028 :
25 Feb 2012

A theology for the new millennium: Epilogue Fr Peter Dresser today provides an Epilogue to the series of commentaries we have serialised from his book over the last six months. As he argues: "This book has been an attempt to find some convergence between science and our Christian theology. Because science and theology use different data, such a marriage might sit uncomfortably with many. On the other hand, many will find such an attempt a rewarding endeavour. In any case neither science nor theology ought do any great violence to each other. If anything, one should nourish and enhance the other." [more]

027 :
18 Feb 2012

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Ten (Part 4) "Ourselves & Prayer" (Conclusion to the Book) Today's commentary from Fr Peter Dresser is the conclusion to the entire argument he has slowly been unfolding over the previous twenty-six segments of his book that we've serialised. WARNING: If you believe theology was something invented by God back around the time of Adam and Eve, or even at the time of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and the only people allowed to interpret it is the pope and some "committee" in Rome, this commentary will probably be very upsetting to your cosmos. For the rest of you who have been perplexed by the seeming collapse of belief in the world, and trying to sort out your own spirituality in this challenging millieu we are now in, this commentary today may come as a huge breath of fresh air. Today's conclusion to Fr Peter Dresser's book God is Big. Real BIG! will more than probably cause the intelligent reader to go back and re-examine their own theological beliefs at the most profound level: what is your fundamental understanding of the nature and purpose of Jesus in giving us insight into the Spirit of God in our lives? Is our concept of God one of someone who wants to be appeased or is our concept of God one who invites us into a sharing of the Divine insight not so much through sacrifices to the deity but through learning and our endeavouring to understand the nature of the Divine? [more]

026 :
11 Feb 2012

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Ten (Part 3) "Ourselves & Prayer" Now only if we could have far more homilies on Sacramental theology like this instead of all the hand-wringing and phrase-skwirming we often encounter from hierarchs attempting to evade the hair-splitting and note books of the Pharisees and the Temple Police. Today's excerpt from Fr Peter Dresser's book God is Big. Real BIG! is focused on a discussion we have been having for a long time here on Catholica: the meaning of Sacrament in today's world. We commend it as an excellent contribution to that wider discussion. [more]

025 :
06 Feb 2012

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Ten (Part 2) "Ourselves & Prayer" This is a commentary for the 86% and those who are seriously thinking of joining them. It was actually written a decade ago and you might well ask if the situation has improved for any of us in that time? It's a tragedy what has happened to the Church but Fr Peter Dresser writes with considerable optimism: we desperately need a new theological understanding that better accords with people's lived experience of their relationship with God and their understanding of the relationship the Creator calls humankind into. [more]

024 :
29 Jan 2012

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Ten (Part 1) "Ourselves & Prayer" Today we begin the final chapter of the serialisation of Fr Peter Dresser's book searching for "a theology for the New Millennium". The theme of this chapter is the place of prayer in our lives today. What he writes today dovetails beautifully with Vince Exley's reflection yesterday [LINK] mapping the massive changes in our understanding of our place in the cosmos since Sacred Scripture was first written down. What relevance does Jesus have in this new world so much dominated by scientific insights and new technologies? [more]

023 :
07 Jan 2012

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Nine (Part 4) "God, Our Universe & Ourselves" As foreshadowed at the conclusion of last week's excerpt, Fr Peter Dresser today explores the question: "What is the nature of this heavenly kingdom?". What follows our earthly death? Perhaps challengingly for many of us he observes: "Interestingly enough it has generally been the teaching of the Church that we are saved not as individuals but as a community." [more]

022 :
31 Dec 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Nine (Part 3) "God, Our Universe & Ourselves" Fr Peter Dresser tackles two of the big questions in today's excerpt from his book: can we find a new image of God that has more relevant appeal to the educated people of the world today, and an exploration of the big question of life after death? He suggests, in relation to both questions, that perhaps we might learn something from Jewish perspectives. [more]

021 :
24 Dec 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Nine (Part 2) "God, Our Universe & Ourselves" Does a relatively recent scientific and technological discovery, the hologram, give us insight into the mind, and design, of the Divine Creator? That's essentially the question Fr Peter Dresser addresses today in this second extract from Chapter Nine of his book exploring "A Theology for the Third Millennium". [more]

020 :
17 Dec 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Nine (Part 1) "God, Our Universe & Ourselves" Fr Peter Dresser subtitled his book "A Theology for the Third Millennium" and he meant it as we explore in today's excerpt. He suggests "contemporary theologians are suggesting a return to the biblical Wisdom Christology as opposed to two thousand years of Fall and Redemption theology", and begins his presentation of what that might look like. [more]

019 :
10 Dec 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Eight (Part 2) "The God of Our Universe" A large part of the disgruntlement many who have become disenchanted with the fundamentalist theologies that have taken over the institutional agenda is that present a view of God, or the Divine, that is too limited and small. Fr Peter Dresser is exploring how our picture of God, our theologies, need to be vastly expanded to encompass what we are learning from that other bible, God's writing in nature itself. Today's essay, and the ones to follow in the next chapter really do challenge us to expand our minds as we endeavour to conceive of a Theology for the Third Millennium. [more]

018 :
03 Dec 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Eight (Part 1) "The God of Our Universe" If you have been enjoying this series of essays by Fr Peter Dresser today's excerpt from his book will more than probably have special appeal. He sub-titled his book A Theology for the Third Millennium and in this new chapter we start today he really begins to explore how this theology might look in comparison with any old theologies we might have been brought up on. In many ways what Peter Dresser writes might also be reflected on in the light of the lengthy series we ran from Tom McMahon on Catholica looking at the meaning of Sacrament in an Age of Technology [LINK]. What Peter Dresser explores is the meaning of Theology in an Age of Science and Technology. [more]

017 :
26 Nov 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Seven (Part 2) "Our Universe" Peter Dresser got into a bit of trouble when one of our conservative journalistic friends tried to use in for nefarious purposes in one of our national newspapers a couple of years ago. In The Tablet this week there is a review of a new book by now emeritus Professor of Theology, Jack Mahoney SJ, that might suggest Peter Dresser is not that far off the money in all these difficult questions he's been putting before us. Unfortunately the review isn't available online but Jerome reprinted some lines from it on our forum HERE and I've added the book to our marketplace HERE. As Peter suggests God is Big .... Real BIG! and we all need to start re-thinking all our theologies in the light of what we're discovering about life and our universe. [more]

016 :
19 Nov 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Seven (Part 1) "Our Universe" The advances in our knowledge of the Universe are expanding at an accelerating rates. In the news in the last 24 hours has come the results of a second experiment carried out at the Large Hadron Collider in Cern that are suggesting the speed of light might not be the upper limit of speed in the world [LINK]. The implications of this new piece of information are incalculable at the moment. It might yet overturn many of the scientific certitudes that have emerged since the great breakthroughs by Albert Einstein and other theoretical physicists early last century. These advances in our knowledge of the universe, and of science, also have huge implications for our theology — our understanding of this mystery we endeavour to compress into the term "God". These are the raw issues Peter Dresser puts before us today in the first part of Chapter Seven of his book, God is Big .... Real BIG! [more]

015 :
12 Nov 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 6) "Religion and Literalism" Many on reading what Peter Dresser writes in this commentary might wish if it were only Pope Benedict saying something like this our world, and Church, might be in a heck of a lot better condition. Sadly it is unlikely to happen given the fear that grips the institutional church of today. The subject of this commentary is the meaning of angels and the devil. What is the place of angels, the devil and evil in religion and theology. Are we meant to take them literally? This is the final segment of Chapter Six and Peter's discussion of the problem of literalism in religious belief. [more]

014 :
05 Nov 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 5) "Religion and Literalism" If we don't take the concept of the Resurrection literally — as some kind of bodily rescussitaiton — how are to to interpret it? That is the key question Peter Dresser attempts to explore in this fifth extract from Chapter Six of his book. All of us tend to "tip toe through the tulips" on this one for fear of getting into trouble with the fundamentalistis who elevate some kind of literal interpretation of the Resurrection as a "litmus test of orthodoxy". How do you understand the Resurrection? What do you think of Peter Dresser's treatment of the subject? [more]

013 :
29 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 4) "Religion and Literalism" Some may find Peter Dresser's commentary today too confronting. He challenges in a no-holds barred manner the entire notion of Original Sin. Where did this notion, and doctrine, come from? How does it relate to the overall picture we have from Sacred Scripture of God's relationship with humankind; of Jesus' relationship with humankind? How does it all sit today with our understanding of Creation in the context of evolution and the insights of modern science? Peter Dresser even challenges Denis Edwards who is cited as one of the contemporary theologians endeavouring to reinterpret this doctrine in the light of our changing worldview and its implications for our theologies. You might agree or disagree with Peter but the intelligent reader will be challenged by today's commentary. [more]

012 :
22 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 3) "Religion and Literalism" Peter Dresser is a brave priest taking us into the sort of territory he's exploring in this chapter of his book. His essay last week on the Divinity of Jesus will hopefully make a bit more sense in what he writes today in the lead-in to another controversial subject: the meaning of the Virginity of Mary and her status as "Mother of God". What on earth do these expressions mean in our modern literal understanding of the terms "virgin" and "mother"? If they don't mean what we literally mean when we use those terms today, what meaning do they have in a religious, theological or analogous context? Buckle up for a challenging exploration of concepts that have led to the excommunication of bishops and some of the greatest rifts in Christianity. [more]

011 :
15 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 2) "Religion and Literalism" Today's reflection from Peter Dresser takes us into the difficult and controversial territory of the twin natures that we ascribe to Jesus. He is both human and divine. How can anyone hold these two contradictory natures at one and the same time? What were the Gospel writers getting at in some of their descriptions? What was Jesus trying to say in some of his descriptions of his relationship with his father? Were they using literal language or talking in metaphorical language? How should be interpret the relationship between God the Son and God the Father today? This ain't "bedtime reading" for the remnant elements in Catholicism or Christianity who believe the answers to all these sort of questions are simple. [more]

010 :
08 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 1) "Religion and Literalism" Today we begin Chapter Six of Peter Dresser's book. It is a lengthy exploration of the problem many seem to have today of sorting the religious and theological meaning of Scripture from historical fact. Today's commentary might be viewed as an introduction or overview to a number of specific instances where Scripture is often taken too literally at the cost of obscuring the deeper mythological, theological or religious meaning. [more]

009 :
01 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Five (Part 2) "Jesus the Avatar" The central theme that binds today's reflection from Peter Dresser is our need to respect the many different ways in which different people understand this Mystery we try to condense into the word "God". In the context of Peter's life, and what he writes in the totality of this book though, he is also arguing for the uniqueness and special place of Jesus as the avatar within our cultural and faith tradition. Readers attracted to what we are seeking to explore through Catholica will find this commentary both uplifting and food for much further thought and reflection. [more]

008 :
24 Sep 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Five (Part 1) "Jesus the Avatar" Today's commentary from Peter Dresser ought to come with a spiritual health warning as this contains the sort of language that sends the fundamentalist and insecure Christians crawling up the wall and over the ceiling. It shouldn't upset the sort of readers we are seeking to communicate to through Catholica. What Peter explores today is the meaning and the uniqueness of Jesus compared to other great "symbols" or "manifestations" of the Godhead or the Divine in the other dreat religions of the world. Again it is a lengthy chapter and we've split it into two parts. [more]

007 :
17 Sep 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Four (Part 2) "God and Jesus" In his commentary today Peter Dresser laments how much we have obscured the real Jesus under too much dogma. The first three letters of dogma are God spelt backwards. How do we rescue the authentic Jesus and the Spirit of God from all the doctrinal mumbo jumbo and small-mindedness? God is Big ..... Real BIG! [more]

006 :
10 Sep 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Four (Part 1) "God and Jesus" Peter Dresser's commentary today takes us to the heart of what ought be the question at the heart of Christianity; what was the founder of Christianity, the one whom the enterprise is name after, have as his vision of God? What vision of the Godhead does Jesus offer to humankind? What does Jesus model for us in terms of thinking, emotional behaviour and in our actions? Today's commentary is the first part of Chapter Four from his manuscript God is Big ..... Real BIG! [more]

005 :
03 Sep 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Three (Part 2) "Who or What is God?" Here's a commentary to test your mettle. In the second part of his chapter addressing the BIG question: "Who or What is God?" Peter Dresser takes you on a wonderful journey exploring this history of human concepts of God as well as many of the competing pictures different people present of this Mystery we try to condense into the name "God". His central argument though is that we all need to expand our minds when it comes to thinking about this Mystery. God is Big ..... Real BIG! [more]

004 :
27 Aug 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Three (Part 1) "Who or What is God?" In today's extract from his book, Peter Dresser addresses the BIG question: Who or What is God? There are no easy answers of course, the great minds have been exploring the question since Eve was a little girl. Peter presents to us a few of the different approaches that various thinkers have applied to the subject. This is the first half of Chapter Three from his book. [more]

003 :
20 Aug 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Two "Orthodoxy" Peter Dresser's commentary today will be music to the ears of the readership whose needs Catholica is most interested in serving. At heart all of us are orthodox about something. Peter essentially addresses the question today of what things are worth getting all orthodox about. While his commentary will be music to the ears of most readers of Catholica this is probably one of the chapters that in an earlier episode had the temple police enraged and firing off letters of complaint to bishops. How big is your picture of God? How deep is your faith? [more]

002 :
13 Aug 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter One "The Thinking of Pooh" How might A.A. Milne's character, Winnie the Pooh relate to God? That's the essential question Fr Peter Dresser, poses today in Chapter One from our serialisation of his book: "God is Big .... Real BIG!". In trying to think in the way of Pooh might we gain insight into why so many have given up listening to what the institutional church has to say? [more]

001 :
06 Aug 2011

A theology for the new millennium... Readers of Catholica will recall that Bathurst Diocean priest, Peter Dresser, raised the ire of the temple police a few years ago for some theological views he expressed in a small book, "God is Big ..... Real BIG!", that accidentally found its way onto the internet via the St Mary's website in South Brisbane. The brouhaha got Peter into trouble, and his local bishop, and became one of the many things used to belt the good people of St Mary's over the head with. Originally the book had only been photocopied and distributed as a discussion starter amongst Peter's friends and was not intended for wider dissemination. Peter Dresser has been an avid reader, and contributor to Catholica since we started publishing five years ago. In the last few days he suggested we might like to use at least parts of his book on Catholica because some of the things he was endeavouring to explore in the book intersect with a lot of our recent conversations on Catholica. Rather than just give you bits of the book we've decided to serialise it over about the next 12 weeks on Saturdays on Catholica. Today we bring you the Prologue and Preamble. [more]