His life’s work was asserting the humanity and history of the Bantu people, while proposing that the soul was able to bring knowledge of the past and of the future into the present.
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Articles on Religion and mythology
Displaying 1 - 20 of 22 articles
Australian writers are embracing monsters from classical mythology, which provide profound connections to issues of identity and coming of age. Which mythical beast are you? Try our author’s quiz and find out.
Biblical scholars and theologians have long discussed, debated and disputed the virgin birth of Jesus, with some arguing that there is no imperative to link it to the doctrine of the Incarnation.
While Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin openly draws on medieval and early modern history in the worlds of his books, his subversive depictions of witchcraft make his female characters both intriguing and powerful.
The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife, once thought to be authentic, has been revealed as a fraud. How did critical scholarship uncover the truth, and how can it further biblical studies?
Regardless of reasoning and the plethora of scholarship that exists, Greek tragedy remains the most modern form of drama. It is unafraid to question everything we value.
Kepler-452b’s discovery last week has raised the perennial question: are we alone in the universe? While the find’s scientific import is huge, it also poses questions that go to the heart of religion.
Brutal sexual threats against perceived trespassers, made anonymously, with the expectation they will be seen as “humorous”. Sound familiar? Modern-day trolls belong to a long, and troubling, lineage.
Traditions about Jesus cannot be separated out into the categories of early and late, primary and secondary, authentic or inauthentic, fact and interpretation. One might as well try and unscramble an omelette.
Forget fairy tales. History provides numerous accounts of real witches. These were flesh-and-blood women who seriously practised magic and believed in its efficacy.
In recreating a perennial mythic tale in the latest episode, the creative taskforce behind Game of Thrones has cast us, the audience, as modern ancients. Warning: spoilers!
If the commands of reason really do require a god, then that god exists beyond reasonable doubt. Agree? Disagree? Read on …
Interpretations of Paul the apostle’s texts provided the basic fund of imagery that continues to inform popular opinion about what Christians mean when they talk about “heaven”, or “hell”.
Game of Thrones never even approaches the slippery and surprising world of gender manipulation and redefinition that existed in medieval spirituality.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the spiritual and political head of IS, is a clever theologian and Qur’anic artisan. We would do well to better our own interfaith theological understanding.
Star Wars is not a complete picture of human life, but is a way of pointing us to contemplate and live life more authentically.
Allah, the divinity at the heart of Islam, has 99 names and is often poorly understood outside the faith. Islam recognises no god but Allah, who revealed scriptures to bothJewish and Christian prophets before Mohammed.
The proposition that Easter is a 100% Christian affair is manifestly unsustainable. It shows an ignorance of history. Worse, it shows a failure to understand the way religious traditions work.
Why does an atheist literary scholar need to know about the Bible? It’s a text with innumerable interpretative possibilities that allows readers to connect ‘the apparently unconnectable’.
We need to move beyond assumptions that religion is simply about dogmatism, and should continue teaching religion within a secular educational structure.
Top contributors
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Honorary Professor, The University of Queensland
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Associate Professor (New Testament Studies), University of Divinity
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Honorary professor, College of Arts, Social Sciences, La Trobe University
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Joan F W Munro Professor of Historical Theology, University of Divinity
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Emeritus Professor - Theology. Ethics & Education, University of Newcastle
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Honorary Research fellow, The University of Western Australia
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Honorary Research Associate, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
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Emeritus Professor, University of South Australia
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Senior lecturer, Australian Catholic University
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PhD Candidate - Classics, University of Newcastle
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Senior Research Fellow and Associate Director of the Medieval and Early Modern Centre, University of Sydney
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Paul Eliadis Chair of Classics and Ancient History, The University of Queensland
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Doctoral Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand
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Director, Centre for Religious Studies, Monash University
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Playwright and theatre researcher, Monash University
