I'm a new member of this forum. Very interesting discussion. The UCA is compared to the Rc's only beginning its teenage years, and formed through the joining together of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches. And yes it does seem to involve itself in a lot of social justice issues and try to explore the hard questions facing believers and non believers.
The basis of union sets out for all people in the UCA the beliefs, expectations, etc. When this was written it didn't happen overnight, but it is a wonderful basis for us UCA people to work from. Just some info. for you
My question to you all is if the story of Jesus and God and all it entails was to but it bluntly just that a story, a load of rubbish why has it not disappeared into the ? you can believe or not, the choice is yours. For those that believe it helps them through out their life, is that so bad? who can say which party is right?

I wonder if you understand the concept of right-and-wrong and the consequences of either bushbasher? I wonder if you consider paedophilia to be a perversion? Is it immoral or not in your eyes?
Luckily I don't lose any sleep over your opinions o2...rofl. Your hypocrisy is astounding, you accuse me of meddling when you've completely lost all reason for posting on this thread (as usual), other than to berate Catholics and your view of their Bible studies, curious? Sounds like a tad judgemental and obsessed to me, not a lot of democracy in your posts, either. Apparently freedom-of-speech is ok for anyone who uses that 'freedom' to attack Catholicism, but God forbid that anyone has an opinion contrary to your own...
I would suggest that we ALL choose how we act and live daily, if you don't, then I'd suggest some self-discipline wouldn't go astray. Some people have tendencies to violence, feeding those tendencies by watching violence and bullying others, use of alcohol/drugs to dull down a sense of right and wrong or a sense of responsibility, will ensure that tendency to violence will grow and someone will be harmed. Does that exonerate the person with those tendencies? No more than someone who feeds their mind with other perverse behaviours through various media, etc.and then wonders why those perversions consume their lives.
I still have a free will, I can choose right from wrong and I accept that in order for society to function successfully for all to thrive and be safe, we need to abide by rules to stop those perversions from getting the better of some who will use others for their own unsavoury purposes.
Interesting hypocrisy that you consider I am casting the first stone by arguing Catholics should be allowed to believe in God and live according to their own 'rules' and should not have their property usurped any more than a group of agnostics should be forced to prostrate themselves before Budda and have their property hijacked. I guess you'd have the police in quick smart, if you were robbed...
(tbc...)

(Cont...)
Your lack of logical argument and your transparent bigotry are aptly named...o2.
Don't judge others and presume all are as 'angry' at life as you are, nor as 'rattled' or have taken 'offense'...you are so far off the mark, rofl.
Your 'lost sheep' lost any credibility for your argument with their comments to media regarding their reasons for being at St Mary's and none related to anything vaguely resembling faith or belief...if you'd taken a similar round of interviews at the MardiGras the results would have been much the same...Pope bashing, Catholic bashing, bigotry and lack of taste or regard for others...apparently it's ok when it's directed at Catholics but not when they speak out and point out the hypocrisy.
I wonder how quickly you would trot out the 'bible-bashing' lable if I quoted you chapter and verse from the bible? More hypocrisy? You need to recognise that you bury your own credibility when you can't even see you're doing just what you are accusing others of...and you fail to accept the most basic equity for others.
Unlike you, I accept my humanity but I work towards improvement daily...and I try to keep the rules because I see the consequences for society on a daily basis, as a direct result of those who choose not to do so...

meg1:

>>I wonder if you understand the concept of right-and-wrong and the consequences of either bushbasher?

yes, meg1, it may surprise you, but i do have some concept of right and wrong. in particular, i think it is valuable to think about WHY things are right and wrong. do you? or do you prefer to take things on authority?

>> I wonder if you consider paedophilia to be a perversion? Is it immoral or not in your eyes?

i can answer these (yes, and yes), but what do the answers matter? homosexuality between consenting adults has absolutely nothing to do with pedophilia, just as heterosexuality between consenting adults has nothing to do with pedophilia.

you have given no argument for WHY homosexuality is morally wrong. you have given no evidence that jesus gave a fart about homosexuality. you write a lot: you say very little.

Oh Meg, that reply was embarassing.

All I did was call you to answer some simple questions based on the bible that you would stand up and say you follow. You answered zip!

Pedophilia is a disgusting perversion and a crime Meg, AND, not once in your long-winded defense, did you ask your Church and religion to put the priests and clergy suspected or known to have done such terrible crimes, into the hands of the police. WHY?

ALL churches and organisations SHOULD report ALL crimes to the POLICE!

I will state it again ... I'm not anti-Catholic whatsoever! Meg as a Christian "Do not bear false witness" Exodus 20:16

You allegedly follow the bible and all I'm doing is assessing your comments in relation to your bible. Have I misrepresented the bible?

You have not put one cogent defense from Jesus' teachings in any of your answers. Why?

I find many homosexuals over the top. To be honest, they sometimes annoy me, but, I also object to heterosexuals who are over the top. It is not someone's sexuality that annoys me it is their over-the-top behaviour!

Dr Elizabeth Stuart, a former convener of the Catholic Caucus of the Lesbian and Gay Christian movement allegedly claimed "It has been estimated that at least 33 per cent of all priests in the RC Church in the United States are homosexual."

Some other estimates suggest it is more like 4-5%. What do you say about this Meg?

What do you say about this article Meg?

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,25083343-3102,00.html

I thought the Catholic Church had a strong position against homosexuality? Not one Catholic has commented on this article! Why?

Maybe you should go back to Jesus' life on Earth and see what he said and the way he questioned people. I never call people "Bible-Bashers" or any other names for that matter! You chose rent-a-crowd Ms hypocrisy! Why such a hard heart?

I accept equity for others - you just can't answer my simple questions! I answer yours..but then I am not in conflict with my belief system, you are in conflict with the Bible!

One thing I will say in response to the article is that victims of sexual abuse also have a responsibility to go to the police. If I am ever assaulted, sexually or otherwise, I will be much more likely to go to the police than to the employer of the offender.

Don't get me wrong - I certainly think that, when the Church was informed of the incidents, they should have taken more decisive action. In the case of sexual abuse of a minor, the Church has a duty of care to report these things to the police. I'm not sure what the Church's responsibility is when the victim is an adult, but even without police action, disciplinary action should have been taken against the offender. Such action should include excommunication or sacking - after all, the priest is not following the teachings of the Church and is abusing his position within the Church to achieve immoral and unlawful objectives.

Does this mean that we should turn our backs on Catholicism? If so, then one could reasonably that each acknowledged but unpunished crime or misdemeanour in Australia's history should make us turn our backs on Australia. Children overboard? Stolen generations? In both cases, the principles of the organisation are sound - it is the flawed nature of its human members that lets the team down.