The purpose of the Public Theology Department is to identify those issues which the Christian community today must address and to apply to them the insights of Scripture and evangelical theology. The contributors to the Public Theology Department want to aid you and your community with resources to provoke and equip your thinking and action. In this section you will find numerous articles on a wide variety of issues ranging from particular doctrinal concerns to engagement with society and culture.
Director of Public Theology
EA’s Director of Public Theology is Ian Packer.
Ian has lived in almost every state of Australia and currently resides in Sydney. He is married to Elizabeth and they have three daughters and one son. Ian has studied politics, philosophy and sociology at Murdoch University and theology at the Baptist College of Western Australia, Ridley College (VIC) and Morling College (NSW). He has either worked or been involved in a variety of churches across a number of denominations though he feels most at home in the 'free church' tradition. He has lectured at a variety of Bible Colleges in theology and ethics, and most recently for Macquarie Christian Studies Institute for the last few years. He is currently working on a number of postgraduate projects.
When asked what 'public theology' means, Ian replies, 'There is no sphere of life excluded from the call to follow Jesus. Therefore, questions of contemporary thought, society, culture, politics, art, technology, money, work, leisure, possessions and family all come under the call of 'whole life discipleship'. If we are to faithfully engage with God's world, we need a genuinely evangelical theology---a 'good news' theology---of God's reign as it comes to us through Jesus Christ. While God's salvation is deeply personal, it is not merely private but is corporate and cosmic in its scope, embracing all creation. Therefore the gospel must be expressed as 'public truth' and embodied in communities that really seek to offer an alternative to the course of this world. Evangelical theology needs to be 'public' in both of those senses.'
The inaugural Director of Public Theology was Dr Brian Edgar. Brian is a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky, USA but remains based in Melbourne and continues to support the work of EA in a variety of capacities.
