''Eternity'' is an Australian

Christian media Christian media refers to media that is Christian, or refers to various aspects of Christian demographic. As a genre its conventions originated in sermons, Christian literature, literature, and gospel music, and it has been adapted into Christ ...

service that produces a bi-annual magazine and a daily online publication. Published by

Bible Society Australia 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 deepl ...

, ''Eternity'' is

interdenominational Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

, and is not affiliated with any particular church. After decades as Art Director at

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...

, John Sandeman, a Sydney Anglican, and Christian entrepreneur David Maegraith founded ''Eternity''. Having become part of the Bible Society Australia group in 2011, ''Eternity'' shifted away from news reporting in 2022, under new leadership. The ''Eternity'' magazine is printed bi-annually with a circulation of about 100,000, while ''Eternity'' online publishes articles daily. Th
online format
has seven main content categories: # Australia # Faith stories # Good news # In depth # Opinion # Culture # World

History

In 2009, David Maegraith and John Sandeman discussed a desire to address what they perceived as unfair

mainstream media In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large Mass media, mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Noam Chomsky, Choms ...

coverage of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, as well as disunity within the

Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

. They founded ''Eternity,'' expressing an intention to emphasise high-quality, neutral

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

to benefit a Christian audience in Australia. A first draft of the paper was called ''Australian Christian''. The name was changed by Sandeman shortly after to ''Eternity'', a word notably used by

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

folklore legend

Arthur Stace Arthur Malcolm Stace (9 February 1885 – 30 July 1967), known as Mr Eternity, was an Australian soldier. He was an alcoholic from his teenage years until the early 1930s, when he converted to Christianity and began to spread his message b ...

. In May 2011, ''Eternity'' became part of the

, a broad-based interdenominational organisation that is a member of the worldwide

United Bible Societies The United Bible Societies (UBS) is a global fellowship of around 150 Bible societies operating in more than 240 countries and territories. It has working hubs in England, Singapore and Nairobi. The headquarters are located in Swindon, England. ...

. 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. In February 2024, the Bible Society Australia announced that Eternity News would cease operations on 30 April 2024. Notable contributors to ''Eternity'' included John Dickson, Colin Buchanan
Amy Orr-Ewing

Tim Costello Timothy Ewen Costello (born 4 March 1955) is an Australian Baptist minister who was the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Advocate of World Vision Australia. Costello worked as a lawyer and served as mayor of St Kilda. He has authored a num ...

, Christine Caine
Iona Rossely

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * John Anderson (jazz trumpeter) (1921–1974), American musician * Jon Anderson (John Roy Anderson, born 1944), lead singer of the British band Yes * John Anderson (producer) (1948–2024 ...

Gordon MenziesNick Hawkes
John Swinton
Stephen McAlpine

Kanishka Raffel Kanishka de Silva Raffel (born 6 November 1964) is a British-born Australian Anglican bishop of Sri Lankan descent, who has served as the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney since 28 May 2021. He previously served as the 12th Dean of St Andrew's Cat ...

Broughton Knox David Broughton Knox (26 December 1916 – 14 January 1994) was principal of Moore Theological College from 1959 until 1985; and considered by some as the "Father of Contemporary Sydney Anglicanism". Knox was born in Adelaide and educated at Kn ...

, Mike Bird, John Harris
Sam Chan

Dominic Steele Dominic Steele is an Australian Anglican minister. He is the senior minister of Village Church, Annandale, New South Wales, and works at Christians in the Media. He was formerly a radio journalist and presenter on radio stations 2UE and 2WS. He co ...

, Graham Joseph Hill, and Philip Jensen. Notable organisations which collaborated with ''Eternity'' included

Voice of the Martyrs The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to defend the human rights of persecuted Christians. History The organization was founded in 1967 by Richard Wurmbrand, a Lutheran priest, and Romanian ...

Australia,

Centre for Public Christianity The Centre for Public Christianity (CPX) is an Australian not-for-profit media company that supplies mainstream media and the general public with material about the relevance of Christianity in the 21st century. The Centre has no denominational af ...

, Scots College, Youthworks,

Australian Christian Lobby The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is a Christian-conservative advocacy organisation based in Canberra. Structure The ACL is registered as a public company limited by guarantee and files political expenditure returns with the Australian Ele ...

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The ...

Open Doors Open Doors is a non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians around the world. They work with local partners to distribute Bibles and Christian literature, give discipleship training and provide practical support, such as emer ...

Australia and

In Media

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
(ABC)

In October 2011,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

radio's John Cleary interviewed Sandeman about the publication's first year. 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. 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
"

''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
''

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''. In July 2022, Peter FitzSimons quoted then Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown's comments from an ''Eternity'' article.

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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
.

''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
''

In 2021, ''60 Minutes'' responded to ''Eternitys article,
Hillsong is red meat for media: what 60 minutes is serving up this week
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".

References

{{reflist

External links

Eternity Website

Eternity Podcast Network
Christian magazines Magazines established in 2009 Monthly magazines published in Australia Magazines published in Sydney