESAN DOCTRINE COMMISSION
‘Anglicanism’ is the label attached to a form of Christian corporate life that traces its theological convictions and ecclesiastical practice to the New Testament, with an especially formative moment of clarification and development at the time of the English Reformation. Its congregations are particular instantiations of the one holy catholic and apostolic church confessed in the ecumenical creeds, yet they share distinctives that mark them out from other communions and denominations. These distinctives could be defined and described in a number of ways, of which two are most common: a phenomenological approach and a theological approach.
A phenomenological approach often begins by drawing attention to the diversity of practice that has emerged over the past 500 years, despite numerous Acts of Uniformity. It then proceeds to infer from this a distinctive ‘ethos’ of Anglicanism that claims for itself apostolicity, catholicity, comprehensiveness, and so on. The advantage of this approach lies in its attention to history and the way canon law has or has not shaped the practices of the church. In other words, it emphasises description. Its disadvantage lies in the way it sidesteps the question of what Anglican respond to the changing context of the church in its ministry and mission.
Global Anglican Update
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- Written by: Stephen Hale
This article is an attempt to capture the current situation in global Anglicanism. It needs to be borne in mind that the current situation is very fluid and between this being written and published another shift could have taken place! The writer is seeking to convey the broad picture and is not offering a commentary on the various developments. All Statements referred to here are to be found on the EFAC Global website.
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
The actions authorised by the General Synod (by the barest of majorities in the houses of clergy and laity) have been deemed to be illegal. As such the provision of standalone services for same sex blessings and any attempt to authorise same sex marriages are on hold. They therefore need to resolve at the next General Synod in February what to do next.
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