Letter to The Editor - Reformulation of the nature and significance of Jesus

To The Australian              Paul Kelly, in discussing the growing national disunity within Australia ("The main parties are divided because we are divided", 24/10), concludes that in public forums "everything is now dressed in moral clothes" and he sees this as "the consequence of the decline of shared religious faith." In that case, the first thing needed for national renewal is the revival of religion. That means more than rising numbers of adherents; it means better, profounder understanding of sacred tradition. Since Christianity is, in the historical context, our main religion, it is Christians most of all who must find a way towards fruitful change. This cannot be achieved by a stubborn clinging to belief in "orthodoxy", whether Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant. It means a reformulation of the nature and significance of Jesus, his life, teaching and death. It means, too, a different critical attitude to the Bible. This revision must result in a theology that is compatible with the other great sacred traditions on the planet. An exclusivist approach, involving insistence on "magisterium", "deposit of faith", creeds or articles simply won't do. The way has been shown by many great minds in the last two centuries, such as P. D. Ouspensky, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Rene Guenon; but too many church leaders and congregations shirk the challenge.
  Nigel Jackson, Belgrave, Vic