Zadok Catalogue 2008

Theology, Scripture and Apologetics

Pregnant Thoughts
Alison Sampson
Zadok Perspectives 99, Winter 2008
…a small voice reminds me that we are not asked to make all our decisions based on rationality, or our understanding on best scientific practice, or out of fear. We make them in conversation with God.

Deep Justice
Gavan O'Farrell
Zadok Perspectives 98, Autumn 2008
Because of the different approaches taken to the Love Commandment, I call the Right "God-specialists" and the Left "neighbour-specialists. We are supposed to be mindful of the whole commandment, of course, but some of us tend to lean one way: it is possible to lean so much that half the Commandment is virtually ignored.

Women teaching men the Bible: what's the problem?
By Graham Cole
Zadok Perspectives 95, Winter 2007
The question of women preaching to mixed audience is a matter of order not of faith. What a person thinks about the issue is not a condition of Christian fellowship. Otherwise we invent a gospel plus.

Playing in God's Playground.
By Leng Te
Zadok Perspectives 95, Winter 2007
Does God in fact "play"? We may know God to be loving, holy, just, faithful, mighty and merciful, but are we able to add "playful" to the list? If God does in fact "play", we who are created in His image should take heed and follow suit.

Who is Jesus Christ for us today?
By Gordon Preece
Zadok Perspectives 93, Summer 2006
Bonhoeffer rebelled against the individualism and invisibility of religion. He hated its internalised, invisible, non-accountable nature.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and a theological ethic of initiative.
By Michael Duncan
Zadok Paper S151, Summer 2006
For Bonhoeffer, Christian discipleship was not a call to choice-less obedience but to responsible freedom to think, choose, decide and act. To be a disciple is to be free. To follow Jesus is an invitation to live. To serve God is to use one's will, imagination and initiative.

Who is Bonhoeffer for us today?
By John W de Gruchy
Zadok Paper S150, Summer 2006
Understanding and interpreting Bonhoeffer is an ongoing project both in terms of his own development and in relation to our different and ever changing local and global contexts. Through his witness to Christ, Bonhoeffer helps us to see things from the perspective of those who suffer enabling us to move from phraseology to reality in our discipleship. Faithfulness to his legacy is not parroting his words or trying to emulate his deeds, important as they may be, but following more faithfully the One to whom he ponted.

Scripture and the disciplines - the question of expectations.
Graham Cole
Zadok Paper S142 Summer 2005
This paper addresses the question of our expectations of scripture. Part one asks questions about the sort of book scripture is. Part two goes on to discuss the purpose of the scriptural testimony: the salvation provided by the Triune God. Part three looks at the scriptures in relation to worldview building and the disciplines. For the purpose of this discussion, the disciplines are understood to include Economics, English, History, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology.

Participating in God's work.
David Fagg
Zadok Perspectives 88, Spring 2005
To have clarity about the shape of Christian mission among the poor, we must commit ourselves to a place, to some people, and begin to "have a go." It is from there that we can discern the movement of God.

A breath of fresh air.
Alison Sampson
Zadok Perspectives 86, Autumn 2005
For centuries, the image of the dove has been a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. It's time to examine where this image came from and assess its worth. Then we need to go back to scripture. There we will discover a more powerful metaphor that may expand our concept of the Holy Spirit and invite us to be more aware of its presence with us.

Reading the bible poorly: a biblical basis for active compassion for the poor. David Fagg
Zadok Perspectives 86, Autumn 2005
At judgement, those who responded in compassion to the hungry, naked, sick, homeless and imprisoned ("the least of these") discover that is was Jesus to whom they ministered.

Chickens and God
Alison Sampson
Zadok Perspectives 85, Summer 2004
A reflection on the image of God penned after a visit to the Sistine Chapel.

Sex, Sin & Self-Deception
Andrew Sloane
Zadok Paper S134, Summer 2004
What does it mean to deceive ourselves - indeed, how is that possible, given that deception as it is normally practised means knowing but not telling the truth? This paper begins by illustrating the reality and nature of self-deception, focusing on its epistemic character and its relationship to the more general phenomena of the noetic effects of sin. Finally, un-deception is considered with a view to suggesting ways we can ensure that we live the truth.

The Trinity, Western Decadence and Islam
Rowan Gill
Zadok Perspectives 82, Autumn 2004
The doctrine of the Trinity stands on the frontier between Christianity and Islam. The God of Islam is Allah, and he is monotheistic. Allah is one, and there is no-one else beside him, and Jesus has a small, subsidiary role. Christians worship one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Son being Jesus Christ. The difference between Muslims and Christians is plain to see. A religion which has one God alone can achieve much on the globe as Islam has in history. A religion with God differentiated between three entities has flexibility and compassion built in to it.

Scripture as Literature
Sally Cloke
Zadok Perspectives 81, Summer 2003
What does it mean to read Scripture as literature? In basic terms it means looking at the Bible in the same way as at any other book - as the creation of human imagination. Like other authors, the biblical writers used language native to them and literary forms know in their culture, to create works that can be appreciated and understood in the same way as any other work of literature. Is this way of reading in conflict with the view of the Bible as the Word of God, which Christians have been taught to regard as somehow different from all other writings?

The Simpsons, Scripture and postmodern youth.
Andrew Stewart
Zadok Perspectives 81, Summer 2003
We need to unleash the subversive power of scripture on a society that is desperate for the liberating message contained within its pages.

How do you read me?
Miriam & Philip Sampson
Zadok Perspectives 81, Summer 2003
Evangelicals have a serious love affair with printed biblical text. But what about hypertext? We must again learn to fit our lives and experiences into the Bible's world, not read to forget those everyday lives in exchange for a 'quiet time' away from them.

Stories to live by: reading the Bible in the new millenium.
Ched Myers
Zadok Perspectives 81, Summer 2003
Left in an uncomfortable middle are a lot of believers who, intimidated by modernity, have been fooled into thinking our scriptural stories are just entertainment. Christians need to learn to read scripture 'over against ourselves' rather than simply 'for ourselves'.

Ethical investment and the case for linguistic diversity.
Michael Singh and Chris Scanlon.
Zadok Perspectives 81, Summer 2003
Using local languages is indicative of a heightened level of commitment, and helps engender solidarity and obligations with local people. Just as plants and animals are enmeshed in their ecosystems, languages are enmeshed in their social and geographical matrix.

It's all f***ed without Yahweh: The message of Hosea 4:1-4
by David Collis
Zadok Paper S129, Summer 2003
Hosea's message is one of humanity and authenticity. It calls people to recognise the destructiveness of a false life and turn to a true life of understanding and faithful relationship. Hosea assumes that knowledge and identity are always formed and sustained in real relationships. Hosea 4:1-14, speaks this widsom by looking at its opposite. To fail to know Yahweh, Hosea argues, is to fail to know - human understanding stays close to the surface, lacking organic depth and, taken to its logical extreme, leads to the absurdities of idol worship. Hosea's call to repantance is not at all a pietisitic choice of religious observance, but a choice between coherence and fragmentation, relationship and manipulation, real understanding and broken minds and, ultimately, life and death.

The Rich: Then and Now. Understanding New Testament Perspectives on Money and Posessions
Ross Saunders
Zadok Paper S126, Spring 2003
Until we understand what was going on inside the heads of Jesus' listeners, we wil never understand the meaning of what he had to say about wealth, its acquisition and management. This paper outlines the way society in the New Testament era perceived the rich and money and points out that people no longer operate with the concept of limited good and limited supply. We need to understand the way our world works, and then apply the principles behind the texts of the New Testament, and not just the texts themselves. Only then will we begin to come to terms with wealth and pverty, prestige and nobodyness, power and powerlessness, and act as Jesus would have us act towards the world and each other.

Death in the Resurrection.
Clare Boyd-Macrae
Zadok Perspectives 75, Winter 2002
In a world where an act of spectacular terrorism like that perpetrated on September 11 brings the globe to a standstill, in a world where so called civilized powers can only think of one way to respond – by brutal force – what has Easter to say to anybody?

John 9: An Eyesight for an Eyesight.
David Collis
Zadok Perspectives 75, Winter 2002
Responses to suffering are the litmus tests of relationships, personal character and religious faith. Absurd suffering is the greatest challenge to any belief structure and relationship. Some take pain and mould it into an accusatory finger pointed at God, some into a finger pointing at other people or themselves. But others do something less often scripted. They take their pain and use it to sharpen their sense of life.

The Crux of the Struggle: the Cross as Critique.
Dave Andrews
Zadok Paper S114A, Winter 2001
This paper is the first of a three-part series exploring the place of the cross in the process of transformation. The author argues that the cross – and the unique critique, charisma and catalyst that it provides – is the crux of the struggle to any genuine personal, social, and political change.

The Crux of the Struggle: the Cross as Charisma.
Dave Andrews
Zadok Paper S114B, Spring 2001
This is the second in a three-part series exploring the place of the cross in the process of transformation. There are no perfect metaphors, no perfect interpretations, and no perfect explanations for what it was that Christ did for us on the cross. Each of the metaphors and each of the interpretations are finite attempts to plumb the depths of an indefinable event that defies full explanation. The author affirms that instead of rejecting the metaphors, we would be better off if we were to reframe our interpretation of ransom and sacrifice in the light of the revelation of God’s love for us.

The Crux of the Struggle: the Cross as Catalyst.
Dave Andrews
Zadok Paper S114C Summer 2002
This is the third in a three-part series exploring the place of the cross in the process of transformation. The author affirms that we are called to be like Christ, and we cannot be like Christ without suffering like Christ. We must put love into action. We are called not only to receive the sacrifice of Christ, but also to re-enact the sacrifice of Christ, by ‘repeating his redemptive acts in our own life.’

Sabbath Rest.
Jennifer Turner
Zadok Perspectives 68, Spring 2000
There was a time when Sabbath rest was legislated and the term came to have bad connotations. Jennifer Turner reflects that we have forgotten how to experience God’s rest and to enjoy it.

A Journey with Lot's Wife.
Eve Kavanagh
Zadok Perspectives 65, Spring / Summer 1999/2000
A meditation on a forgotten figure.

Deconstructing the Death of God: Neitzsche, Dorrido and Deconstructing the True Gospel.
Kevin Hart
Zadok Perspectives 60, Autumn 1998
Deconstruction respects the constraints that are necessary to reading and writing, even though it shows that no set of constraints can entirely determine textual meaning.

Then did God create evil?
Con Apokis
Zadok Paper S85, Summer 1997
The problem of evil is one with which Christians have wrestled through centuries. Evil apparently exists, and with devastating effect. How then can a supreme God who is truly good also exist? This paper tackles this age-old question with refreshing honesty and vigour. Some previous theological approaches to the problem are considered. Incarnational theology offers some clues. Jesus' ultimate example of servanthood provides a basis for hope as well as a model for responding to the various forms of oppression which we encounter. This paper is divided into three main areas of concern: an account of the traditional explanation of evil and satan; a proposed alternative paradigm; and the use of this paradigm to elucidate the work of Christ and reflect upon what this means in practice for Christians.

Engaging with Scripture
Peta Sherlock
Zadok Perspectives 54, Spring 1996

Whatever happened to the Quest for an Indigenous Theology?
Robert Banks
Zadok Paper S41, 1988
Since the mid 1970s, there has been a resurgence of interest in a distinctively Australian theology. How should Christians understand the Australian experience? Are there Australian images, traditions, patterns of thought or ways of doing things which should affect our thinking as Christians?

Paul: the experience within the theology
Robert Banks
Zadok Paper T29, 1986
Robert Banks provides a clear portrayal of the creative interaction of Paul's daily experience and his theology. This has important implications for theology in our own life and experience.

Dying and Rising with Christ: Theology for a modern world
Peter Marshall
Zadok Paper T26, 1986
To Paul, dying and rising with Christ was the essential pattern for a Christian's life in the world. He applies it to some of the greatest social and cultural norms of his day. This doctrine is as fundamentally important now as it was in the early church. Marshall seeks to discover its significance in terms of power, prestige and status.

Issues to do with the Authority of Scripture - a series of papers

Exploring a Tradition: T C Hammond on the Inspiration and Authority of Scripture
Doug Hynd.
The Infallibility of Scripture
Edwin Judge.
Issues in the Authority of Scripture I
Zadok Paper T21, 1984
Hynd makes available Hammond's out of print masterpiece Inspiration and Authority. Judge examines the way in which authority can be attributed to the Bible.

Faith and Contemporary Life.
John Kleinig.
The Bible, its Authority in the Life of the Christian.
Graeme Smith.
Issues in the Authority of Scripture II
Zadok Paper T22, 1985
Kleinig is concerned about the gap between faith and modern life. Smith delves into the confusion many Christians have about the role of Scripture in their lives.

What Does it Mean to Believe in the Bible?
Charles Sherlock.
Inspiration, Authority and Interpretation: An Annotated Reading List.
Douglas Hynd.
Issues in the Authority of Scripture III
Zadok Paper T23, 1985
Sherlock outlines the nature of Scripture and its place in relationships between the Christian and Jesus Christ. Douglas Hynd's annotated bibliography includes a variety of modern books, each chosen to help interested readers find their way through the current discussion of Scripture.

What to Read, Part 3, Basic Theology
David Millikan
Zadok Paper R18, 1981
A brief guide to 24 significant titles covering the major topics in theology. Classic as well as contemporary works are included.

Was Jesus God?
John Schneider
Zadok Paper T3, March 1978
The author examines the validity and competence of the controversial book The Myth of God Incarnate.

The Difficulty of Doing Theology in Australia
David Millikan
Zadok Paper T6, 1978
An evaluation of some of the difficulties faced by those doing theology in the midst of the Aussie scene.

A Case for the Extremes
David Millikan
Zadok Paper T2, November 1978
A non-technical but provocative exegesis of some verses in Luke 7. Its contemporary relevance is unmistakable.

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