Scholars like Lesslie Newbigin called theologians to recognize the public nature of truth. He said "truth ought to be acknowledged as true for the whole of society." David Tracey, Ronald Thiemann and others have called for a 'public theology' and have asked, "What might a public theology look like?" Several years ago a discussion took place between two Christian leaders in America-Billy Graham, the well known evangelist and William Sloane Coffin, minister of the Riverside Church in New York, and known for his activism, especially in leading the opposition to the Vietnam War. These two respected each other greatly. William Sloane Coffin said, "The trouble with your preaching Billy, is that your Gospel never gets beyond the garden gate." In other words, he preached a gospel that was personal, a gospel that was domestic. This may have been the quality that enabled Billy Graham to have just universal appeal. It may also have been a matter of gifting. But I have been challenged to think about my own preaching and the work of a local church in asking about the extent to which our gospel, our theology is both personally challenging yet also gets to work beyond the garden gate. Asking the question, 'Was F W Boreham a public theologian?', provided me with the lens through which to ponder new possibilities for doing theology in Australia. It has made me consider how seriously we allow our context to shape the work of the theologian. It has invited me to ask how in 2004 the issues such as the war in Iraq, the fear of outsiders seeking asylum, the obsession with television programmes where we can be voyeurs into virtual communities-how might these and other matters in the public arena reset our theological agenda, the articles that we write, the courses that we teach, the sermons that we preach? What Were Boreham's Major Editorial Themes? Over 3,000 editorials, Boreham wrote on many different topics but here in headlines are his main ones. The first major theme I've called Reverence for Life, which allowed him to indulge his passion for nature. He wrote about the discoveries of natural scientists such as Charles Darwin and he discussed the relationship between science and religion. Living in conservation conscious Tasmania he was a member of the Royal Naturalists Society and his editorials gave him a platform for promoting green issues. He wrote about the role of beauty to society, the contribution of nature to all of life, his editorials protested about cruelty to animals, hunting, the destruction of the habitat of birds facing extinction and the careless clearing of forests. He called for the conservation of water, the establishment of National Parks, the importance of retreat, the simple lifestyle and a philosophy of play and leisure in the midst of oppressive employment laws. In these editorials he drew out theological themes asking questions about the human love of nature, the yearning for the spiritual, the spirituality of the land, the bush and the sea, the way that our experience of nature might be a meeting place between the material and the mystical. A second major theme revolved around his love of history. He challenged the Australian indifference towards history and in numerous articles he wrote about heroes in the Australian story-explorers, scientists, inventors. He hoped this would build a national spirit. His approach to history was largely person-centred. He tackled the movement to institute just labour laws by writing about Shaftesbury and Wilberforce. He called for the equality for women by writing about the Bronte family. In this regard his style was akin to James McClendon's notion of "biographical theology" in which he advocates using life stories to reframe theology. Boreham wrote about cultivating a public memory, not only through books, but through architecture, monuments, memorabilia, anniversaries such as ANZAC, Australia Day, special days like Christmas and Easter, the development of pilgrimage (which since Boreham's death we have seen the growth of public remembering through the visits to such sacred sites as Gallipoli and now Bali). Geoff Pound
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