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Volume 24, Issue 1, February 2011
Editorial
Sean Winter,
THE INVITATION TO TAKE UP THE EDITORSHIP of Pacifica has been an unexpected but delightful part of my initiation into the Australasian theological community. I arrived in Australia in 2009, after ten years teaching New Testament in Manchester, England. Much of what I knew about theological work being done in my new home I had learned from glancing through the pages of Pacifica in those UK libraries that subscribed to it. The quality of the scholarship I encountered there impressed me then, as now. However, it is only since moving to Melbourne that I have come to appreciate fully the journal’s clear commitment to what we might call the ecumenical character and contextual location of academic theology. These core features of Pacifica's history and identity should, I believe, be applauded and preserved.
Pacifica has long been a journal in good hands. Those who write, review, edit, copy edit, set up, proof read, distribute, and administer the journal are committed to the vision of a scholarly yet accessible publication that shows an explicit concern for the theological work being done in Australasia and the West Pacific Basin. Their commitment shows in the care with which they do their work. As a new Editor, I want to acknowledge that the production of Pacifica is a genuinely collaborative effort that draws in scholars from all over the region to produce issues of consistently high quality and interest.
Of course, particular mention must be made of my predecessor Brendan Byrne S.J. In October 2010 a “Farewell Event” was held for Brendan, and many gathered to recognise the immense contribution that he has made to Pacifica over more than a decade. In the February 2000 issue, Brendan wrote his first editorial (as well as contributing an article) in which he spoke of the “significant role the journal has played and continues to play in promoting theological research, reflection and exchange at the highest professional level”. That, at the start of 2011, Pacifica continues to have this reputation – not least as this is reflected in the recent ERA journal ranking, where it was listed in the A category – has everything to do with the dedication, care and intellectual rigour that Brendan brought to the editorial task over eleven years. His keen theological mind is matched only by his unfailing courtesy in dealing with authors, reviewers and other interested parties. The fact that his will be a hard act to follow is only mitigated by the fact that he is close by and on hand to give advice and insight when a new Editor might need it.
Pacifica's reputation for quality and consistency is a matter for appropriate pride. Yet, it is not something we can take for granted. Those involved in the life of the journal need to consider how it might adapt to meet new circumstances, new demands, new insights, and new possibilities. A change of Editor perhaps provides an appropriate context in which to ask and begin to answer such questions about the future. Along with the Editorial Board and the Executive I hope to preserve the journal’s reputation, but also to enhance it by exploring what might be done differently or better. The quality of theological scholarship contained in the pages of Pacifica speaks for itself. The planning, presentation, and dissemination of that scholarship through Pacifica may require some change. I would value the insights and contributions of readers as we seek to secure Pacifica's reputation into the next decade.
Articles
Theological Reflections on Creation in the Gospel of John
Mary L. Coloe, pp.1-12
Scientific advances have led to an understanding that we live in an ever-expanding and evolving universe. In the light of this cosmic consciousness new soteriological models are needed. The Gospel of John can provide the basis for a new thinking about the meaning of the Jesus event. This article shows that the Fourth Gospel begins and ends with the theme of Creation, with implications for developing soteriological models more relevant to the twenty first century.
Paschal Imagery in the Gospel of John: A Narrative and Symbolic Reading
Dorothy A. Lee, pp.13-28
Passover imagery is central to the narrative structure and theological content of the Fourth Gospel. The imagery begins in the testimony of John the Baptist, declaring Jesus to be the “Lamb of God”. The narrator expands the paschal overtones of this title to incorporate other Old Testament insights associated particularly with temple and cult. The feast of Passover develops into its own metaphorical field, pushing the narrative towards the cross as the climatic moment of revelation. On the way, paschal imagery incorporates not only the lamb but also the shepherd who lays down and takes up his life on behalf of the sheep. Passover becomes a major symbol in the Fourth Gospel, capturing vital, christological aspects of John’s understanding of the cross.
Displaced Peoples: Reflections from Late Antiquity on a Contemporary Crisis
Bronwen Neil and Pauline Allen, pp.29-42
Episcopal letters offer valuable evidence concerning the widespread problem of population displacement in the fourth and fifth centuries, and more specifically on a subset of displaced persons, refugees and asylum-seekers. In a search for historical antecedents this article compares contemporary Australian approaches to refugees and asylum-seekers with the approaches of bishops in Late Antiquity. It offers two case studies of episcopal responses to displacement and individual displaced persons in that period, and concludes with some caveats and reflections upon future directions.
Believing that there is Hope for Love: The Promise of Christian Faith in the Resurrection of the Body
Lieven Boeve, pp.43-57
Noting that belief in a life after death appears to be “in” once again, the present article proceeds from the conviction that belief in the resurrection is central to Christian faith in Jesus Christ as the personal revelation of God as love. It considers the connection between faith in the resurrection and the first disciples’ witness concerning Jesus’ resurrection. It discusses the importance of bodiliness in resurrection-faith and considers how resurrection can best be discussed today. The conclusion is that faith in the resurrection means believing that there is hope for love.
John Henry Cardinal Newman and Papal Infallibility
Peter Price, pp.58-79
Cardinal Newman’s understanding and interpretation of Papal Infallibility has had a lasting influence on Catholic belief in regard to the doctrine, defined at the First Vatican Council (1869-1870). The definition of the doctrine, and the Council which was its catalyst, created the context for the tension that Newman encountered in the church of his time, and indeed within himself, between doctrinal authority and the freedom to explore the boundaries of doctrine that he believed to be essential for its development. This study considers the issue, not so much from Newman’s formal scholarly works, but mainly from his letters, where Newman may be the more easily discovered in his natural form.
Reconciliation and Land in Australia
Geoffrey Burn, pp.80-100
Any policies adopted by the dominant systems in Australia will continue to damage the First peoples of Australia unless there is a change to focus on seeking reconciliation, because the dominant systems are bound to sin, even when they are trying to do what is right. Reconciliation breaks this pattern because it is in line with the way that God is working in the world, and justice arises as a gift of God from the process or reconciliation. Key to this is a proper understanding of the nature of repentance and forgiveness, and hence justice, which can only be determined by being engaged in the process of reconciliation. Because land is intrinsic to the identity of the First peoples of Australia, these theological insights are applied in a study of the history of land in legislation and court cases in Australia. It is shown how this propensity to sin has worked out, as well as highlighting some acts of repentance. However, this repentance is inherently limited, and repentance and reconciliation will need to be an extensive and complex process, whilst not placing further burdens on Australia’s First peoples.
Book Reviews
The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul
Douglas A. Campbell
Brendan Byrne pp.101-104
An Inconvenient Text
Norman C. Habel
Jan Morgan pp.104-105
The Trinity: Insights from the Mystics
Anne Hunt
Patricia Fox pp.106-108
The SPCK Introduction to Bonhoeffer
Keith Clements
Frank Rees pp.108-109
Twentieth-Century Theologians: A New Introduction
Philip Kennedy
pp.109-111
Meaning and History in Systematic Theology: Essays in Honor of Robert M. Doran S.J.
John D. Dadosky (ed.)
Anthony J. Kelly pp.111-113
Su-un and His World of Symbols: The Founder of Korea’s First Indigenous Religion
Paul Beirne
Charles Sherlock pp.113-115
Asian Contextual Theology for the Third Millennium: Theology of Minjung in Fourth-Eye Formation
Paul S. Chung, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Kim Kyoung-Jae (eds.)
Paul Beirne pp.115-117
Sacraments: Revelation of the Humanity of God: Engaging the Fundamental Theology of Louis-Marie Chauvet
Philippe Bordeyne and Bruce T. Morrill
Gerard Moore pp.118-119
Uncovering Theology: the Depth, Reach and Utility of Australian Theological Education
Charles Sherlock
John McDowell and Grahame Feletti pp.119-121
The Riddle of Father Hackett: a Life in Ireland and Australia
Brenda Niall
Val Noone pp.121-122
Contributors
MARY L. COLOE pbvm is Associate Professor at the Australian Catholic University, currently working on a research project on “Creation and Re-Creation: A Biblical and Theological Foundation for an Ecological Ethic”. She has published two books on the Gospel of John: God Dwells with Us: Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel (2001) and Dwelling in the Household of God: Johannine Ecclesiology and Spirituality (2007).
DOROTHY A. LEE is the Frank Woods Distinguished Lecturer in Biblical Studies and also Associate Chaplain at Trinity College, University of Melbourne where she teaches New Testament in the United Faculty of Theology. Her research interests focus on John’s Gospel, the Spiritual Theology of the New Testament and Anglican Liturgy and Theology. She is the author of The Symbolic Narratives of the Fourth Gospel (1994) Flesh and Glory (2002) and Transfiguration (2004) as well as numerous articles on John’s Gospel and other biblical and theological themes. She is a member of the Doctrine Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia.
BRONWEN NEIL is Burke Senior Lecturer in Ecclesiastical Latin in the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University. Her most recent book is Leo the Great (2009). She is currently working with Pauline Allen on an ARC project, Crisis Management in Late Antiquity: The Evidence of Episcopal Letters and together with W. Mayer and Pauline Allen has published Preaching Poverty in Late Antiquity: Perceptions and Realities (2009).
PAULINE ALLEN FAHA is the director of the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University. Her most recent book is Sophronius of Jerusalem and Seventh-Century Heresy: The Synodical Letter and Other Documents (2009). Together with W. Mayer, and Bronwen Neil she has published: Preaching Poverty in Late Antiquity: Perceptions and Realities (2009).
LIEVEN BOEVE is Professor of Systematic Theology in the Theological Faculty of the Catholic University of Leuven, where he currently also serves as Dean of the Faculty. His research concerns theological epistemology, philosophical theology, truth in faith and theology, tradition development and hermeneutics. He is the author of Interrupting Tradition: An essay on Christian Faith in a Postmodern Context (2003) and God Interrupts History: Theology in a Time of Upheaval (2007). In 2000 he initiated the “Theology in a Postmodern Context” Research Group, which aims to engage with the challenges posed by the present context of plurality and difference from a fundamental theological perspective, and to consider its consequences for Christian faith.
PETER PRICE currently lectures in Pastoral Theology and Church History at Yarra Theological Union within the Melbourne College of Divinity. He received his doctorate in 2010 for a thesis on Intellectual Orthodoxy and Political Stability: English Catholics and the Politics of Papal Sovereignty, 1848-1878. Key areas of research interest are: 19th Century History and Theology; Authority in the Church; Ecclesial and Papal Infallibility; Conciliarism; and the English Catholic Church from the Reformation to the present. He is a member of the Royal Historical Society, and the Australian and American Catholic History Associations. He has previously published articles on Vatican II and Catholic Laity in the Australian E-Journal of Theology.
GEOFFREY BURN was born and educated in Australia, but began his working life as a research scientist in England. Ten years later, he started training for ordination in the Anglican Church. He is currently working in a parish in Cinderford, in Gloucestershire. His research focuses on the need for a new way of doing politics, based on reconciliation rather than trying to secure the future through military or economic aggression. This article is offered as part of his own work of repentance for what has happened in Australia. He is also working, practically and theologically, on living in harmony with the rest of the created order.
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