Beyond Habel: Creation, eco-justice and Christian discipleship

The Season of Creation Part 3 By Rod Benson Norman Habelโ€™s Earth Bible project and Australian Season of Creation teach Christians to notice dimensions of Scripture that anthropocentric habits of interpretation often obscure. Yet Habelโ€™s work leaves unfinished questions. How should ecological interpretation lead to discipleship? How should Christians committed to biblical authority and the …

Norman Habel and the Earth Bible hermeneutic

Dr. Norman C. Habel, Professor Emeritus, Flinders University of South Australia The Season of Creation Part 2 By Rod Benson Norman C. Habelโ€™s most substantial contribution to ecological biblical scholarship was his leadership in the Earth Bible Project, an international collaborative venture that sought deliberately to read Scripture from the perspective of Earth. Closely related …

The love that lifts us to glory

A reflection on the classic hymn, O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus Part 3 By Rod Benson O the deep, deep love of Jesusโ€”Love of evโ€™ry love the bestโ€”โ€™Tis an ocean vast of blessing;โ€™Tis a haven sweet of rest.Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesusโ€”โ€™Tis a heavโ€™n of heavโ€™ns to me;And it lifts me …

Loved, kept and defended by Jesus

A reflection on the classic hymn, O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus Part 2 By Rod Benson This article reflects on the second stanza of the hymn, which calls the Church to spread the praise of Jesus and celebrates his unchanging love, sacrificial death, continuing care and heavenly intercession. The second stanza moves from …

Before Lapita: The earliest human settlement of New Guinea

New Guinea's northern coast near Sialum, Morobe Province. Photo: Assistant District Commissioner Bob Hoad, 1972. By Rod Benson New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland. The human history of New Guinea extends far beyond the appearance of the Lapita cultural complex about 3,300 years ago. Archaeological, environmental and genetic evidence indicates that …