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Feature Articles

John Thornhill SM
Our survey of the evolution of human cultures now brings us to consider an innovation that was to have far-reaching consequences. �About 2500 years ago�, Dawson wrote, �civilization underwent a great revolution owing to a change in � perceptions of Reality. Throughout the ancient world from the Mediterranean to India and China, men came to realise the existence of a universal cosmic law to which both humanity and the powers of nature are subject. This was the foundation of the great religion civilizations, whether theistic or non-theistic, which have controlled the world for some 2000 years�.
[Editor�s Note: Earlier chapters of this E-book are available in prior issues of AEJT, 11 & 12. Later chapters in forthcoming issues.]
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Anthony J Kelly
This article argues that the presence of Mary to Christian faith can be helpfully considered as a �saturated phenomenon� (Jean-Luc Marion). Inseparable from the Christ-Event, the Marian phenomenon affects faith�s perception of the self-revelation of God. It is theologically illumined by reflecting on the seven key terms that are essential to the Christian story: Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Cross, Resurrection, Church and Eternal Life.
Image Source: D Casey. (Bode Museum Berlin)

Robyn Horner
Faith is a dynamic concept that has been understood both according to its content (as beliefs) and in terms of the relationship that evokes it. In this article faith is considered as event, and the work of three contemporary French thinkers (Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Jean-Luc Marion) is used to elucidate what thinking faith in this way might mean for Christian theology.
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Paul Oslington
In recent years there has been an upsurge of interest in religion among economists, but the content of religion has so far been neglected. This paper builds a rational choice model of divine action, in particular of the structure of the divine offer of salvation and rational human response. It considers why God might not save everyone, the pattern of salvation across individuals with different preferences and endowments, and the way religious conversion and revivals are often large and sudden changes. Rational choice analysis of divine human interactions is a contribution to the renewal interdisciplinary conversation between economists and religion scholars.
[Editor�s Note: This article is the first part of a conversation which is continued in the article entitled Conversation on Paul Oslington�s Deus Economicus in this same issue of AEJT.]
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Matthew C Ogilvie
Can theology be taught successfully in the online environment? This article discusses motivations, opportunities, evolving teaching practices, methods and challenges presented by the online medium for teaching theology. Crucial issues of theological formation and scholarly interaction are also discussed with reference to the online context. Finally, observed outcomes and recommendations are presented for the effective delivery of online theological education.
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Joan Hendriks & Gerard Hall SM
This paper is offered in an exploratory way as a possible path for dialogue between Indigenous Australians and people of other religious, spiritual and cultural traditions. Although couched in the language of the Western academy, including its notions of mysticism, the aim is to establish the sui generis nature of Indigenous Australian experience that centres on the sacred reality of space. It is only when the �otherness� of this experience is appreciated on its own terms that a �fusion of horizons� between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples becomes a possibility. What we call a natural mysticism of embodied knowledge of place is very different to the mysticism of the romantic or theistic traditions - or even to the non-theistic traditions of the East.
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Patrick McArdle
The cases discussed concern new situations in health care demonstrating the inadequacy of traditional bioethical models. I propose an analysis informed by Levinasian conceptions of the Other which yield a richer critique and do greater justice to a Christian vision of health care. The contribution of Levinas is three-fold: identifying features of cases that would normally go un-noticed or unexamined; highlighting relational perspectives in health care; and, prioritizing the Other in all ethical deliberations. These perspectives are vital in the construction of a practical theology of health care based on relationality.
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Abe W. Ata
The increasing occurrence of intermarriages across international boundaries is an impact of globalisation frequently overlooked. Intermarriage is arguably the best indicator as to whether a particular group is fully integrated into and accepted by the main stream community. The article looks at the problems and challenges associated with religious intermixing with a particular emphasis on Catholic and other Christian marriages. This has significance not only for the community in focus, but also more broadly for interfaith and intercultural affairs.
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Joel Hodge
responded to by Simon De Keukelaere
This paper explores the relation between Walter Ong�s �Presence of the word� and Ren� Girard�s anthropological understanding of the Hebreo-Christian revelation. Girard�s insights into mimetic desire and the role of the victim in culture suggest how the Judeo-Christian revelation subverts the cultural mechanisms of violence. Examining the convergences between Girard�s insights and Ong�s work on the presence of the word offers opportunity for expanding our understanding of the Word and revelation from an anthropological perspective.
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