Editor | Rebecca Abbott |
---|---|
Country | Australia |
Website | eternitynews.com.au |
ISSN | 1837-8447 |
Eternity is an Australian Christian media service that produces a bi-annual magazine and a daily online publication. Published by Bible Society Australia, Eternity is interdenominational, and is not affiliated with any particular church.
After decades as Art Director at Fairfax Media, John Sandeman, a Sydney Anglican, and Christian entrepreneur David Maegraith [1] founded Eternity. [2] Having become part of the Bible Society Australia group in 2011, Eternity shifted away from news reporting in 2022, under new leadership. [3]
The Eternity magazine is printed bi-annually with a circulation of about 100,000, while Eternity online publishes articles daily. [1]
The online format has seven main content categories:
In 2009, David Maegraith and John Sandeman discussed a desire to address what they perceived as unfair mainstream media coverage of Christianity, as well as disunity within the Christian church. [1] They founded Eternity, expressing an intention to emphasise high-quality, neutral journalism to benefit a Christian audience in Australia. [2] A first draft of the paper was called Australian Christian. [3] The name was changed by Sandeman shortly after to Eternity, a word notably used by Sydney folklore legend Arthur Stace.
In May 2011, Eternity became part of the Bible Society Australia, a broad-based interdenominational organisation that is a member of the worldwide United Bible Societies. [3] Sandeman subsequently moved from owning Eternity to being an employee of the Bible Society Australia, with Rebecca Abbott becoming Head of Eternity in August 2022. This change was part of a broader shift in focus away from news reporting and towards faith-based media. [3]
In February 2024, the Bible Society Australia announced that Eternity News would cease operations on 30 April 2024. [4]
Notable contributors to Eternity included John Dickson, Colin Buchanan, Amy Orr-Ewing, Tim Costello, Christine Caine, Iona Rossely, John Anderson, Gordon Menzies, Nick Hawkes, John Swinton, Stephen McAlpine, Kanishka Raffel, Broughton Knox, Mike Bird, John Harris, Sam Chan, Dominic Steele, Graham Joseph Hill, [5] and Philip Jensen.
Notable organisations which collaborated with Eternity included Bible Society Australia, Voice of the Martyrs Australia, Centre for Public Christianity, Scots College, Youthworks, Australian Christian Lobby, British and Foreign Bible Society, Open Doors Australia and United Bible Societies.
In October 2011, ABC radio's John Cleary interviewed Sandeman about the publication's first year. [6]
In Julia Baird's 2017 article, "Christian conference attendees walk out after speakers suggest women should grow their hair long, defer to men at work" for the ABC, she referenced Anne Lim's Eternity article "When cutting your hair can be an ungodly act" which reported on a controversial meeting at a Christian women's conference. [7]
In a 2019 article entitled "When you don’t know that you don’t know: Academic misrepresentation of Australian Pentecostalism" author Mark Jennings references John Harrison's Eternity article "Why the media targets Pentecostals." [8]
In May 2018, Michael Kozial quoted Sydney law professor Patrick Parkinson's comments from an Eternity article "Religious Freedom Push Revs Up: Expectations set about Canberra response while Christian Democrats submit bill in NSW", in an article for The Sydney Morning Herald. [9]
In July 2022, Peter FitzSimons quoted then Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown's comments from an Eternity article. [10]
In 2019, in an article entitled "Scott Morrison calls for ‘more love’ as he prays for Australia at Hillsong conference", Katharine Murphy referenced an Eternity article entitled "Scott Morrison prays for Australia at Hillsong Conference". [11]
In 2021, 60 Minutes responded to Eternity's article, "Hillsong is red meat for media: what 60 minutes is serving up this week" [12] which described the actions of a Hillsong employee as a "story of a drunken encounter and an unpleasant touch". 60 Minutes responded, "If you want to know what's wrong with Hillsong, you need only look at the completely tone-deaf way the megachurch and its supporters have responded to our investigation broadcast on Sunday night". [13]
The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) was a Christian democratic political party in Australia, founded in 1977, under the name Call to Australia Party, by a group of Christian ministers in New South Wales. One of the co-founders, Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister, ran as their upper house candidate in the NSW State election. The Christian Democratic Party's platform espoused social conservatism. It changed its name in 1998.
William Francis "Frank" Houston was a Pentecostal Christian pastor in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand and Australia. Frank Houston founded Sydney Christian Life Centre, which would eventually come under the leadership of his son Pastor Brian Houston before merging into Hillsong Church. In the last years of his life, Frank Houston faced multiple allegations of child sexual abuse.
Alexander George Hawke is an Australian politician who served as Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs from 2020 to 2022 in the Morrison government. Hawke has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mitchell since 2007, representing the Liberal Party.
Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centre by Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie Houston, in 1983. Hillsong was a member of the Australian Christian Churches – the Australian branch of the US-based Assemblies of God – until 2018, when it separated to form a new denomination. The church is known for its contemporary worship music, with groups such as Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United and Hillsong Young & Free with many musical credits and hits and a series of scandals and criticisms.
Hillsong Conference is a mid-year week-long annual Christian conference hosted in Sydney, Australia, with a smaller three-day event held in London later each year. It is the largest annual conference in Australia of any kind. The event is hosted by Hillsong Church at the Qudos Bank Arena and surrounding Olympic Park precinct.
TBN Inspire is an American Christian broadcast television network owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). It is carried on the digital subchannels of TBN's stations.
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is a conservative right-wing Christian advocacy organisation based in Canberra.
The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
Bible Society Australia is an Australian non-profit, non-denominational, Christian organisation. It is part of a worldwide network of Bible Societies. Bible Society Australia maintains that the Bible is a significant historic text which has deeply influenced society and culture and is still relevant today. The organisation is involved in translating, publishing, and distributing the Christian Bible, from print, to audio, to digital versions. Bible Society Australia is also involved in Bible advocacy, the publication of Bible reading materials, and the provision of literacy support, both in Australia and overseas.
Tanya Levin is an Australian social worker and writer. A former Hillsong Church member, she has described herself as a feminist and an atheist since at least 2010.
Hillsong Ukraine, also known as Hillsong Church Kyiv is an offshoot of Hillsong Church from Sydney, Australia, based in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Inspire Church, founded as Liverpool Christian Life Centre, is a Pentecostal Christian church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches, the Assemblies of God in Australia. It is located in Hoxton Park, in the City of Liverpool, in the Greater Western Sydney region, Australia.
Christian Life Centre is or was a name given to a number of Pentecostal churches in Australia, many of them affiliated with the Australian Christian Churches network. Hills Christian Life Centre, which has since changed its name to Hillsong Church, was one of these, and spawned other churches in Australia and around the globe.
Scott John Morrison is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales seat of Cook from 2007 until 2024. On 23 January 2024, he announced his departure from politics, and resigned on 28 February 2024.
Brian Charles Houston is a New Zealand-Australian former pastor and evangelist. He was the founder and senior pastor at Hillsong Church, based in Sydney with locations around the world. He was the national president of Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God, from 1997 to 2009.
James John Arundel Wallace, AM is a retired Australian Army officer and a current lobbyist on social issues. Wallace was the managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby from 2000 to 2013. He is now the Chairman of that organisation.
Lyle Shelton is an Australian conservative political activist. He served as managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) from 2013 to 2018. He was one of the leaders of the "No" campaign in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. In 2018, he resigned from the ACL to become federal communications director of the Australian Conservatives political party. Shelton has been employed by Oodgeroo MP Mark Robinson since at least August 2019. In April 2021, Fred Nile announced he would retire in November 2021, nominating Shelton to replace him for the balance of his term ending in March 2023. This endorsement was withdrawn in September 2021, with Nile deciding to serve the remainder of his parliamentary term. On 27 May 2022, Family First National Chairman Tom Kenyon announced that Shelton had been appointed as the National Director of the party.
Pentecostalism in Australia is a large and growing Christian movement. Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It emerged from 19th century precursors between 1870 and 1910, taking denominational form from c. 1927. From the early 1930s, Pentecostal denominations multiplied, and there are now several dozen, the largest of which relate to one another through conferences and organisations such as the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship. The Australian Christian Churches, formerly known as the Australian Assemblies of God, is the oldest and longest lasting Pentecostal organisation in Australia. The AOG/ACC is also the largest Pentecostal organisation in Australia with over 300,000 members in 2018. Until 2018, Hillsong Church was one of 10 megachurches in Australia associated with the ACC that have at least 2,000 members weekly. According to the church, over 100,000 people attend services each week at the church or one of its 80 affiliated churches located worldwide.
Denise A. Austin is an Australian Pentecostal historian, particularly focused on Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Gregory James Clarke is an Australian writer, academic and CEO. Since 2023 he has been the CEO of The Leprosy Mission Australia. Previously he has held roles leading research centres at University of New South Wales and Macquarie University and faith based media companies, such as CPX before moving to the leadership role at Bible Society Australia. A research academic in English literature, Clarke is a frequent newspaper contributor and the author of several books, largely on the intersection between faith and culture.