Established in 2019, the Avondale Scripture, Spirituality and Society Research Centre serves the following purposes:
Notes:
The latest Annual Report documenting the activities of this Centre can be viewed on the research page.
The Scripture, Spirituality and Society Research Centre acts as a research hub by being a source of directed research funding, a host of conjoint and adjunct scholars, of PhD students, and of research activities relating to its purposes. It is working to establish links with academics from all parts of the world – including Australia, naturally – who are actively involved in researching topics related to Scripture, Spirituality and Society, and would welcome inquiries from interested academics.
Fostering the spirituality of its staff and students has been at the centre of Avondale’s Mission since its establishment in 1897. This emphasis is clear in the “Introduction” of the earliest surviving “Calendar”, that of 1899, which opens with the words, “True education is the co-operation of man with God in working out the plan of redemption; it is a process by which God works in man to restore His image in the soul.” It also states in its second to last paragraph that “The present is emphatically an age of reform, and we profess to be a progressive people. The gospel message for this time is a three-fold message, its work being to reveal three phases of truth, physical, mental, spiritual.” [“Third Annual Calendar: The Avondale School for Christian Workers, 1899,” pp. 9, 12].
Subsequent to its 19th century beginnings, the Avondale School of Christian Workers has transformed itself into the Avondale Missionary College, and more recently Avondale University. This trajectory from secondary school, through a teaching-focused tertiary educational institution, to an institution poised to become recognized as a research and teaching focused University, has brought great changes. But throughout its history, biblical studies and spirituality has remained at the core of Avondale’s values. The Avondale Scripture, Spirituality and Society Research Centre is a tangible representation that these core values remain central to Avondale as research becomes a greater part of the activities of Avondale’s faculty members and students.
In 2018, Avondale’s senior executive reviewed the activities and scope of the Spirituality and Worship Research Centre and discovered that while there was significant research taking place at Avondale in the areas of spirituality and worship, these terms didn’t encompass some other significant centres of research excellence in the Avondale Seminary in the areas of biblical, theological and church ministry studies. It was decided that renaming the centre, the Avondale Scripture Spirituality and Society Research Centre would preserve the research links that were already in place, while also expanding the scope of the Centre’s activity to include the work of more of the academics of the Avondale Seminary and their PhD students. Including the word “society” in the title of the research centre not only encompasses the research taking place in the area of Church Ministry, it also include more of the researchers of academics and PhD students based currently in the School of Arts. These and other arguments were persuasive to Avondale University Council, and the centre was renamed in 2019.
The Scripture, Spirituality and Society Research Centre is governed by the Scripture, Spirituality and Society Research Centre Board.
Professor Rob McIver
Lake Macquarie Campus, Avondale University
Telephone: +61 2 4980 2233
Email: [email protected]
Assistant Director
Professor Tracie Mafile’o
Lake Macquarie Campus, Avondale University
Telephone: +61 2 4980 2198
Email: [email protected]
| Team | Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud, Avondale University |
|---|---|
| Description | This research critiques key elements of the Anzac legend through the lenses of cinema and of religion. A closer study of Anzac cinema reveals the ways in which the legend has evolved over time, adapting to contemporary concerns and challenging its monolithic reputation. The study of Anzac interactions with religion during the First World War challenges widely held scholarly and popular conclusions about the secularity of the Anzacs. |
| Impact Summary | This research has resulted in the publication of a number of scholarly works, as well as a series of audio-visual productions, popular publications and public presentations. |
The research evolved from Associate Professor Reynaud’s PhD topic and parallels important research into the development of the Anzac legend in print and popular culture. Both cinema and religion offer vantage points from which to critique aspects of Anzac mythology.
The focus of this work has been on ways in which particular entrenched popular and scholarly representations of the Anzacs are challenged by exploring both fictional representations and archival sources. A study of Anzac cinema particularly challenges popular contemporary notions of Anzac as a homogenous and unifying myth of Australian nationalism, while a study of the Anzacs and religion challenges scholarly writing on the inherent secularity of the Anzacs.
The impact of Associate Professor Reynaud’s research is evidenced by the following:
Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud is currently writing monographs and peer-reviewed journal articles which include further investigation of Anzac chaplains and spirituality, comparative studies of war film, and war graphic novels.
190204 Film and Television
200212 Screen and Media Culture
210303 Australian History
220401 Christian Studies
National Film and Sound Archives, screen writer and historian Stephen Vagg, Associate Professor Phil Fitzsimmons, Professor Jane Fernandez, Signs Publishing Company, and It Is Written Oceania.
Daniel Reynaud, Celluloid Anzacs: Representations of the Great War in Australian cinema and television dramas. PhD, University of Newcastle, 1997
Reynaud, D. ‘Convention and contradiction: representations of women in Australian war films, 1914-1918,’ in Australian Historical Studies, Vol 30, No 113, October 1999.
Reynaud, D., ‘The influence of dramas on the Anzac legend between the wars,’ in Illusions: New Zealand Moving Image and Performing Arts Criticism, No 32, Winter, 2001.
Reynaud, D. ‘The effectiveness of Australian film propaganda for the war effort 1914–1918,’Screening the Past, Issue 20, December 2006.
Reynaud, D. ‘The changing Anzac legend in three key Australian films,’ Screening the Past, Issue 22, December 2007.
Reynaud, D. ‘Dealing with historical movies in the History and English classroom,’ in Teach, Journal of Christian Education, Vol 2 No 2, December 2008.
Reynaud, D. ‘The legend of William McKenzie,’ in Lucas, 2:7, June 2014.
Reynaud, D ‘Film/Cinema (Australia)’, in: 1914–1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2014-10-08. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15463/ie1418.
Reynaud, D. ‘Religion and the Anzac legend on screen’, in St Mark’s Review: a journal of Christian thought & opinion, 231(1), April 2015.
Reynaud, D. ‘Attitudes to Compulsory Church Parades in the AIF: Signs of Spiritual Crisis or Evidence of Unexpected Commitment?’ Journal of Religious History, in publication
Reynaud, D. ‘Dodging a Bullet: Australian Seventh-day Adventism and the Great War,’ Spes Christiana, Friedensau, Germany, in press.
Reynaud, D. ‘Revisiting the secular Anzac: the Anzacs and religion,’ Lucas, in press.
Reynaud, D. & Miler, L. ‘Australian Chaplains at Gallipoli: role, impact and influence,’ 4th International Symposium on Gallipoli, in press.
Reynaud, D., Rickett, C. & Bogacs, P. ‘“Beyond telling:” Narrating trauma in the wartime writings of Great War AIF Chaplain William McKenzie.’ Teach Journal, 10(1) May 2016.Vagg, S. & Reynaud, D. ‘Alfred Rolfe: Forgotten Pioneer Australian Film Director,’ Studies in Australasian Cinema, 7 June 2016, DOI: 10.1080/17503175.2016.1170950.
Fitzsimmons, P. & Reynaud, D. ‘Comics/Graphic Novels/Bandes Dessinées and the Representation of the Great War.’ In The Great War in Post-Memory Literature and Film. Löschnigg, M. & Sokołowska-Paryż, M. (eds.) Berlin & Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2014.
Reynaud, D. ‘Australian Cinema and the War Effort.’ In Our Selection On Writings on Cinema’s Histories: Selected papers from the 7th Australian History and Film Conference, National Film and Sound Archive and ANU, Canberra 30 November — 2 December 1995, Doyle, J., van der Heide, B. & Cowan, S. (eds.). Canberra: NFSA/ADFA, 1998.
Reynaud, D. ‘Constructing the Anzac Image: A study of Australia’s first three Gallipoli movies 1915–16.’ In Dooley, M. (ed.). Credits Rolling: Selected papers, 12th Biennial Conference of the Film and History Association of Australia and New Zealand. Canberra: National Film and Sound Archive, 2005.
Reynaud, D. ‘Film and National Mythology: The Anzac legend in Australian films.’ In Creative Nation: Australian cinema and cultural studies reader, Sarwal, A. and Sarwal. R.(eds.). New Delhi: SSS Publications, 2009.
Reynaud, D. ‘War Cinema.’ In Directory of World Cinema, Vol 3, Australia and New Zealand,Goldsmith, B. & Lealand, G. (eds.). Bristol & Chicago: Intellect Press & University of Chicago Press, 2010.
Reynaud, D. ‘War and Society: Introduction.’ In Making Film and Television Histories: Australia and New Zealand, Bennett, J. E. & and Beirne, R. (eds.) London, New York: I. B. Tauris, 2011.
Reynaud, D. ‘Gallipoli.’ In Making Film and Television Histories: Australia and New Zealand, Bennett, J. E. & Beirne, R. (eds.) London, New York: I. B. Tauris, 2011.
Reynaud, D. ‘National Versions of the Great War: Modern Australian Anzac Cinema’. In The Great War in Post-Memory Literature and Film. Löschnigg, M. & Sokołowska-Paryż, M. (eds.) Berlin & Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2014.
Daniel Reynaud, ‘War.’ In Directory of World Cinema: Australian & New Zealand Cinema, Vol. 2. Ben Goldsmith, B., Ryan, M. D. & Lealand, G. (eds.). Bristol & Chicago: Intellect, 2015.
Reynaud, D. & Fernandez, J. ‘“To Thrash the Offending Adam out of Them”: The theology of violence in the writings of Great War Anzacs.’ In Secularisation: New Historical Perspectives, Hartney, C. (ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.
Reynaud, D. The Hero of the Dardanelles and other World War I Silent Dramas. Canberra: National Film and Sound Archive Monographs, 2005.
Reynaud, D. Celluloid Anzacs: The Great War through Australian Cinema. Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2007.
Reynaud, D. The Man the Anzacs Revered: William ‘Fighting Mac’ McKenzie, Anzac Chaplain.Warburton Vic: Signs Publishing, 2015.
Reynaud, D. & Kent, G. Faith of the Anzacs. Sydney: It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network, 2010.
Hamilton, M & Reynaud, D. The Kings (Anzac Heritage). It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network. 27 minutes. 24 & 25 April Hope channel various times, 26 April Ch 7 3:30am & Ch 10 4:30am, 28 April ACC 7pm, 2015.
Hamilton, M & Reynaud, D. The Lavertys (Anzac Heritage). It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network. 27 minutes. 10 & 11 April Hope channel various times, 12 April Ch 7 3:30am & Ch 10 4:30am, 14 April ACC 7pm, 2015.
Hamilton, M & Reynaud, D. The Tom Richards Story (Anzac Heritage). It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network. 27 minutes. 17 & 18 April Hope channel various times, 19 April Ch 7 3:30am & Ch 10 4:30am, 21 April ACC 7pm, 2015.
Livingstone, D. Hamilton, M. & Reynaud, D. Faith of the Anzacs. It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network. 23 minutes. Channel 7, 25 April, 2010.
Livingstone, D. Hamilton, M. & Reynaud, D. Brothers in Arms: Anzac Chaplains. It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network. 23 minutes. Channel 7, 25 April 2010.
Livingstone, D. Hamilton, M. & Reynaud, D. Fighting Mac: the story of William McKenzie. It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network. 23 minutes. Channel 7, 25 April 2012.
Livingstone, D. Hamilton, M. & Reynaud, D. Bennett: Gallipoli chaplain. It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network. 23 minutes. Channel 7, 25 April 2014.
Livingstone, D. Hamilton, M. & Reynaud, D. The Kiwi Chaplains. It Is Written Oceania/Adventist Media Network. 23 minutes. NZTV, 24 April 2015.
Reynaud, D. & Dooley M., The Exploits of the Emden. Film reconstruction. National Film and Sound Archive, April 2005. Archival Reconstruction.
Reynaud, D. & Dooley, M. The Hero of the Dardanelles: Gallipoli Centenary Edition. National Film and Sound Archive, April 2015. Archival Reconstruction.
| Team | Assoc Prof Steve Thompson, Avondale University Dr Borge Schantz, Loma Linda University, California Dr David Tasker, Avondale University Assoc Prof Robert McIver, Avondale University |
|---|---|
| Description | Writing the Sabbath School Quarterly Lessons for the World Seventh-day Adventist Church and the accompanying book. 3rd Quarter 2015: Borge Schantz and Steven Thompson, “Biblical Misisonaries” 1st Quarter 2016: David Tasker, “Rebellion and Redemption” 2nd Quarter 2017: Robert McIver, “1 and 2 Peter” |
| Impact Summary | Read carefully by millions in most recognized countries across the globe, and in most major language groups. |
There are approximately 78,000 officially recognized SDA churches world-wide. Each one of these runs a Sabbath School program in addition to the church service. Almost all of them devote significant time during the Sabbath School to the study of a set range of topics found in the Senior Bible Study Guide, or Sabbath School quarterly.
Schantz, Thompson, Tasker and McIver have been invited to contribute the Sabbath School
lessons and the accompanying books because of their expertise in the topics that have been set, as evidenced by publications relating to the topic. Adult Bible Study Guide is refereed by an international panel; and the 2016 book by McIver was also refereed.
Schantz, Thompson, Tasker and McIver have expressed their academic expertise in a form accessible to a wide range of readers. The resultant Bible Study Guides have been studied intensively by millions of Seventh-day Adventists in most organized countries and language-groups across the globe. Their work has been extensively translated and distributed. According to Clifford Goldstein, the editor of the Adult Sabbath School Quarterly, “the vast majority of the churches have some access to the ABSG [Adult Bible Study Guide].” He estimates that the ABSG is translated into about 120 languages, that “a few million” are printed, and “it is all over the Web now, too.”
220401 Christian Studies (incl. Biblical Studies and Church History)
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Silver Springs, MD; together with the Sabbath School Departments in each of the 13 divisions of the World Church.
McIver, Thompson and Tasker have published widely in areas related to the topics on which they wrote the Adult Bible Study Guides. The following were published to accompany the Adult Bible Study Guides:
Schantz, Borge, and Steven Thompson (2014). Biblical Missionaries. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press.
Tasker, David (2015). Rebellion and Redemption. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press.
McIver, Robert K. (2016). 1 and 2 Peter. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press.
Professor Robert K. McIver
SSSRC Director
Associate Professor Kayle de Waal
Dr Wendy Jackson
Dr Peter Kilgour
Professor Tracie Mafile’o
Associate Professor Kevin Petrie
Dr Erika Puni
Professor Daniel Reynaud
Dr John Skrzypaszek
Dr David Tasker
Professor Anthony Williams
Perceptions of Mission by Employees of Adventist Institutions Survey
Global Adventist Pastors Survey
| Project Title | Partner / Funding Body | Researchers | Time-line | Project Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spiritual Lives of 21 ANZACS | SWRC | A/Prof Daniel Reynaud (Avondale) | 2018-2019 | Book project: funds to cover travel & accommodation to Canberra to consult diaries not yet online at the Research Centre of the War Memorial; and to purchase rights to photographs from the Australian War Memorial for the book project. |
| Youth Ministry: the lived experience | SWRC, CERC, Research Office | Prof Tony Williams (Avondale/ U of Wollongong) A/Prof Kevin Petrie (Avondale) Dr Peter Kilgour (Avondale) Dr John Skzypaszek (Avondale) | 2018-2019 | The 2018 Global Youth Leaders Congress (GYLC) provides a unique opportunity to look at the work of Youth Ministry, but through a different lens, utilising the lived experience methodology as a lens for better understanding the activity. |
| Perceptions of Spirituality: Exploring the spectrum of beliefs in one Israeli university | SWRC | A/Prof Phil Fitzsimmons (Avondale) Dr Jon Kasler (Tel Hai University Israel) Ms Edie Lanphar (Holy Cross Catholic School, Ventura, CA) | 2017-2018 | This qualitative project seeks to explore the concept of ‘spirituality’ in one university in Israel. A contested research space in regard to tertiary students and tertiary institutions (Hyde 2008), the respondents in this project represent the broad spectrum of cultural and religious belief systems in Israel. |
| Worship Perspectives | SWRC | Dr David Tasker (Avondale) Prof Robert K. McIver (Avondale) Dr Kayle de Waal (Avondale) Dr Erika Puni (Avondale) Dr Wendy Jackson (Avondale), et al. | 2017-2019 | Book project |
| Project Title | Partner / Funding Body | Researchers | Time-line | Project Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A book titled “Anzac Spirituality: The First AIF soldiers speak” | Avondale Research Services Office | A/Prof Daniel Reynaud (Avondale) | 2008-2018 | Publication: Reynaud, D. (2018). Anzac spirituality: The first AIF soldiers speak. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Scholarly. |
| Investigating the Status of Six Church Plants on Seventh-day Adventist School Campuses | South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church | Dr Kayle de Waal (Avondale) Dr Peter Beamish (Avondale) Dr Jason Hinze (Avondale) Dr Erika Puni (Avondale) Joe Azzopardi (Avondale HDR student) | 2018-2019 | |
| Perceptions held by Employees of Seventh-day Adventist Organizations of their Relationship to the Mission of the Church | General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists office of Archives Statistics and Research; SWRC | Prof Rob McIver (Avondale) , Prof Tony Williams (Avondale/ U of Wollongong), Dr Peter Kilgour (Avondale), Dr Wendy Jackson (Avondale), Dr Sherry Hattingh (Avondale) | 2011-2025 | The aim of this project is to survey employees of Seventh-day Adventist institutions in the 13 world divisions of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC) to determine their perceptions of their relationship and the institution’s relationship to the mission of the Adventist Church. The institutions of interest are in the education sector (primary, secondary and tertiary levels), healthcare, publishing, and food industries. |
| 2017 Global Church Member Survey – South Pacific Division | General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists office of Archives Statistics and Research; SWRC | Dr Peter Beamish (Avondale) Dr David Tasker (Avondale) Dr Kayle de Waal (Avondale) Dr Kevin Petrie (Avondale) Dr Lindsay Morton (Avondale) Prof Rob McIver (Avondale) Prof Tony Williams (Avondale) | 2017-2019 | |
| Motives for Tithing amongst Seventh-day Adventist Members, Analysis of Age Related Giving Patterns and Other Tithe-Related Matters | General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists office of Archives Statistics and Research | Prof Robert K. McIver (Avondale) | 2012-2016 | Results published in: Robert K. McIver, Tithing Practices Among Seventh-day Adventists: A Study of Tithe Demographics and Motives in Australia, Brazil, England, Kenya and the United States (Cooranbong, NSW; Silver Spring MD: Avondale Academic Press/General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics and Research, 2016). |
| South Pacific Discipleship Research Project | South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church | Dr Kayle de Waal (Avondale) Dr Kevin Petrie (Avondale) Dr Sherry Hattingh (Avondale) Dr Lindsay Morton (Avondale) Dr Rick Ferret (Avondale) Julie-Anne Heise (Avondale) | 2014-2015 | The aim of this research project is:to provide an objective description of a Seventh-day Adventist disciple of Jesusto provide a criterion/criteria by which the attainment of discipleship may be measured and shared in the context of the SDA Church mission |
| Incorporating Student Experience and Transformative Learning into Curriculum Design and Planning of Undergraduate Theological Degrees | Office of Learning and Teaching | Prof Peter Sherlock (UD) Prof Rob McIver (Avondale) Prof Neil Ormerod (ACU) Dr Gerard Moore (CSU) Dr Mark Harding (ACT) Dr Neil Holm (SCD) | 2010-2012 | Leslie J. Ball, Transforming theology: student experience and transformative learning in undergraduate theological education (Northcote, VIC: Morning Star, 2012) |
| Uncovering Theology: The Depth, Reach and Utility of Australian Theological Education | Office of Learning and Teaching | Prof Paul Bierne (Lead Investigator) (ACU) Dr Rob McIver (Avondale) Prof Neil Ormerod Dr Gerard Moore | 2008 | Charles Sherlock, Uncovering Theology: the depth, reach and utility of Australian theological education (Adelaide: ATF, 2009) |
