060 :
20 Oct 2007

Analysing the spiritual journey via Star Trek… Closely related to last week's commentary, Dr Elmer, today looks at the inner spiritual and life journey through comparison with the popular television series Star Trek. Imagine what the Church would be like if more of our ordained spiritual guides could explain it all in this kind of language. Congratulations also to Ian Elmer, we can now officially call him "Doctor". [more]

059 :
13 Oct 2007

Entering the Kingdom within… This is stuff some of the bishops and cardinals who are going to be held accountable for the present parlous state the Church is in ought be reading. Of course they won't be reading it but that's no reason why you mightn't get great benefit out of it. You'll probably get labelled as a dissenter, heretic, liberal and a whole lot of other choice labels for reading it but that's part of the price one pays these days for trying to find out where one finds the key to the door where one can begin "the journey within". Is this stuff Ian Elmer is discussing heretical or is it the sort of language our ecclesial leaders need to be getting their heads around if they are to return to "bringing the 'Good News' to all" and not just to "the self-anointed few"? [more]

058 :
06 Oct 2007

The Kingdom within… This is a particularly thought-provoking commentary from Ian Elmer. It directly challenges some of the notions that were very popular understandings not too long ago and which would still be held to dearly by some. But even if what he is outlining might be generally accepted by the sort of readership that is attracted to Catholica there is still much that many here might argue with. This commentary should lead to excellent further discussion in the weeks ahead. [more]

057 :
29 Sep 2007

The Church as Sacrament Ian Elmer continues this interesting exploration of the attitude and balance we are invited to bring to the business of "being Church". In viewing Church as "the Sacrament of Christ" are we called to worship or are we called to serve? [more]

056 :
22 Sep 2007

Why must we go to church? Ian Elmer presents one of the best arguments you're likely to find anywhere about what the Sunday Eucharistic obligation is all about. [more]

055 :
15 Sep 2007

Do we have to convert everyone to Christianity? Ian Elmer re-visits the contentious question of the role of Jesus in the salvation of humanity. In the wake of 911 and the rise of fundamentalism across all religions he explores the alternative theological perspectives including the rise of the interfaith movement. He argues: we don't have to jump on the "Interfaith" bandwagon by deserting our belief in the uniqueness of the Christian message. [more]

054 :
08 Sep 2007

Is Jesus just for human beings? Ian's commentary today explores some pretty serious territory albeit that our headline might be a little tongue in cheek. He argues, and asks: "in recent years we have moved away from the atonement model of salvation to a more sacramental one, which views Jesus' life, death and resurrection as the primordial sign of God's encounter with humanity. On this view the question would be, "Does God invite other beings into the same relationship as that to which humanity is called?" An important facet of this discussion turns on the notion of Christ as universally significant." [more]

053 :
01 Sep 2007

The Relationship between the Individual Conscience and Church Teaching II… Ian's commentary last week on the primacy of the conscience generated some debate in the discussion forum, indicating the significance and importance of this issue. In the interests of furthering the debate, and in the light of recent disputes between Cardinal Pell, Archbishop Hickey and Catholic politicians vis-à-vis stem cell research, Ian thought it might be appropriate to apply the principles outlined last week to this hot topic. [more]

052 :
25 Aug 2007

The Relationship between the Individual Conscience and Church Teaching I… In this provocative commentary, Ian Elmer explores the difficult and topical issue of Primacy of Conscience but takes the discussion much further seeking to examine, based on Church teaching and thinking, how we, as individuals, go about the process of discerning what our conscience is saying to us in order to arrive at the particular moral truth for any particular moral dilemma we might be facing. [more]

051 :
18 Aug 2007

By whose authority? The interest this unprecedented petition to the Australian Catholic Bishops has stirred, and the courageous and very political decision of the President of the Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Phillip Wilson, to scuttle an endeavour designed to derail that petition and position the Conference and the Bishops in a politically neutral position in relation to the petition proceeding without impediment, has inspired Ian Elmer to prepare this commentary for us on the nature of authority within the Church. [more]

050 :
11 Aug 2007

Biblical scholarship… Ian Elmer takes a break from his present series on Jesus to offer an alternative view to the one advanced by Cardinal Pell last Sunday concerning the value of biblical scholarship and the value of biblical scholars. [more]

049 :
04 Aug 2007

Jesus' and the sects… Ian's commentary last week generated much discussion in our forum. This week's discussion is likely to be equally provocative. In it he explores where Jesus on the spectrum of sects that constituted Second-Temple Judaism and draws parallels with the divisions in the Church of today. [more]

048 :
28 Jul 2007

Jesus' attitude towards women Ian begins a new series this Saturday examining the ways in which Jesus differed from other religious leaders and rabbis. In this first part he examines the counter-cultural attitude Jesus took towards women and how this was later reversed by later followers in the late-first and early-second centuries. [more]

047 :
21 Jul 2007

What is sin? Ian Elmer's commentary today is an exploration of our changing perceptions on the nature of sin but he adds the twist of endeavouring to look at "sin" from the perspective of what we can learn from modern biblical scholarship. [more]

046 :
14 Jul 2007

Paul In the interests of exploring further the subject of the cult of personality, which Ian Elmer raised in his commentary last week, this week he invites us to study Paul's first letter to Corinth and, in particular, the conflict between Paul and the Cephas (Peter) Party. [more]

045 :
07 Jul 2007

Cult of Celebrity… Ian Elmer returns to further examine the picture we have of the first Apostle, Peter. His commentary has been partly sparked by John Carroll's recent book "The Existential Jesus". [more]

044 :
30 Jun 2007

Journal Writing… A very different and far more personal commentary from Ian this week which explores the value in journal writing. [more]

043 :
23 Jun 2007

How important is the question of who wrote the Gospels? The authorship of the Gospel's has been a long-disputed question. In this commentary Ian Elmer seeks to examine the evidence and explains his personal motivations as a biblical scholar why he thinks examining the question is important. [more]

042 :
16 Jun 2007

Early symbols of our faith… Ian Elmer's commentary today explores the origins of some of the early symbols used to depict Christianity. It's a commentary filled with insightful reflections about what these symbols mean today. [more]

041 :
09 Jun 2007

A New Vision of Church? In what is possibly his single most gripping commentary yet for Catholica, Ian Elmer writes on a broad canvas exploring the ultimate meaning of our spiritual and religious quest. He ends by posing a series of questions and suggestions that we need to take on board as a Church if we are to forge new vitality into the institution and again make it relevant to the needs of the individual and civilisation at large. [more]

040 :
02 Jun 2007

Spelling it out! Ian Elmer coined the term "Law-Free Christianity" to explain a concept in his doctoral theses regarding the factions in the early Christian church. Some have tried to deliberately misconstrue what is meant by the term. In this commentary Ian spells out precisely what is meant. [more]

039 :
26 May 2007

Factionalism... Ian Elmer examines the divisions in the early Church as means of trying to understand that unity is hard to come by — in Paul's time or our own. [more]

038 :
19 May 2007

Change of pace... This week Ian Elmer has a change of pace ... and focus. His commentary examines the evidence against the recent television documentary which claimed to have found the lost tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. His commentary reads like a good detective story trawling through and comparing the evidence. [more]

037 :
12 May 2007

Controversy shaped the Church and our beliefs Continuing from his reflection last week, Ian argues that the triumph of the Nicene orthodoxy also marks the beginning of the "Roman Catholic" church as a distinct religious institution, which ironically really only occurred` as the result of a long and heated theological debate about Christology. There is in this historical event clear parallels to today as we again debate what it means to be a church that claims to be "Roman", "Catholic" and "Apostolic". As Santana says "those who are ignorant of history are bound to repeat it". [more]

036 :
05 May 2007

The controversy surrounding Arius — what can we learn? Ian argues: "This reflection serves to remind us that God simply doesn't provide us with all the answers in some definitive way. We have debate and discussion, even argument, to refine and define our shared faith – what else might we expect from a God who chooses to enter into conversation with his creatures?" [more]

035 :
28 Apr 2007

Exploring the development in Church thinking on this Mystery of the Christ... Continuing this present fascinating discussion that has been going on in both our lead commentaries, and in our forum, today Ian Elmer takes us on a new tack. His commentary today explores the controversial process the Church went through over centuries to try and refine its understanding of the two natures of Jesus. [more]

034 :
21 Apr 2007

What can we learn from a doubting Thomas? Ian Elmer is back from his holiday in fine fettle with this fascinating and provocative reflection on what we can learn from the Doubting Apostle, Thomas. [more]

033 :
07 Apr 2007

The Resurrection – fact, fiction, or future event? For our Holy Saturday lead commentary, Ian Elmer seeks to open our minds and hearts to the ultimate significance of the Resurrection away from the sorts of discussions that go on endeavouring to portray the resurrection if Jesus as some kind of resuscitation. [more]

032 :
01 Apr 2007

A Reflection on the Passion of Mary... As we enter the holiest week of the Christian calendar Ian suggests that of the many images presented by the Passion of Jesus Christ "there is none more poignant than the image of Jesus' grieving mother standing at a distance, watching as her son is stripped of his dignity, publicly humiliated, tortured and executed". Today he invites us to reflect on the Passion through the eyes of Jesus' mother. [more]

031 :
24 Mar 2007

A Reflection on the Adulterous Woman in John 8:1-11... Did you know that of the 1426 names mentioned in the Bible, 1315 are males and only 111 are female. This is one of the interesting facts Ian Elmer brings to this analysis of the curiously placed story in Scripture of Jesus' encounter with the adulterous woman and the mob who wanted to stone her for her sins. [more]

030 :
17 Mar 2007

A Reflection on the Lukan Parable of the Father and Two Sons... Continuing this interesting style of Lenten reflections that's evolved this year where we have an indepth series of commentaries on the Sunday reading rather than a reflection on each daily reading, today Ian Elmer offers a different perspective on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He writes: "Although this story appears only in Luke, most scholars agree that its character and style testifies to the deft hand of Jesus masterful storytelling ability. However, within the context of Luke's Gospel this memorable story serves to critique the perceptions of honour and shame common to the Mediterranean cultures of the first century." [more]

029 :
10 Mar 2007

A reflection on Divine Providence... The issue of Divine Providence is at the heart of the Gospel reading this Sunday. In this commentary Ian seeks to break apart the many ways in which human beings try to interpret Divine Providence. At heart he's seeking the Christian interpretation. [more]

028 :
03 Mar 2007

Reflecting on the Transfiguration through Matthew... The reading at Mass for the Feast of the Transfiguration tomorrow is from Luke. Ian Elmer argues that the Gospel of Matthew provides rich territory to explore other understandings of this event. [more]

027 :
24 Feb 2007

Confronting our own demons through a better understanding of the Temptation of Christ In this powerful piece of analysis Ian Elmer breaks apart the three different Synoptic versions of the Temptation of Christ to provide what we feel sure will be exciting new perspectives for most readers on challenges that are very real in our lives today. [more]

026 :
17 Feb 2007

Does God answer our prayers? In his commentary today Ian Elmer explores whether the institutional Church might have some formal view on this and what some of the thinking has been at different points in time. He argues the trite response to the question is "God gives us what we need and not what we want!" but goes on to argue that the question also raises the fundamental issue of God's role in the world. [more]

025 :
10 Feb 2007

Rules is Rules! Ian Elmer returns this week with his thought-provoking explorations into Sacred Scripture. His first commentary for the year takes us though a lesson from St Paul's letter to the Galatians that continues to cause difficulties in our own time. [more]

024 :
10 Feb 2007

The story behind the 12 days of Christmas... After a break last week, Ian returns today for a last look at the meaning of the season we are presently celebrating. His commentary looks at the origins and meaning in the popular story about The Twelve Days of Christmas. [more]

023 :
16 Dec 2006

Is the Christmas story a myth? This week Ian explores the mythological dimension of the Christmas story. Why we need myth in our lives. [more]

022 :
09 Dec 2006

A seasonal reflection... Ian is taking a break from his series on the early Church he has been pursuing to muse on more seasonal subjects over the next week or two. He expands on some remarks he posed less formally in the discussion forum during the week: What does Christmas mean to you? He describes this as a personal rather than scholarly reflection on the meaning of the feast we are about to celebrate. [more]

021 :
05 Dec 2006

What can we learn today from the disputes in the early Church? This week Ian is again looking at the differences in understanding between the different factions in the early Church with a view to helping us understand later disputes, such as the fracture with Martin Luther, and contemporary differences. [more]

020 :
25 Nov 2006

What can we learn from the leadership styles in the early Church? More fascinating as each instalment unfolds, Ian today takes us on a journey looking at the differing leadership styles of the early leaders. [more]

019 :
18 Nov 2006

Who was boss in the early Church? In this essay, Ian Elmer examines what historical research is telling us about the structure of the earliest Christian Church and how it changed due to various influences over time. [more]

018 :
11 Nov 2006

Who were the first Christians? This week, Ian takes his series of commentaries a step further by asking, "Who were the first Christians?" It may come as some surprise to learn that the first group in the Jesus Movement to bear the name "Christian" were viewed as dissenters and troublemakers within the wider movement. [more]

017 :
04 Nov 2006

The Resurrection — what really happened? What do we know of the history of the resurrection event itself? What really happened? To whom did Jesus appear? What was the nature of those Christophanies? How was this experience interpreted by the recipients? These are the questions Ian explores today. [more]

016 :
28 Oct 2006

Why did Jesus have to be crucified? Last week, in an excursus from his discussion of the historical Jesus, Ian explored two competing solutions to the puzzle of why God wanted to become human. This week, he continues further with that subject by examining another piece of the same puzzle, expressed in the equally important question: Why did Jesus have to die? [more]

015 :
21 Oct 2006

Why did God have to become human? Ian Elmer seeks today to give us an overview of one of the great theological disputes of history: why did God have to become human? It's still controversial. He also provides plenty of further reading for when you have the time to explore these matters more deeply. [more]

014 :
14 Oct 2006

Did Jesus think he was "the Son of God"? Returning to his series in search of the historical Jesus, today Ian Elmer is focusing on the questionas to what Jesus' self perception might have been: "Did he think he was the Son of God?" [more]

013 :
04 Oct 2006

Greed: it is good (with reservations)! Ian Elmer argues that there has been an enormous shift in the official thinking of the Church as to how we approach moral law. He argues: "This new take on sin and greed is the result of both the insights of modern biblical scholarship and other significant philosophical shifts within the Church and wider society. Vatican II embraced anew the biblical themes of covenant, heart and conversion, and not law, as the primary moral concepts. Notions of responsibility and justice have displaced older concepts like obligation and law as the primary characteristics of the moral life." [more]

012 :
30 Sep 2006

Who did Jesus think he was? (cont'd) Continuing his exploration of the historical Jesus, today Ian Elmer is focusing in on two questions: "What did Jesus teach?" and "What did Jesus do?" [more]

011 :
23 Sep 2006

Who did Jesus think he was? This week our resident Biblical scholar, Ian Elmer, begins to focus in on the message and mission of Jesus. The commentary today explores Jesus' relation to John the Baptist and the common links, and differences, between the visions of John the Baptist and Jesus. [more]

010 :
16 Sep 2006

What was the world of Jesus really like? This week our resident Biblical scholar, Ian Elmer, provides an overview of the social and political climate in which Jesus lived. It is by way of further background preparation to his commentaries in future weeks which will focus more and more on Jesus' own mission and message. [more]

009 :
09 Sep 2006

The Holy Family: What is the true picture? This week our resident Biblical scholar, Ian Elmer, seeks to strip away the pietistic myths that have built up around the Holy Family over the centuries. He is seeking to take us back to establish a more historically honest understanding of who Jesus really was based on the extant evidence and how this might influence our understanding today of who Jesus continues to be as both Son of God and Son of Man. [more]

008 :
02 Sep 2006

How did Jesus' childhood shape his later teachings? This week, Biblical scholar, Ian Elmer continues his quest to reconstruct what scholars are finding out about the historical Jesus. In his second article today in this series Ian is looking at what we can learn from the extant information of Jesus early years. How did his childhood shape his later teachings? [more]

007 :
26 Aug 2006

Would the 'Real' Jesus Christ Please Stand Up? This week, Biblical scholar, Ian Elmer, begins a new exploration that he informs us will unfold over several weeks. Last week he was exploring the different perspectives on Jesus that were to be found from the New Testament accounts in the early Church. His new quest goes back further than that in an endeavour to reconstruct what scholars are finding out about the historical Jesus. In his first article today in this series Ian is addressing the issue of method. In effect, asking questions about how Biblical scholars undertake the task of reconstructing the Historical Jesus. What criteria do they use to sort fact from fiction? [more]

006 :
19 Aug 2006

Who is this man Jesus who is the focus of our attention? Ian Elmer argues the notion of the undivided Church is a myth. From the very outset there were differing views on the identity of Jesus that led to different "ways" of following Jesus. He explores these earliest differences of opinion seeking to provide us with an insight into our own unique view of Jesus and an appreciation that our view is not the only one. [more]

005 :
12 Aug 2006

Are we called to be mystics? Not only expanding on his essay from last week exploring the conversion experience of St Paul, this essay by Ian Elmer slots in almost perfectly with the discussion on "vocation" we carried in Catholica yesterday. Here Ian is exploring whether we are all called to have mystical religious experiences or are there other equally valid, and valuable, forms of spiritual expression or experience? [more]

004 :
05 Aug 2006

Can we learn from Paul's descriptions of his "Damascus Road conversion" insights as to how God reveals himself in our lives? In this article Ian Elmer brings into focus some scriptural-based observations on a number of questions that we've been discussing as a community over recent months. One on-going question a number of people have been addressing is the one of how God speaks to us? Following on from his own essay on 3rd August on the present wisdom as to how we understand God revealed himself to the writers of Sacred Scripture, today Ian picks apart Scripture itself with the aid of a number of other scholars to see what we might learn from the ways in which Paul claims the Gospel or Divine insights were revealed to him. Was Paul being "economical with the truth" in suggesting the revelation all came in some flash of light on the road to Damascus or was it a slower, evolutionary process that was also tempered by other events that Paul had to deal with and surmount in his own life? [more]

003 :
03 Aug 2006

Who Is the Author of the Bible? Did God literally reach down and guide the hands of those who transcribed Sacred Scripture? We asked Ian Elmer to give us an overview of what the accepted wisdom is today from both the institutional Church and Scripture scholars on what, precisely, we mean when we say that Scripture is "inspired" or "authored" by God. How do you, the reader, understand this expression? What does it mean to you? [more]

002 :
22 Jul 2006

Were the founders of the Church radicals or reactionaries? Ian Elmer, our resident Biblical scholar and debuker of myths and old wive's tales, takes us on a fascinating exploration this week into what researchers are uncovering of the nature of the earliest Christian communities. Were they radicals or reactionaries? [more]

001 :
15 Jul 2006

Reclaiming our Jewish heritage... It is an enormous pleasure today to welcome Ian Elmer to our stable of writers. Most of you already here will be familiar with Ian's style from his posts on the CathNews discussion forum. I find his style warm, friendly, hugely informative and provocative. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Ian emerges in time to become as hugely an important figure in biblical studies as Salesian Fr Frank Moloney has become not only in Australia but internationally. Like Moloney, Ian has a style of delivery that is easy on the ear yet is packed with insight. Enjoy his first contribution to Catholica Australia exploring our Jewish heritage. [more]