14 June, 2021
Dear Reader,
Those early Church fathers were a tough and uncompromising lot. They had to be. Sharp-tongued St Jerome wouldn’t have done well in the diplomatic service, or even made it past the interview: he bitterly attacked heretical enemies and wasn’t always very nice to his friends. St Ignatius of Antioch (ob. Circa 110-130) was a contemporary of both Polycarp and Clement of Rome. All three had had direct contact with the Apostles and are therefore in that second ‘generation’ of the apostolic succession that unites us all in the communion of saints. All three were martyrs, too, which ought not to surprise us given the circumstances of the time. Two of them, at least, probably met their deaths in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, who is generally thought of as a ‘good’ emperor. There’s a lesson in that somewhere!
That was a time when men and women of principle had no patience with compromise. Ignatius wrote:
Our task is not to produce persuasive propaganda; Christianity shows its greatness when it is hated by the world.
Nowadays we would take a more nuanced approach, shying away from the confrontational, even deliberately provocative, manners of the first Christians. Ignatius begged his followers not to obstruct his martyrdom. We, on the other hand, strive to persuade and to teach. But Ignatius and his contemporaries remind us that example is much more important, even if it attracts loathing.
BY THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH: REFLECTIONS OF A BELEAGUERED TEACHER
Many will remember Kenneth Clark’s 1969 TV series Civilisation, and its first episode The Skin of our Teeth. I’ve often been struck by some similarities between our own times and those early centuries after Rome failed and Christianity had taken root. But there are big differences too: then Christianity was in the ascendant; now it’s under threat – at least in the West. It seems we have another fight on our hands. Here are the thoughts of a humanities teacher, published here with his kind permission, but anonymous: we all know why it has to be:
I am a Greek and Latin teacher. I am driven by a passion for learning, for sharing the great ideas of the great minds of the past with my pupils. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to read Virgil, Homer and Cicero with them. Many of the students who decide to take my subjects to the final year see them as the only opportunity they have to engage in a deep study of literature and art, without having to worry about ‘contexts’ and ‘perspectives’. I try to give them the pleasure of discovering beautiful literature for the pure pleasure of learning and enjoyment. I have been asked by English students: ‘why can’t we just read Shakespeare?’ I have been told that Year 9 English is ‘just, like, social justice’! I feel for them, I am sorry the constraints of curriculum do not allow me to give them the same opportunities which I was given as a student. In teacher training it is disheartening to see the discrepancy between what I consider my priorities as a teacher and the ‘skills’ which I am expected to demonstrate. This year I had nine students enrolled for Classical Greek in Year 9. Last year there were none, but that does not matter at all in the modern school environment: designing a correct marking criteria document is apparently much more important! I see that in the new Australian Curriculum the weight of the Humanities has been significantly decreased. Unfortunately, that makes perfect sense: the Humanities thrive where the curriculum is inspired by a sense of identity, and is underpinned by a solid canon of great ideas and great voices. From what I have seen, there is nothing of that in the Australian Humanities curriculum: nothing but the most trivialising relativism, the obstinate pursuit of ‘capabilities’, the incredible abuse of plurals (‘histories’, ‘communities’, ‘identities’ and so forth. Nothing is shared anymore). I find all this very sad and constrictive. I would like to talk with my students about the Parthenon, Botticelli, Dante, Tolstoy, Mozart, Waugh, but I am not supposed to. I actually still do it, on the side, and the students love it.
MONA – THE MUSEUM OF OLD AND NEW ART
This controversial organisation runs a mid-winter festival (northern hemisphere readers please note that here it is in June!) called Dark Mofo. It’s fair to say that many religious people view it with grave suspicion. There have been strong atheistic and pagan elements: it is very much an alternative arts festival. But this message to participants from the curator, Leigh Carmichael, is astonishing:
As covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on the world, we are reminded daily of our vulnerability and helplessness in the face of it all. St Augustine wrote that Christ went to the cross as a bridegroom to the bride, consummated the marriage, lovingly gave himself up to the torment, and joined himself to her forever. That is to say, he participated in the suffering and sorrows of the world, joyfully. It is within this context that we present our 2021 festival, and pray it brings a glimmer of light in these uncertain times. We invite you to come to the cross.
One of our readers writes: ‘these words don’t sound like those of a man poking fun at Christ, but of a man in the wilderness seeking God. The Holy Spirit is at work drawing him to Christ. Keep him in your prayers!’
VISITING SPEAKER REV DR MICHAEL JENSEN
To coincide with Dark Mofo, St George’s Anglican Church, Battery Point, is hosting two talks by this distinguished theologian on 22 and 23 June. You can find out more and book tickets at www.stgeorgesbatterypoint.org/.
SUMMER SCHOOLS 2022
10-14 January – Medieval and Ecclesiastical Latin – a one-week intensive reading course for people with some Latin, or a willingness to undertake some self-instruction or brushing up beforehand. Guided readings of pieces from the Bible, Sts Ambrose, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, as well as poetry both sacred and secular, and good Latin narrative prose. This will be the Hobart Latin Summer School’s 30th year!
17-21 January – Western Civilisation – an Overview. This is a pilot venture. We shall cover five major areas: History (Greece, Rome, the emergence of the modern world), Literature (Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare), Philosophy (Plato, Aristotle, the Scholastics, ethical theories), Theology (the person of Christ, Scripture, Sacraments) and Art (painting, Sculpture, architecture, music). Lectures by Xavier Young, Dr David Moltow, David Daintree. We are still seeking somebody to teach Art and would be glad to receive expressions of interest.
Write for further details about either of these short courses.
A beginners’ course in New Testament Greek will be offered from 24 January if there is sufficient interest.
COLLOQUIUM 2021
There is still time to register. Our annual conference will take place on 25–26 June 2021 at Jane Franklin Hall, one of the colleges of the University of Tasmania, in South Hobart.
The theme will be secondary education, with a particular focus on the development of the spiritual and religious dimension of human nature.
The guest speaker at the Closing Dinner on Saturday night will be Prof Robert Carver, inaugural Director, Ramsay Centre Western Civilisation Program, Australian Catholic University, Sydney.
THIS IS THE FULL PROGRAMME
FRIDAY 25 JUNE
Tea and coffee available from 1.30 pm
2.00 Official opening
2.15 Session 1
Mr Kenneth Crowther
Whose Culture, Which Liberal Arts?
3.00 Session 2
Mr Fadi Elbarbar
See, Judge, Act: A Lens for Remembering and Living the Good News
3.45 Tea Break
4.00 Session 3
Dr Gerard Gaskin
Catholic Education and the Ascendance of Christian Culture
4.45 Session 4
The Most Revd Archbishop Julian Porteous
An Anthropological Creed
To be followed by the launch by Prof Robert Carver of the Archbishop’s latest book Foundations: Preparing the Church in Australia for the Plenary Council and Beyond.
5.30 Close for the day (no evening event has been organised)
SATURDAY 26 JUNE
Tea and coffee available all day
9.00 Session 5
Dr David Hastie
Human Resources is not boring, it’s the Greatest Threat: Rethinking Initial Teacher Education for Australian Christian-affiliated schools
9.45 Session 6
Ms Cheryl Lacey
Faith and Family: The Fundamental Principles of an Educated Nation
10.30 Tea Break
11.00 Session 7
Mr Eammon Pollard
Who are adolescents today? The case for a holistic formation of the head, heart and hands
11.45 Session 8
Revd Peter Robinson
How Firm a Foundation? Governor Bourke’s vision for Eastern Australia based on common Christianity and its current fruit in state school faith education
1230 Lunch in college dining hall
1.30 Session 9
Dr Wanda Skowronska
The Late Fr Paul Stenhouse’s writings: persistent educational ‘smelling salts’ confronting the Gramscian Reset
2.15 Session 10
Dr Kevin Donnelly
Virtues not Values
3.00 Tea Break
3.30 Session 11
Ben and Julianna Smith
Seeking the right balance of family, Church and school for passing on the faith
4.15 Session 12
Mr Robert van Gend
Tasting the Transcendentals: Augustine Academy
6.00 Pre-dinner drinks
6.30 Colloquium Dinner
9.30 (approx) Close