The works o f Sebastian Moore have a curious half-existence in the theological world. I would not be surprised if many o f you had not heard his name before, though papers by him regularly appear in such places as Concilium and Downside... more
The works o f Sebastian Moore have a curious half-existence in the theological world. I would not be surprised if many o f you had not heard his name before, though papers by him regularly appear in such places as Concilium and Downside Review . 1 His books live in that peculiar boundary between spirituality and theology, apparently meant for a popular though educated audience but with frequent ponderous and obscure passages which demand total concentration. One will search his books in vain for compendious footnotes and bibliographies or even an index. Similarly, one can search in vain for any extended serious theological consideration o f his ideas outside a relatively closed circle o f fellow travellers — his books, for example, have never been reviewed m o Theological Studies. However, despite this comparative neglect, I would suggest that he has a valuable contribution to make to theology and especially to the topic o f our conference -the Idea of Salvation.
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An academic directory and search engine.
An academic directory and search engine.
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A recent attempt to run a conference on the work of Charles Taylor in Australia brought his impressive corpus of writings to my attention. A colleague of mine had challenged a presentation I had given on which I drew heavily on the work... more
A recent attempt to run a conference on the work of Charles Taylor in Australia brought his impressive corpus of writings to my attention. A colleague of mine had challenged a presentation I had given on which I drew heavily on the work of Robert Doran by suggesting that Taylor presented a better account of the problem I was examining. That problem concerned the long term falling away of belief in the provability of God’s existence, and my analysis drew on Doran’s notions of cosmological and anthropological cultures. 1 My colleague’s challenge and the looming possibility of a specialized conference on Taylor’s work led me to begin the task of reading Taylor’s then major work, Sources of the Self. 2 I was even more interested when his most recent work, A Secular Age, which more directly addresses the sort of issues I had raised in my presentation, emerged
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Amid the general sense of relief and even euphoria over the election of Pope Francis, a Pentecostal friend of mine wondered, what difference can one man make? Given the vast size of the Catholic Church, the diversity of its structures and... more
Amid the general sense of relief and even euphoria over the election of Pope Francis, a Pentecostal friend of mine wondered, what difference can one man make? Given the vast size of the Catholic Church, the diversity of its structures and personnel, what can this one man, already in his mid-70s, do to make real and significant changes? It is a good question.
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The recent call by Pope Francis for the church to develop a “theology of women” raises more fundamental and prior questions about the very nature of gender and sexual identity. Drawing on the metaphysics developed in Lonergan’s Insight... more
The recent call by Pope Francis for the church to develop a “theology of women” raises more fundamental and prior questions about the very nature of gender and sexual identity. Drawing on the metaphysics developed in Lonergan’s Insight and his heuristic structure of a scale of values found in Method in Theology, this article explores these prior questions in a way that avoids the extremes of either gender essentialism or of complete gender fluidity. It proposes a form of heteronormativity that is statistically structured allowing for a greater flexibility than suggested by gender essentialism, while still constraining the social and cultural construction of gender within certain biological realities. The authors also present Lonergan’s scale of values as a further heuristic for anticipating the force of this constraint in a differentiated way.
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La doctrine du peche originel a souffert pendant trop longtemps d'un caractere extrinseque a-historique qui l'a eloigne de l'experience humaine. Enrichir cette doctrine peut passer par la confrontation avec les developpements... more
La doctrine du peche originel a souffert pendant trop longtemps d'un caractere extrinseque a-historique qui l'a eloigne de l'experience humaine. Enrichir cette doctrine peut passer par la confrontation avec les developpements de la psychologie contemporaine. Ce qu'un renouvellement de la pensee du peche originel peut apporter n'est pas seulement une perspective pour la doctrine elle-meme, mais une meilleure comprehension de la doctrine du salut dans la mort et la resurrection de Jesus-Christ. En accomplissant cette renovation, la doctrine du peche originel peut retrouver sa place dans la foi chretienne
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Page 1. 186 Transformation 20/3 July 2003 REVIEWS tfreviews Reviews Jacques Dupuis, SJ Christianity and the Religions: from Confrontation to Dialogue published by Orbis Books, New York, 2002, 276 pages trans. P Berryman ...
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Book Review: The Truth Shall Make You Free, Expanding the View, Liberation Theology and its CriticsGutierrezGustavo, The Truth Shall Make You Free (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1990). Rrp. $AUD20.EllisMarc & MaduroOtto (eds), Expanding the View (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1990). Pp. xiv + 226. Rrp, $AUD23.99...more
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Book Review: Macroeconomic Dynamics: An Essay in Circulation AnalysisLonerganBernardMacroeconomic Dynamics: An Essay in Circulation Analysis. Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, Volume 15. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 1999. ISBN 0802081959. Pp. 228. Rrp. US$21.95.LonerganBernardFor a new P...more
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Review(s) of: The Future of Jesus: Boyer Lectures 2005, by Dr Peter Jensen, (Sydney: ABC Books, 2005), pp.128, $22.96
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Catholic theological education is facing a major crisis because the last five years have witnessed significant challenges to the Catholic theological education sector, adjusting to an increasingly regulated higher education environment.... more
Catholic theological education is facing a major crisis because the last five years have witnessed significant challenges to the Catholic theological education sector, adjusting to an increasingly regulated higher education environment. However, the next five years will place increasing strain on the sector as it struggles to find properly trained personnel to fill the depleted ranks of theologians and biblical scholars. The results of a survey of all Catholic theological college staff undertaken in 2006 by a taskforce comprising members from the Forum of Australian Catholic Institutes of Theology (FACIT) and Australian Catholic University (ACU) are discussed.
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The most radical reforms in government policies that universities in Australia will undergo in 2012 are discussed. The new reform, recommended by the Bradley Review requires that universities will need to compete for students in order to... more
The most radical reforms in government policies that universities in Australia will undergo in 2012 are discussed. The new reform, recommended by the Bradley Review requires that universities will need to compete for students in order to receive funding for them; thereby making the distinction between public and private tertiary institutions largely irrelevant.
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The international movement to divest from investment in fossil fuels is gathering momentum. Investors are starting to realise the dangers associated with the problem of stranded assets; that is, as governments act to restrain fossil fuel... more
The international movement to divest from investment in fossil fuels is gathering momentum. Investors are starting to realise the dangers associated with the problem of stranded assets; that is, as governments act to restrain fossil fuel consumption in an effort to address climate change, fossil fuel companies will find their assets being written down. It is of no value to have millions of tons of coal in the ground if carbon taxes or emission trading schemes prevent you from ever digging it up.
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Most of us who have worked in or near church institutions get used to a certain level of dysfunctionality: poor lines of communication, under-developed personal skills, the arbitrary use of power, the no-talk rule about controversial... more
Most of us who have worked in or near church institutions get used to a certain level of dysfunctionality: poor lines of communication, under-developed personal skills, the arbitrary use of power, the no-talk rule about controversial issues, lack of accountability and transparency, people rising above the level of their competence, and so on. In general we learn to tolerate it and work around it as best we can. At times, however, it comes together as a 'perfect storm' of dysfunctionality leading to incredibly damaging consequences for all concerned.
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In late 2010 when Tony Abbott had risen to the leadership of the Coalition, as leader of the Opposition, I wrote a piece in Eureka Street questioning his moral core . I compared him to a high school debater whose commitment is only to the... more
In late 2010 when Tony Abbott had risen to the leadership of the Coalition, as leader of the Opposition, I wrote a piece in Eureka Street questioning his moral core . I compared him to a high school debater whose commitment is only to the present argument, and what he needs to say in order to win. Put into a different situation, he is more than happy to argue the opposite position if it suits his then objectives.
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of the persons. He takes a very moderate line on gender and the Trinity, stressing the centrality of the term 'Father' but not to the exclusion of other supplementary ways of naming. Curiously there's no discussion of Leonardo... more
of the persons. He takes a very moderate line on gender and the Trinity, stressing the centrality of the term 'Father' but not to the exclusion of other supplementary ways of naming. Curiously there's no discussion of Leonardo Boff and political trinitarianism, which is a bit of a shame given Boff's remarkably imaginative approach, nor is there much treatment of that strand in modern trinitarianism, exemplified by Rahner, that stresses the identity, of some sort, between the immanent and the economic Trinity. There are indications that the influence of Hegel on trinitarian thought is not particularly welcomed. But these are minor points. The book is an impressively concise introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity, managing to provide a good account of the important patterns in the history of this doctrine, yet remaining highly readable throughout.
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Abstract: The current affiliation of several theological colleges with specific Australian universities is discussed. It is observed that universities are welcoming theological colleges since they are in demand and also contribute... more
Abstract: The current affiliation of several theological colleges with specific Australian universities is discussed. It is observed that universities are welcoming theological colleges since they are in demand and also contribute significantly to university research efforts, but the situation ...
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To cite this article: Ormerod, Neil. The Evangelising Diocese: A Response to Martin Teulan [online]. Australasian Catholic Record, The, Vol. 80, No. 1, Jan 2003: 62-69. Availability:... more
To cite this article: Ormerod, Neil. The Evangelising Diocese: A Response to Martin Teulan [online]. Australasian Catholic Record, The, Vol. 80, No. 1, Jan 2003: 62-69. Availability: <http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=796378284513106;res=IELHSS> ...