New post: Foreword to Revitalizing Christianity — a personal call from Michael Kirby
With our new site up and running and a book we're keen to promote, we wanted to reshare this post from the archives — a reflection on the foreword Michael Kirby wrote for Revitalizing Christianity: The Theology of Peter Lewis, edited by Shane St Reynolds. It feels just as relevant today.
The foreword, written by the Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG, offers a deeply personal reflection on faith, education, and the urgent need for a progressive Christianity that speaks to our time.
Michael Kirby brings to the fore a lifetime of public service and rigorous moral inquiry. Best known as a jurist and former Justice of the High Court of Australia, Kirby's perspective on religion is shaped by an open, questioning mind and a steadfast commitment to justice. In his foreword he traces how an Anglican upbringing and broad educational experiences informed his belief that faith should be alive to social change and human dignity.
At a moment when many experience doubt or disconnection from organised religion, Kirby urges a progressive approach to Christianity — one that places love, inclusion, and social justice at its heart. He argues that our faith traditions must be allowed to evolve so they can genuinely serve increasingly diverse communities, rather than cling to doctrines that marginalise or exclude.
Kirby also highlights the importance of critical thinking and reasoned conversation within faith communities. For him, churches flourish when they welcome questions, foster dialogue, and allow belief to grow in conversation with contemporary knowledge and ethics. That balance — respect for tradition paired with intellectual honesty — is a key theme of the foreword and of this collection.
More than a simple introduction to Revitalizing Christianity, Kirby's words read as a call to action. He invites readers — whether long-practising believers, those who have drifted away, or curious seekers — to engage with the essays inside and to help shape a Christianity that is both relevant and rooted in compassion.
Revitalizing Christianity offers more than theological reflection: it is an invitation to participate in a movement for an inclusive, progressive faith. With Michael Kirby's foreword setting the tone, this collection promises to stimulate conversation and inspire change. Join us in reading, discussing, and working toward a faith that reflects our highest ideals.
Photo Source: www.unsw.edu.au
