Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity最新文献

{"title":"Home and Away: Contextual Theology and Local Practice","authors":"Darren Cronshaw","doi":"10.1177/1030570X15613359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X15613359","url":null,"abstract":"One of the most welcome realizations in theological reflection over recent decades is that theology, at its best, is locally constructed, contextualized, culturally appropriate to local contexts, from below, or especially for our geography ‘down under’. Multi-volume systematic theology written for anyone and everywhere are not as useful, relevant or faithful as theology that is developed out of and in response to local issues and concerns. Theology appropriately gives serious attention to God’s revelation in Scripture and tradition, but also to the place of experience and culture where we find ourselves. One marker of most people’s local context is their postcode – where their place is. Home and Away offers 10 chapters that explore life and theological reflection that starts with a local postcode area – some exploring the postcode of a local area in an attempt to exegete its rhythms and ethos, and some looking at broader and global issues through the lens of or challenging ‘postcode theology’. The authors represent different denominations and continents, although the two editors, Stephen Burns and Clive Pearsons, theologians at Charles Sturt University, have a particular interest in Australia and seven of the chapters engage mainly with Australian postcodes, and all but one of those are Sydney. Clive Pearson’s introductory chapter invites readers to move beyond nostalgia in reflecting on local culture and really ask ‘Who is Jesus for us today?’ As Pearson urges, our challenge is to ask this question of Bonhoeffer’s for our people in this time of history, and in the local placed context where we are sent. Borrowing from politician Wayne Swan’s analysis of postcode disparities, Pearson introduces how theology will benefit from bearing the local postmarks and addressing the public issues of our context. As an example, one of my favourite chapters, admittedly reflecting its postcode proximity to me, is Simon Holt’s ‘Postal Code 3000: Imaging Sacred Space’. As the Senior Minister of Collins Street Baptist Church, Holt asks what role the church can play in the contested space of Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD)","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"27 1","pages":"94 - 95"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82489745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sacred and secular in Australian social services 1","authors":"Paul Oslington","doi":"10.1177/1030570X15619782","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X15619782","url":null,"abstract":"Church-related not-for-profit organizations deliver approximately half of social services in Australia through contracting arrangements with governments. The religious dimensions have attracted remarkably little attention, but along with religious schooling and hospitals, social services are at the front line of the sacred–secular interactions in Australia. This will become even more so with the advent of the National Disability Scheme. In contemporary social services contracting we have a peculiarly Australian religious settlement where government draws on the benign and useful elements of religion while bypassing difficult and potentially dangerous theological and interdenominational disputes. However, the government, in some cases with the acquiescence of religious social service providers, is attempting to go beyond this to detach service delivery from the theological ideas, and the personal and communal practices, which sustain it. The combination of shortcomings of the economic incentive design of the contacting arrangements and lack of appreciation of the religious dimensions of the organizations involved are currently leading to erosion of quality of client service, inflexibility, transfer of risk, staffing problems, gender imbalances, and lack of innovation in the sector. There are also important religious threats to the Australian settlement. Better understanding of the religious dimensions would help ensure the efficiency and sustainability of high-quality social services in Australia, to the benefit of the mission of the churches, the government, and many vulnerable people served by the agencies.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"11 1","pages":"79 - 93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83502563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Eternity and dust? Cancer and the creative God","authors":"T. Meadowcroft","doi":"10.1177/1030570X15573684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X15573684","url":null,"abstract":"According to the preacher, God has ‘put a sense of past and future into [our] minds, yet [we] cannot find out what God has done from the beginning and the end’ (Eccl 3:11 NRSV). As human beings we occupy the ground between our time-bound limitations and our God-imaging sense of eternity. And according to the Isaiah scroll, God ‘make[s] weal and create[s] woe’ (Isa 45:7 NRSV). There is a shadow side to the creative process of which modern science is making us increasingly aware. This article suggests that the phenomenon of cancer may be understood in the context of this risky creative process, and that as creatures of dust human beings are caught up in the riskiness of creation. This piece of speculative theology then considers the question, ‘What is God doing when cancer strikes?’ in the light of a God who, while creating, resists the suffering released by God’s own creative process.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"6 1","pages":"294 - 314"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86576597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Responding to the Moral Theology Inheritance of Benedict XVI in the Era of Francis I","authors":"P. McGavin","doi":"10.1177/1030570X14558359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X14558359","url":null,"abstract":"The perceptions of the moral theology of Joseph Ratzinger generally focus on his work as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, involving his directing the The Catechism of the Catholic Church project, and his upholding the teachings of John Paul II. Viewed thus, his position seems dichotomous with positions designated as ‘proportionalist’ or ‘consequentialist’. This article does not offer an appreciation or a critique of these opposing positions. Rather, drawing upon works published under Ratzinger’s own name across the span of his life as scholar, bishop, prefect and pope, offers a portrayal his manner of reasoning in moral theology, and the principles espoused for dialogue and discovery within the Catholic tradition. The article also observes congruencies between the moral theology of Ratzinger and of Bergoglio as seen in Evangelii gaudium.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"43 1","pages":"271 - 293"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75926427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"‘What have the Romans ever done for us?’ Postcolonialism, mimicry and hidden transcripts in the book of Revelation","authors":"U-Wen Low","doi":"10.1177/1030570X14558408","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X14558408","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines and discusses Stephen D. Moore’s suggestion that that the use of imperial themes and motifs in Revelation create a self-perpetuating cycle that lead to one imperial power being replaced by another. This article presents an alternative reading of the book of Revelation: first, acknowledging as significant the text’s status as apocalyptic literature, written as a device of inspiration and subversion against reigning powers. Such literature is shown to deliberately employ imperial themes and motifs in order to subvert imperial rule; it serves as fantasy, exposing the ‘hidden structures of false power’ and suggesting an alternative. This leads to a reading of the text using Scott’s theories of hidden transcripts. As a hidden transcript, the text serves as an anti-authoritarian device that reflects popular feelings toward an oppressor through symbolism and codes. It represents a community’s secret longing for a day of victory over their oppressors; ultimately, the inversions and mimicry of the text serve to equalize and level class structures rather than reverse them. In order to facilitate a reading that truly represents this and allows the text to speak for itself, the article suggests an understanding of the book of Revelation as a dramatic work grounded in the performance art of the Roman Empire. It engages as an example Revelation 5 in the manner of a recitatio of the early empire, highlighting the discontinuity between what is seen and heard, before further exploring the ramifications of such a reading. Though in its early stages, such a reading of Revelation returns an ambiguity and depth to the text that certain postcolonial methods are lacking, whilst acknowledging its impact as a complex literary work that seeks not to provide answers, but rather a vision of hope that stands as an alternative to the forces of empire surrounding it.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"72 1","pages":"253 - 270"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85121092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The metaphysical, epistemological, and theological background to Aquinas’ theory of education in the De Magistro 1","authors":"T. Mooney, M. Nowacki","doi":"10.1177/1030570X15573885","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X15573885","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores the relation between Aquinas’ metaphysical, epistemological and theological ideas and his theory of education as presented in the De Magistro and other writings. Aquinas’ theory of education is based on a theological metaphysics of human nature and an account of human rationality that is grounded in human nature. In the first section after the introduction we provide a synopsis of Aquinas’ metaphysical narrative, but in a contemporary key that draws upon the resources of Analytical Thomism. However, this theologically inspired metaphysics leads to a somewhat neglected epistemology that is crucial to his understanding of teaching and learning in the De Magistro – the notion of connatural knowledge that we explore in the second section. Our exposition of the Thomistic ontology of the human person together with the notion of connatural knowledge, provide the context for understanding the De Magistro in the third section.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"195 1","pages":"315 - 338"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75531410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Jesus shed tears in frustration: The contribution of dakryō and klaiō to the interpretation of John 11:35 1","authors":"Joan Salazar Infante","doi":"10.1177/1030570X15573685","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X15573685","url":null,"abstract":"The shedding of tears of Jesus in Jn 11:35 has often been interpreted in four ways, namely: Jesus’ grief over the death of a friend, Jesus’ sadness over the reality of death in the world, Jesus’ grief over his own impending death, or Jesus’ anger because of the unbelief around him. None of these interpretations ventured into an in-depth analysis of the peculiar use of dakryō (a hapax legomenon) in Jn 11:35 within a narrative that uses klaiō three times (Jn 11:31, 332), even though both dakryō and klaiō belong to the same semantic domain. This article will explore the significance of John’s use of dakryō for the interpretation of Jn 11:35. The article suggests that the lexical shift from klaiō to dakryō signals the reader to differentiate the weeping of Jesus in Jn 11:35 from the weeping of Mary and the Ioudaioi in Jn 11:33. Through a narrative-critical analysis of the contexts of the occurrences of klaiō in the Gospel of John and dakryō in the LXX, along with a narrative-critical analysis of the Lazarus story (Jn 11:1–53), the article proposes that Jesus’ shedding of tears in Jn 11:35 is not to be interpreted in relation to mourning over death, but is rather due to the frustration of Jesus at the lack of faith around him, even by Martha and Mary, two people whom the Fourth Gospel specifically names as loved by him (Jn 11:5). Thus, the act of Jesus in Jn 11:35 may be interpreted as his shedding of tears out of frustration.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"5 1","pages":"239 - 252"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90317699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The absurdity of sin and the creaturely life of faith in Karl Barth's theological epistemology","authors":"Brandon Morgan","doi":"10.1177/1030570X14544928","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X14544928","url":null,"abstract":"This article critically takes up the reaffirmation of Barth's reaction to the analogia entis in the recent work of Keith L. Johnson in order to question Johnson's appeal to human sin as the pivotal factor in Barth's rejection of the Catholic doctrine. By explicating what I call Barth's ‘theological particularism’, it will become more apparent that Johnson's reference to sin in Barth functions abstractly in the very ‘as such’ way that Barth sought to methodologically foreclose while also conflating ordinary creaturely knowledge and being with a view of sin that places God and creatures in epistemic and ontological contradiction. By filling out Johnson's missing account of Barth's view of the shadow of sin, a positive account of creatureliness has the chance to emerge that highlights faith and prayer as the fulfillment of creaturely life in the life of God.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"86 1","pages":"149 - 169"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84942824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Why Bother Praying? Richard Leonard SJ","authors":"Maryanne Confoy","doi":"10.1177/1030570X14544929b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X14544929b","url":null,"abstract":"modern worship. Implicit in the pages is an insistence that worship is related to mission and justice. It is not an isolated, self-sufficient action. Nor does it finish with the final prayer or song, rather it is a vision of the new creation, of the way we ought to be (p. 26). There is no book on worship that does not attract a few quibbles. When describing the structure of the Sunday service the author sets the prayers of thanksgiving and intercession within the Thanksgiving. Perhaps they are better related to the Service of the Word showing that they serve as a response to the readings and preaching. However, the Thanksgiving itself is framed as a response to the Word, providing a way in which the intercessions can be seen as cohesive with the Table (p. 23). Occasionally the source texts are from superseded editions, something that students will not notice. In the appendix there is an evaluation of a worship service: this could well contain some questions for the participants to offer some reflection on the quality of their own participation, rounding out the questions around leadership and shape. This is a book that I will be recommending to my students.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"29 1","pages":"232 - 233"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81330763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Qumran Melchizedek Scroll and the Gospel of Mark: Coherence and contrast in soteriology","authors":"B. Byrne","doi":"10.1177/1030570X14547563","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570X14547563","url":null,"abstract":"The text from Cave 11 of Qumran known as the ‘Melchizedek Scroll’ and the canonical Gospel of Mark have some noteworthy features in common. This article surveys the two documents from the soteriological aspect, noting areas of comparison and also of difference. The most noteworthy aspect of comparison consists in the fact that both see divinely appointed agents of liberation – Melchizedek and Jesus, respectively – as addressing a pre-existing human situation of captivity to the demonic, a captivity brought about through sin. Both documents likewise portray the redemptive figures as effecting liberation from this condition through an act of expiation that amounts to a culminating and final instance of the high priest’s action on the yearly Day of Atonement.","PeriodicalId":82256,"journal":{"name":"Pacifica : journal of the Melbourne College of Divinity","volume":"20 1","pages":"123 - 148"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84527268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}