Institutional Captivity

Phil, any examples? Well, I think immediately of the YMCA and the YWCA.

Like you say, they do lots of good things, but the kind of evangelism that was there that gave rise to the why and their continuation as well.

Founded by an evangelical Christian.

Yes.

Yes.

I mean, the idea of creating basketball was so as to evangelize young men in winter in North America and, where they needed an indoor, but it was evangelism that took place.

Now, there's other things.

There's schools.

There's the Benevolent Society.

There's the Australian Mutual Providence Society.

It has a Christian foundation to it.

Then there's denominations.

The Uniting Church of Australia, excuse me saying this to those who are still members of it and faithful to the Lord Jesus, the Congregationalism, of Cromwell, the Presbyterianism of Calvinism, the Wesleyan Methodists, none of them would recognize the Uniting Church of Australia.

It just is preaching completely different doctrines than the three denominations that gave rise to the Uniting Church.

And sometimes it's really secular institutions, Peter, Sydney University, of which we're graduates, actually.

We read that the original University of Sydney Act in 1850 stated explicit goal of better advancement of religion and morality.

while at the same time prohibiting any religious tests for students or staff because of denominationalism.

But with all due respects to those who now teach and educate and research at the University of Sydney, my experience is they are not in any way better advancement of religion and morality.

That is just not part of their core business anymore.

But in 1850, that's what it was set up for.

Yes, and we might come back to this business about any religious tests and so forth as one of the factors, but more of that in due course.

Yes, it was one of them.

Yeah, the sense of rivalry between denominations.

Let's come back to that.

Sure.

Phil, any examples? Well, I think immediately of the YMCA and the YWCA.

Like you say, they do lots of good things, but the kind of evangelism that was there that gave rise to the why and their continuation as well.

Founded by an evangelical Christian.

Yes.

Yes.

I mean, the idea of creating basketball was so as to evangelize young men in winter in North America and, where they needed an indoor, but it was evangelism that took place.

Now, there's other things.

There's schools.

There's the Benevolent Society.

There's the Australian Mutual Providence Society.

It has a Christian foundation to it.

Then there's denominations.

The Uniting Church of Australia, excuse me saying this to those who are still members of it and faithful to the Lord Jesus, the Congregationalism, of Cromwell, the Presbyterianism of Calvinism, the Wesleyan Methodists, none of them would recognize the Uniting Church of Australia.

It just is preaching completely different doctrines than the three denominations that gave rise to the Uniting Church.

And sometimes it's really secular institutions, Peter, Sydney University, of which we're graduates, actually.

We read that the original University of Sydney Act in 1850 stated explicit goal of better advancement of religion and morality.

while at the same time prohibiting any religious tests for students or staff because of denominationalism.

But with all due respects to those who now teach and educate and research at the University of Sydney, my experience is they are not in any way better advancement of religion and morality.

That is just not part of their core business anymore.

But in 1850, that's what it was set up for.

Yes, and we might come back to this business about any religious tests and so forth as one of the factors, but more of that in due course.

Yes, it was one of them.

Yeah, the sense of rivalry between denominations.

Let's come back to that.

Sure.