RESEARCH SEMINAR
Friday 5February 2016
in the Temporary Lecture Room
P R O G R A M M E
1000Welcome, introduction, notices
1010David Lees, ‘The crucifixion and the Enemy of the Jews: Characterisation and text in Matthew’s passion’ (30 min paper)
1100Brief comfort/drinkbreak
1115Debbie Dulcille, Rediscovering triune koinoniathrough an African lens, andits implicationswithin a Western contemporary church context’ (30 min paper)
1220Finish in time for chapel
12.30pmSilent worship in chapel (optional)
1300Lunch
1345Revd Dr Richard Sudworth, ‘Current Theological Streams Informing Christian Understandings of Law and Ethics in Relation to Islam’ (30 minpaper)
1445Brief comfort/drink break
1500Option of 3 informal surgeries: Putting together your TSP with Fran Porter, Issues around data collection and analysis with Nicola Slee and Systematic Theological querieswith Richard Sudworth
1600Finish
FURTHER DETAILS AND ABSTRACTS
David Lees says: ‘Biblical scholarship has generally been keen to point out how the New Testament does not demonstrate engagement with the book of Esther. In spite of this consensus, Esther is the sole Septuagint text to mention crucifixion, to describe the death of Haman. Of the two uses of the verb ‘to crucify’ in Esther, one of them is an unusual verbal form that also occurs in the Gospels, uniquely in Matthew, suggesting a possible echo of the crucifixion in Esther in Matthew’s passion. The parallel between the two crucifixions was known in the 5th century, and this paper exploreswhether the scholarly consensus is incorrect andMatthew’s passion does in fact consciously allude to the crucifixion in Esther and in doing so use this background to affect the interpretation of the characters in the passion narrative.’
David Lees is a Methodist Ministerial Formation student at Queen's and is in the first year of his PhD research through VU. His previous studies, undertaken at the University of Sheffield,were a BAin Biblical Studies and French, followed by an MA in Biblical Studies Research, which culminated in a dissertation on the translation of the Hebrew text of Esther 1:6. In addition to having an interest in biblical languages and translation David is a keen musician, having been involved with a Gospel Choir, Concert bands, and currently oversees much of the music in the college chapel.
Debbie Dulcille says: ‘In an increasinglysecularised and individualistic society, it is unsurprising to observe that the Western church is often struggling to maintain a different narrative and calling to an interdependentlife. Looking to the experience of the church in the global South, what can we learn, or re-learn, about personhood, relational life and any sense of hospitality and agency that results from a more communitarian perspective? How does this intersect with our understanding of the persons of the Trinity as community?’
Discovering that she could be deemed a practicaltheologian has taken Debbie by surprise; in fact, she is still coming to terms with the idea. Working with children and families for most of her working life - teaching, project management, community development - has mostly been just practical in flavour, rather than theological. A desire to reflect theologically has grown during the last 5 years, taking shape around what has interested and puzzled her in the relational life of the church. This led to embarking upon her MPhil degree, which has just been completed/passed this month.
Richard Sudworth says: ‘The increasing dialogue with Islam in contemporary British theology and the challenges that political Islam poses to robust but liberal notions of Christian political theology have generated a renewed debate around the sources of law and ethics for public life. I will offer an account of current Christian visions of law and ethics through the contributions of three Anglican theologians: Rowan Williams, John Milbank, and Oliver O’Donovan. It will be apparent that each of their respective dialogues with Islam replay earlier Christian debates over the nature of government, the law, and metaphysical notions of nature, reason, and the “good”. While all three theologians represent a current in Christian ethics that can broadly be described as an “ecclesial turn”, their differences suggest that the simplistic dichotomy that posits Christianity as a religion of grace, as against Islam as a religion of law is untenable.’
Revd Dr Richard J. Sudworth is Tutor in Anglican Theology and a part time priest in the diocese of Birmingham. His PhD (Heythrop College, University of London) examined the political theology of the Church of England in response to Islam and he has published a number of articles on the theme of Anglican Christian-Muslim relations, political theology, and the work of Rowan Williams and Kenneth Cragg.