What can the Bible teach us about reconciliation?

The relationship between Australia’s first and second peoples, and how we may incorporate biblical notions of reconciliation, will be the focus of an online course delivered by UTC from November.

Rev. Dr Chris Budden will deliver the unit. The author of Following Jesus in Invaded Space,  he has long had an interest in building relationships with First Nations people.

Rev. Dr Budden told Insights  that the unit will be, “a challenging and fun course for those interested in the relationship between First and second Peoples.”

“People can expect to join with other people as we explore the need for reconciliation in Australia, and the way the Church’s understanding of reconciliation engages with political reconciliation,” he said.

“We will ask questions like: what can we learn from the Statement from the Heart/ Uluru, what are the limits and possibilities of political reconciliation, is reconciliation the best way to think about relationships between First and Second Peoples, how do we engage in public theology, and what practical things are being done and can be done?”

The course, Rev. Dr Budden said, compares Australia’s experience with those of Aotearoa-New Zealand and the Treaty of Waitangi, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada.

“I have been teaching this course for quite a few years. It works well as a mixture of reading, videos, and weekly on-line discussion,” he said.

“A lot depends on how students engage in the weekly discussion.”

The course’s assessment is by essay.

The course is one of four that UTC are offering in the latter part of 2020 and the early part of 2021. The other units include an intensive on Ecological Theology (9-13 November) and another called The Prophetic Literature (18-22 January 2021). UTC Principal Rev. De Peter Walker will deliver the intensive ‘Jesus the Christ’ in Port Macquarie from 18 to 22 January.

Reconciliation, THL328, runs online from 16 November 2020 to 5 February 2021. For more information, visit United Theological College’s website.