Editorial: The Indian Ocean Tsunami and the Broken Hallelujah

Gerard Hall SM

Reflecting on the paschal mystery in the light of Leonard Cohen's music, Mary Veling states: "Somewhere between suffering and hope lies poetry, somewhere between the Cross and the Resurrection lies the 'cold and broken Hallelujah'." In wake of the recent Indian Ocean Tsunami, there have been many attempts to provide a rationale for what has traditionally been named the "theodicy problem" or the "problem of suffering and evil."

In Australia, as elsewhere, there have been heartfelt, generous and practical responses to this sea of death which claimed perhaps a quarter of a million lives. Those of various religious backgrounds and none were united in the human response to the mystery that asks not so much what is our meaning in life, but what is our meaning in death? This question is reinforced as we contemplate the anniversary of Auschwitz and recall Walter Benjamin's question: "Can we write poetry after Auschwitz?" Political theologian, Johan Baptist Metz, takes this further in asking if we can pray or write theology after the gulags murders and human tragedies of the past century.

Most of us will return to doing whatever we do without answering these questions. Nonetheless, our hearts and minds will continue to be challenged by unsettling images of death and destruction that pervade our world and TV screens--whether these are caused by war, famine, epidemics, human frailty, technological failure, terrorism or nature. Most humans seem at once fascinated and frightened by such realities. Such a response is not unrelated to what Rudolf Otto described as the "numinous experience" underlying all religions. Such experience has three components: mysterium--something "wholly other" from ordinary life-experience; tremendum--provoking terror in the experience of our creaturehood and the overwhelming power of the divine; fascinans--attraction towards and dependence upon this divine power in spite of fear and terror.

At the very least, this gives us a different perspective and provokes a whole set of questions in regard to the mystery, power and graciousness of God in the midst of human suffering and death. Moreover, the Tsunami experience provoked a response of human solidarity in which Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu, Jew, Christian, religious other and atheist were, however tentatively, at one in their experience of the "cold and broken Hallelujah." Here, in my view, is the experience of a common human faith in some kind of transcendent Other--even if the atheist's faith is expressed in terms of hope in science and rationality for a better world. To paraphrase Raimon Panikkar: to be human is to be called to a faith that transcends us; and such faith is at the heart of all human solidarity since "beliefs divide, faith unites."

While the religious traditions have their own distinctive doctrines in which they express belief in God and human/cosmic destiny (see articles by Vincent Battaglia, Alex Mok, Joseph O'Leary and Tessa Rainbird), authentic religious experience is first and foremost a genuine human experience. Christians affirm this through their belief in the incarnation of Christ. To take this further, no other tradition focuses so directly on the redemptive possibilities within human suffering and death. We may consider that some theologies of the Cross and Atonement glorify suffering for its own sake. This is not our perspective. Nonetheless, as Mary Veling reminds us, we all stand "somewhere between the Cross and the Resurrection." From a Christian perspective, there is no Resurrection without the Cross; no risen Christ without Calvary.

Edward Schillebeeckx speaks of the "surd of human suffering" to which there is no rational explanation. The human and religious response is not some theory of suffering, but the outcry of indignation in the face of suffering. Sometimes, like Job, our outcry will be to God. To be touched by the mystery of suffering is to be called to a contemplative moment. How can we pray after Auschwitz, asks Metz? His answer: we can pray after Auschwitz because they prayed in Auschwitz.

The mystery of suffering and death is not something that finds a welcome door in our consumerist, celebrity-fixated culture. Philosophers, poets, artists and, yes, theologians need to be among those counter-cultural voices who open our imaginations (a good place to start) and then our minds (often the last faculty open to transformation) to those aspects of human experience that are too easily ignored. To paraphrase Vergil: there are tears of death; and mortality touches the soul.

If the Indian Tsunami can teach us anything, it is that we have responsibility as one human family not just for those of our own cultural, religious or ethnic tribe: we have responsibility for each other; and the whole world is not beyond our borders.

AEJT: Vol 4 / Overview

This fourth issue of The Australian Ejournal of Theology contains its usual wide variety and wonderful array of reflections on theological issues ranging from systematic, biblical, sacramental-liturgical, moral-ethical and practical-pastoral areas of theology to interdisciplinary, interfaith, intercultural and gender issues.

Appreciation is expressed to referees and contributors (including our Book Reviewers) and especially to invited international scholars: Stephen Bevans SVD (Catholic Theological Union, Chicago), Brian Johnstone CSsR (Academia Alfonsiana, Rome), Declan Marmion SM (Milltown Institute, Dublin) and Joseph O'Leary (Sophia University, Tokyo).

By way of general categorization, the articles can be gathered under the following general areas (admitting that other categorizations could be equally well employed):

Theologians and Theological Education: Reflections on two of the most significant Catholic theologians of the last century, namely Karl Rahner (Declan Marmion) and Yves Congar(Robert Nugent), invite significant questions for theology and theological education today. Stephen Bevans brings his missiological perspective and challenge to the task of envisaging theological education for a world church.

Catholicity: The issue of Catholicity is presented in reference to Teaching and Learning within the Catholic University context (Anthony Kelly) and with respect to the celebration of the Liturgy (Damien Casey).

Church and Sacraments: Documents from the Vatican and The World Council of Churches are used to present  the Church as the primary sacrament of Christian encounter with the risen Lord (Brian Gleeson), especially through celebration of the Sunday Eucharist (Anthony Gooley).

Practical Theology: Frank Devoy reflects on church governance which, he argues, should neither be excessively authoritative nor exclusively democratic but, in terms of a theology of communion, "consultative-participative." Noel McMaster, a pastoral practitioner in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, focuses on the need for reflection on praxis, faith, ideology, inculturation and the "new evangelization."

Moral Theology/ Gender Issues: Issues discussed include homosexuality (Brian Johnstone), women in the Eastern Orthodox Church (Angelo Nicolaides), and two diverse approaches to feminism based on the writings of St Luke (Karl Hand) and James Alison (Jade Ireland).

Scripture and Early Church: Two exegetical studies provide biblical/theological reflection on John 15:1a (Mary Coloe) and 1 Corinthians (Dennis Sleigh). Anne Hunt provides an historical account of Christian belief and praxis in the early centuries in dialogue with Larry Hurtado's recently published Lord Jesus Christ.

Interfaith Studies: Challenging the traditional emphasis on dogma, Joe O'Leary argues for the priority of religious experience and emphasizes the importance of interreligious encounter for contemporary expressions of Christian faith. John Dupuche's intricate study of Kashmir Shaivism is presented as a basis for renewing Christian anthropology. Tessa Rainbird shows the distinctive approaches of Hinduism, Judaism and Islam in relation to morality, destiny and the afterlife.

Interdisciplinary Studies: Theology/ Science: Essays on Christian eschatology (Vincent Battaglia) and humanity, extraterrestrial life and the cosmic Christ (Alex Mok) demonstrate the necessity of theological dialogue with the physical, astro-physical and social sciences.

Interdisciplinary Studies: Theology/ Art: Music, poetry and art are able to be, in the best Catholic theological tradition, mediations of the divine. They provide an avenue for expanding the theological imagination and grounding religious belief in the ordinary stuff of human experience. Various mixtures of the artistic, the imaginative, the contemplative, the intellectual and the analytical are brought into play in the diverse, often exquisite, contributions of Gregory Smith, Mary Veling, Farid de la Ossa Arrieta, Jack Justice, Fatima Carvalho, Michael and Katrina Michael, Geraldine Wheeler and Lindsay Farrell.

Looking Ahead - Looking Back

Request for articles for the next edition of AEJT to be in the hands of the editor by 1st June 2005. Authors should consult the AEJT Editorial Policy.

In particular, contributions from the wider Australian theological community are invited including those involved in the more practical and pastoral areas of theology as well as religious education. AEJT welcomes scholarly contributions from "all relevant disciplines including the humanities, philosophy, arts, sciences, ethical and legal studies, sociology and history." We also aim for larger representation of--how can I say this?--non-Catholic, non-ACU, non-Brisbane, non-Australian and non-male authors!

We are also reliant on the generosity of many people in extending our Book Reviews. We are happy to consider any reviews of books which are sent to us for future editions.

The appreciation of the Editorial Board for the work of Yuri Koszarycz, Technical Editor, is duly noted. AEJT keeps winning excellence awards for its web-designs and presentations which are due entirely to the Technical Editor's skills and commitment. I draw attention to the challenge of encoding tables, graphics, art-works and articles with words in Greek or Sanskrit.

My particular thanks also to Tony Kelly for editing the prior issue of AEJT and for his generous efforts with this current issue particularly in the refereeing and book reviewing departments.

Finally, thank you to you the readers for criticisms made and congratulations given. We do our best to listen to both in the hope of bringing you an always improved journal. Our commitment is to make available the best of contemporary theological scholarship for those who share our love for and commitment to the work of Christ and the reign of God on earth... as in heaven.

Gerard Hall SM, Editor

 2nd February 2005,

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

A Word from the Technical Editor

My special thanks to the editor, Gerard Hall SM for his constant support and tireless work in reading and editing the major contributions that appear in this issue. Equally, my thanks to Tony Kelly, CSsR for his enthusiasm and optimism that sustains the spirit behind each issue of AEJT. My deepest gratitude to the contributors and readers that have already made AEJT a hallmark of theological publishing excellence.

You can access any of the articles from this issue's homepage and any of the three past issues of AEJT or the past issues of Theology@McAuley from the Ejournal's homepage. I have also linked each author's name below to his/her article, so that you can gain access from this editorial page if you so wish.

I have endeavoured to make the articles contained within this issue 'printer-friendly' - so you will have no difficulty in printing out any article for easier reading. The journal is designed for optimum viewing on a monitor set 1024 x 768. For those of you who like to browse online, and may find the print a little difficult to read, here is a small tip to assist you: If you use MS Internet Explorer as your browser, just click on 'View" and choose 'Text-size' and click on 'Larger' or 'Largest' and you will find that the text will adjust accordingly. If you use Mozilla Firefox, pressing CTRL ++ will increase the text size automatically. The 'Opera' browser has a 'view-zoom' option that allows you to readjust text size. If you have any further difficulty or questions regarding the optimum accessing of any article, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to assist.

Yuri Koszarycz,

Technical Editor