First Name	*
Email	*
	Please tell us the types of areas you are interested in and provide your postal address below.
Request/Comment	*

Volume 24, Issue 3, October 2011

Editorial

MCD University of Divinity

Sean Winter,

View Editorial

It would be remiss to send this issue of Pacifica off to our readers without noting a major item of news that relates to the journal’s main sponsor. The website of the Melbourne College of Divinity currently states that:

On 29th August, the Victoria Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) published a Notice in the Government Gazette indicating to the Parliament of the State of Victoria that VRQA had granted Approval for the Melbourne College of Divinity (MCD) to operate as a “university of specialisation” with the title “MCD University of Divinity”. The approval is for an initial 5 year period, commencing 1 January, 2012. The Notice was tabled in both houses of the Victorian Parliament on 30th August, and may be disallowed or suspended up until 8 December (the last sitting day of Parliament for the year).

Under the current National Protocols for Higher Education Approvals Processes a “university of specialisation” is an institution which delivers Australian Qualifications Framework higher education qualifications (including Research Masters and PhDs or equivalent Research Doctorates) in one or two broad fields of study only and sets standards for those qualifications which are equivalent to Australian and international standards.

Subject to approval by the Victorian Parliament, MCD, under its new title, will become the first Specialised University in Australia and the first university to be established in the State since Victoria University in 1990.

On the assumption that the Victorian Parliament will ratify this decision, I offer, on behalf of the Pacifica Executive and Editorial Board, warmest congratulations to the MCD on securing the status of “university of specialisation”.

This development is significant, of course, not just for one institution but for all who are involved in theology and theological education in the Australian higher education system. Theology is a “specialist” subject, but it rightfully takes its place within the broader educational system because, like other academic disciplines, it is capable of being pursued at the highest critical level. Pacifica has played an important role in ensuring that theological research at this level is disseminated widely and undertaken with the same commitment to rigorous critical thought that undergirds all scholarly work in the humanities. For this to continue the journal needs to continue to receive submissions of high quality, and together with the support of the Editorial Board, Executive, and a large number of colleagues who are involved in the processes of peer review and publication, I hope to continue Pacifica's reputation for scholarly excellence. In this way it is to be hoped that this specialist journal will continue to contribute to the wider human pursuit of knowledge, truth and understanding.

Articles

A Sinner and a Pharisee: Challenge at Simon’s Table in Luke 7:36-50

Kylie Crabbe, pp.247-266

View Abstract

View Article

Every Letter Tells a Story: Mission and Unity at Odds in the Local Church

Andre van Oudtshoorn, pp.267-282

View Abstract

The Politicisation of Martin Luther in the German Democratic Republic

John A. Moses, pp.283-299

View Abstract

Sarah Coakley: Systematic Theology and the Future of Feminism

Janice Rees, pp.300-314

View Abstract

Further Clarifications of Geertz’s Account of Culture as a Resource for Theology

Robin Koning, pp.315-340

View Abstract

Book Reviews

One Baptism: Ecumenical Dimensions of the Doctrine of Baptism

Susan K. Wood

Carmel Posa pp.341-343

In Praise of Worship: An Exploration of Text and Practice

David J. Cohen and Michael Parsons (eds.)

Roslyn H. Wright pp.343-344

Finding Salvation in Christ: In Honor of William P. Loewe

Christopher D. Denny and Christopher McMahon (eds.)

Gerald O’Collins pp.345-346

The Social Mission of the US Catholic Church: a Theological Perspective

Charles E. Curran

Bruce Duncan pp.346-349

Lonergan’s Discovery of the Science of Economics

Michael Shute

Tom Halloran pp.349-351

Lonergan’s Early Economic Research

Michael Shute

Tom Halloran pp.349-351

God vs Darwin: Will the Creationists triumph over Science?

Jacques Arnould

John Honner pp.351-354

Darwin and Evolution: Interfaith Perspectives

Jacques Arnould (ed.)

John Honner pp.351-354

Making Health Care Whole: Integrating Spirituality into Health Care

Christina M. Puchalski and Betty Ferrell

Margaret Ghosn pp.354-356

Contributors

KYLIE CRABBE is a Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church in Australia, in congregational ministry at Armadale, Victoria. Her research interests are in biblical theology, with a focus on the Gospels and, in particular, the Gospel of Luke. She also has a keen interest in public theology, and the use of theological reflection in political and pastoral life.

ANDRE VAN OUDTSHOORN is the Academic Dean at Perth Bible College and lectures in New Testament, Hermeneutics and Systematic theology. He is especially interested in the theoretical frameworks which underlie theological approaches, methods, and faith practices. His publications include four books: A Taste of Glory: an Introduction to Theological Studies (2007); Christ the Reconciler (2002); Worship the Way to Know God (1997); and, Hou God ook van my: die uitverkiesing in Nuwe Testamentiese perspektief (1987). Andre is an ordained minister of the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia.

JOHN A. MOSES undertook postgraduate work in Germany at the universities of Munich (1961-63) and then Erlangen (1961-65) where he gained a doctorate in modern German history on the German trade union Leader Carl Legien (1864-1920). On return to Australia he taught at the University of Queensland until 1989. His research and pub¬lications focus German labour history, the history of the church struggle, German colonies in the Pacific, German historiography on the First World War and the church struggle in the German Democratic Republic. His latest book is Reluctant Revolutionary: Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Collision with Prussian German History (New York: Berghahn Books, 2009). A book on the origins of ANZAC commemoration is forthcoming. John Moses is a practising Anglican priest, currently assisting in the parish of St Paul’s Manuka, Australian Capital Territory.

JANICE REES is a Minister of a Salvation Army congregation in Sydney and a PhD student of Charles Sturt University. She is an adjunct lecturer to both Booth College (SCD) and the United Theological College, teaching classes in theology and feminism. Janice’s research focuses on the relationship between systematic theology and gender studies and she has a number of publications in this area.

ROBIN KONING S.J., a Jesuit priest, lectures in Systematic Theology and Philosophy at Jesuit College in the United Faculty of Theology in the Melbourne College of Divinity, where he is Chair of Examiners in Christian Thought and History. He is also National Ecclesial Assistant for the Christian Life Community and is part of an international seminar seeking to develop systematic theology along Lonerganian lines.

	All content is copyright of the authors and no further reproduction is allowed without permission from the authors.