Doctoral Theses
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Abstracts of Doctoral Theses awarded in 2004
Colin James Hunter,
Doctor of Ministry Studies,
Melbourne College of Divinity.
“Supervised Theological Field Education: a phenomenological enquiry.”
The candidate conducted research with a peer group in the Whitley College Supervised Theological Field Education programme, which seeks to integrate the theology and ministry practice of students. The research enquired into students’ experience of STFE in order to ascertain its educational and theological merits. The research established the soundness of Experience as a legitimate source for theological reflection alongside Scripture, Tradition and Culture, and offered a methodology for the theological interpretation of situations. Using the research findings as a starting point, the thesis develops a theology of supervision based on the Trinitarian theology of Catherine Mowry LaCugna, and reflections on the imago Dei by Charles Taylor.
The adviser for the thesis was Dr John Paver.
Peta Robin Sherlock,
Doctor of Ministry Studies,
Melbourne College of Divinity.
“All Scripture is useful: Case Studies in the Proclamation of the Diverse, Marginal and Whole Canon of Scripture.”
The research project involved reflection on the proclamation of a diverse range of Scripture in a diverse range of settings. It explored how Scripture, as written word of the trinitarian God, is indeed useful in a diverse range of ways. It concluded that authentic biblical preaching involves using the whole canon of Scripture, including its marginal and neglected texts. Of prime importance are the diverse responses evoked by various parts of Scripture. The thesis argues that Scripture operates as a sacramental means of grace, a living word to be received, rather than an object to be examined.
The adviser for the thesis was Professor Howard Wallace.
Taipisia Leilua,
Doctor of Theology, Melbourne
College of Divinity.
“Covenant for a new Oceania: A theological response to the environmental crisis from a Samoan perspective.”
The thesis considers the historical-political task of facing up to the environmental crisis in the Oceanic regional context. It seeks to re-vision humankind’s connection to nature in terms of our relationship to God. The thesis revises its initial rewriting of biblical covenantal theology by connecting this to critical analyses of traditional understandings of creation and covenant in pre-contact and pre-colonial Oceanic peoples. The thesis also has a systematic theological aspect, rethinking the key doctrines of creation, trinity, pneumatology, anthropology, eschatology, to reconstruct an Oceanic ecclesiology and an Oceanic theology of nature.
The adviser for the thesis was the Revd Dr Wesley Campbell.
Geoffrey Roger Pound
Doctor of Theology, Melbourne
College of Divinity.
“F. W. Boreham, the public theologian: the interplay of faith and life in the newspaper editorials of F. W. Boreham 1912-1959.”
This thesis examines the three thousand newspaper editorials that F. W. Boreham wrote for the Hobart Mercury and the Melbourne Age between 1912 and 1959. Boreham’s use of a public medium to convey theology, and the ways in which he allowed the Australian context to shape his content and literary expression, qualify him to be called a “public theologian”. The thesis concludes that his down-to-earth focus, storytelling style, and restrained tone were most appropriate for relating theology to public life and making theology meaningful to ordinary people.
The adviser for thesis was the Revd Dr Ken Manley.
Geoff Robert Webb,
Doctor of Theology, Melbourne
College of Divinity.
“Reading Mark with a vulgar mind: applying Bakhtinian categories to Markan characterisation.”
The thesis maintains that the discussion concerning characterisation in Mark’s Gospel can be informed by categories developed by Mikhail Bakhtin. These include dialogue, heteroglossa, chronotope, genre-memory, and carnival. Specific characters in selected Markan passages are considered in terms of first-level dialogue (between characters), second-level dialogue (with the hearing-reader), third-level dialogue (with other texts and generic contacts), and carnivalesque elements. The thesis concludes that the resultant picture is one of an earthy, populist Gospel whose Ôvoices’ resonate with the “vulgar” classes, and whose spirituality is refreshingly relevant to everyday concerns.
The adviser for the thesis was Dr Keith Dyer.
Dominic Arcamone,
Doctor of Ministry, Sydney College
of Divinity.[1]
“Christian Identity and Mission in Faith-Based Organisations: Managing and developing the human good while maintaining Christian identity in faith-based community welfare service organisations with particular reference to Mission Australia and Catholic Welfare Australia.”
In recent years there has been an increasing attention given to the relationship between Christian faith-based community welfare organisations and governments in liberal democratic societies. This relationship has meant that these organisations have access to large amounts of funding that can be used to address the social problems of society. It has also meant a growth in structures within the organisations, bringing with this growth their own tensions. This thesis looks at these organisations from the point of their theological Christian identity and mission so as to address the problem of remaining Christian in practice. The thesis examines the historical understanding and evolution of Christian mission in both Mission Australia (MA) and Catholic Welfare Australia (CWA). Christian agencies have their own policies and values statements and constitutions that reflect the doctrines that ground their practices.
The supervisor for this thesis was Dr Neil Ormerod. The associate supervisor was Assoc Prof Michael Horsburgh.
Lorna Collingridge,
Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith
University School of Theology.
“Music as Evocative Power: the intersection of music with images of the Divine in the songs of Hildegard of Bingen.”
Hildegard’s songs evoke an erotic and embodied devotion to a Divinity imagined as sensuous, relational, immanent and often female. These songs, written for use in her predominantly female community, are part of Hildegard’s educational program to guide the spiritual development of the women in her Benedictine monastery. Hildegard’s theology of music proposes that the physical act of singing enables humans to experience connection to the Living Light, and to embody this Divinity in their midst. Her songs express, in dense poetic texts set to widely-ranging chant-like melodies, her rich imaging of the fecund presence of the Divine. The singers are thus encouraged to imagine themselves in relationship with the Holy One, the Living Light, through the physical act of singing these evocative songs. This work mines four songs for significant insights which can inform the communal practice of worship of the Divine, especially where song forms part of that worship, and particularly in regard to the imagining of Divinity in ways which can nourish the diversity of all humans, all creatures, and all creation.
The principal supervisor for this thesis was Dr Elaine Wainwright. The associate supervisor was Dr Belinda McKay.
William Bede Waterford,
Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith
University School of Theology.
“Hearing and Reading Biblical Texts: A Study of Difference — Mark 6.30-8.27a.”
The thesis is a study of the difference between reading and hearing biblical texts. It shows that the types of interpretation people make when hearing renditions of biblical texts will often differ from those they make when they privately read the same texts. The extent of the difference is demonstrated in ten studies where theories developed in literary and media studies are applied to the Greek text of Mark 6:30-8:27a. Almost all the assessments made in these studies are verified by independent data, such as the published opinions of biblical scholars and literary analyses of the Greek text.
There is also a comparative analysis of part of the Greek text with three contemporary English translations. That particular study shows how important it is to use in Church liturgies only those texts that have been specifically translated to meet the needs of listeners.
The principal supervisor for this thesis was Dr Elaine Wainwright. The associate supervisor was Dr Anne Dawson.
Geoffrey Mark Russell Haworth,
Doctor of Philosophy, School of
Theology, University of Auckland.
“The Rock of Ages or Winds of Change? The Impact of World War Two on the Anglican Church in New Zealand.”
Wartime brought both challenge and opportunity to the Church in the areas of leadership, military chaplaincy, the Church Army, the role of women in Church and society, ecumenical initiatives, the regular life of parishes and other ministry units, pacifism, and endeavours to reflect theologically. In each area, the Church was facing questions about its identity, and therefore about its role in society. Part of an emerging debate within the Church concerned whether it should continue with its self-identification as a quasi-English ecclesiastical outpost, or become a Church with a distinctive New Zealand identity. This thesis concludes that, during the war and in the five years afterwards, the voices promoting stability and “business as usual” in existing structures and functions usually prevailed over those advocating structural and attitudinal change.
The supervisors for this thesis were Dr Allan Davidson and Dr Janet Crawford.
Ann M. Nolan,
Doctor of Philosophy, School of
Theology, University of Auckland.
“A Privileged Moment: ‘Dialogue’ in the Language of the Second Vatican Council 1962-65.”
The Jesuit historian, John W. O’Malley, identified the word “dialogue” as emblematic of the Second Vatican Council, claiming that the word embodied a new ecclesiological paradigm shift, which was expressed through language. The thesis tested O’Malley’s hypothesis, tracing the history of the word “dialogue”, particularly in theology, and investigating its use in the Council’s documents in order to evaluate its rhetorical power. The use of the word “dialogue” was a persuasive way of expressing the updating of the Church. The promise of dialogue created a restless laity wanting more participation in the Church and set theologians along paths that were bolder than the Council intended. The thesis concludes that it is too simple to say that “dialogue” indicated a paradigm shift, but it did have the effect of opening the Church up to new forms of encounter including other faiths, both Christian and non-Christian.
The supervisors for this thesis were Dr Janet Crawford and Dr John Salmon.
Catherine R. Ross,
Doctor of Philosophy, School of
Theology, University of Auckland.
“More than Wives? A Study of Four Church Missionary Society Wives in Nineteenth Century New Zealand.”
In this study of Charlotte Brown, Anne Wilson, Elizabeth Colenso and Catherine Hadfield it is argued that these women who were regarded as adjuncts to their husbands were in fact more than wives. The thesis looks at how they understood their role and calling and what kind of work they were involved in. It also considers to what extent they served as active missionaries in their own right. The research enables the reader to reflect on what we learn from their daily lives and routines that provides a more holistic understanding of missionary life and service in this period.
The supervisors for this thesis were Dr Janet Crawford and Dr Allan Davidson.
[1]. Please note that further details of Sydney
College of Divinity theses can be found at the SCD E-thesis publishing site:
http://e-theses.webjournals.org/default.asp?id={06934C5B-C467-4668-954A-8D2269ACD0F8}