I have been all those but not aware of them all at the same time…. Well, not ALL the letters in the current acronym… But I was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church at (um!) 21 and as for the other…
Back in May 2021 I posted:
Here is what I wrote on Facebook the other day, replying to this comment on the Eureka Street article.
“ScoMo’s theology” ?? Pentecostalism is a fundamentalist form of evangelical authoritarian biblical teaching. No semblance of the complex nuances of Christian theological tradition and philosophy. That this is a cult seems to escape the writer’s attention. History teaches us how dangerous such cults are.
So I began a LONG comment:
Again I don’t entirely agree. But then I was once a fundamentalist myself, a member of the Evangelical Union when at Uni and of ISCF/Scripture Union at school, and at 21 an elder and Sunday School Superintendent at Sutherland Presbyterian Church which at the time — not when I started there in the late 1950s I might add — was so Calvinist/Fundamentalist that it left the Presbyterian Church of NSW and started a splinter Presbyterian Reformed Church partly in reaction to the beginning of the Uniting Church with which I still have some somewhat tenuous connection. By 1967 I was at Cronulla High and at times going to the local Presbyterians, who were much more mainstream than Sutherland had become, but I had by then formally in writing resigned my eldership at Sutherland. It was quite a wrenching decision.
Around that time I also “discovered” pluralism! As for Pentecostals, I first visited what later became ScoMo’s actual church in Sutherland when a friend (who is now a friend here on FB) who later continued with the PRC lot was a guest preacher. I think we both found them friendly but a bit weird and possibly heterodox. I have met several Pentecostals since, including another FB friend, as progressive a voice as you could hope to find, Anthony Venn-Brown. I have cousins too, several regular friends here, who grew up through the Open Plymouth Brethren, who in varying degrees still adhere to the things they learned there. One in particular is very active in a community-based church where he lives and describes his faith as “strong”, but politically he is on most matters very much on the side of what you and I, Paul, would see as the angels — in fact I will name him — Ray Hampton Christison, so you can see what he posts! He is a very interesting man and very bright. All of which explains to some degree the attitude I bring to the question of ScoMo and his religion. And just out of interest: Presbyterian Reformed Church (Australia).
My friend thanked me for that. I hope you do too! I warn you, there is probably more to come.
Enough about me. Consider this remarkable young man whose opinion piece in The Age has attracted much praise: I’m Melbourne Grammar’s school captain and I’m gay. The Presbyterian Church would have me sacked. Note that Melbourne Grammar School is Anglican not Presbyterian.
It is also fair to say that Melbourne Grammar does seem on the progressive side in these matters — “woke” even, God bless them!
Incidentally I will plug my own alma mater, Sydney Boys High, which is not a church school of course. My former workplace too. This from rhe school’s magazine in 2020.
By way of contrast this from Mastodon just now:
Celebrating the proud achievement of proudly anti-woke Ron de Santis!
Journalist and TV personality Hamish Macdonald also in The Age reflected on his experience as a member of the Class of 1998 at Sydney’s Scots College — a school I have visited back in the day with Sydney High debating teams: The first Scots College kid who tried to shame me turned out to be gay himself.
The school’s position – as outlined by Dr Lambert – is a clumsy attempt to bridge the gap between the Presbyterian Church’s desire to discriminate against some students and the obvious reality of gay, bi or trans kids going to its schools. It amounts to a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which can be enormously damaging for any young person coming to terms with their place in the world. The last thing any young person needs when discovering themselves is to be isolated, fearful of seeking help, or worse, ostracised.
When I think back to my time at the school, I wonder what a difference it would have made to know I wasn’t the only one. I attended Scots College as a rural boarder from year 6 at the age of 11, until finishing year 12. I became a school prefect and held various other leadership roles. And I’m gay. It was years after school before I told anyone.
Watch on YouTube This appeared after this post was published.
From Sydney Grammar School 10 years ago: remarkable!
The boy who made this — Kim Ho — has continued developing his talent, being one of the writers of that excellent ABC series The Newsreader in 2021.
See also On the Couch with Kim Ho.
He is singing the gay anthem “I am what I am” in St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh.
St Giles’ Cathedral (also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh) is a 14th century church in the Old Town of Edinburgh.
The cathedral is closely associated with many events and figures in Scottish history, including John Knox, who was the church’s minister after the Scottish Reformation. As a result, the cathedral is often referred to as the ‘Cradle of Presbyterianism.’
Neil's Commonplace Book 