Inaugural ‘Wisdom for the Common Good’ talk by Professor Anthony Maher, ‘The State of the Church: Back to the Future’, with response provided by Q&A’s Stan Grant.
Professor Anthony Maher will present the inaugural ‘Wisdom for the Common Good’ talk on the subject of ‘The State of the Church: Back to the Future’. This talk will be based on academic research, but accessible to the general public, particularly those interested in the state of the Church today and its place in Australian society in the future.
The statistics highlight an increasing rate of decline in Christianity since the 1960s. So is Australia becoming a Godless nation? Was Nietzsche right, have we killed God in Western culture? Are we currently in the midst of the greatest and unnamed ‘schism’ in the history of the Church? Should Australians be concerned and if so why?
Drawing upon a chapter from his forthcoming book with Prof. Stan Grant, ‘Refounding Australia: a theology of liberation’, practical theologian Prof. Anthony Maher will offer a forthright assessment of the health of the Church in the light of issues facing it today. He will further argue for a ‘refounding’ of the Church’s Mission and identity, looking at the past to envision the future. Prof. Stan Grant will respond to the ‘State of the Church’ lecture from the perspective of First Nations spirituality and the Theology of Yindyamarra.
Prof Maher says, ‘The Church of the future requires an unambiguous, contextual and inclusive articulation of Christian love, imagining a Church as expansive as the Australian landscape and as generous as the ‘Statement from the Heart’.
This public lecture is in the inaugural ‘Wisdom for the Common Good’ lectures. ‘Wisdom for the Common Good’ lectures will be held annually, bringing academic research to bear on the issues confronting the Church and Australian society today.
Professor Anthony Maher
Professor Anthony M Maher is the Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity & Culture, the Director of the Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society (CRES). He is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom and a past President of the Association of Practical Theology in Oceania (APTO). Anthony’s research interests encompass ecclesiology, practical theology and the characteristics of Mission within post-secular culture, together with Ignatian spirituality, pedagogy and formation.
About the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
The Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture is a ministry of the Christian churches, guided by the Holy Spirit, walking humbly in the way of Jesus, serving all of God’s people. The Centre pursues ‘wisdom for the common good’ through its four pillars of wisdom through civil society, peace through new religious engagements, resilience in institutional life and ethical leadership, creativity through the arts, science and culture. The Centre has an inclusive national character, expressing and reflecting Christian spirituality and culture, and is committed to atonement and reconciliation with the indigenous peoples of Australia. We are an ecumenical body, that engages in academic research, as part of Charles Sturt University.
