Robyn Whitaker is a Senior Lecturer in New Testament at Pilgrim Theological College. She is interested in apocalypticism, gender and contemporary uses of the Bible.
Trump’s photo op with church and Bible was offensive, but not new
“Trump held the Bible like a baby holding a spoon for the first time – unsure which end is which – but the real problem was the complete disconnection between the text in his hand and the force, both verbally threatened and actually used, to clear the way for his stunt.”
Read More
Can I get a witness? Violence, racism and Christian response
Recent stories of horrific acts have highlighted that witnessing is not just proclaiming the Good News, but testifying to or naming of injustice. “We have for too long tolerated the unfair treatment of those who are non-white.”
Read More
Pray, but stay away: holding on to faith in the time of coronavirus
“In this time of great anxiety, faith leaders have a responsibility to step up with words of comfort and compassion, drawing on the depths of their sacred traditions and texts.”
Read More
Sex, sin, shame and the virgin birth
“There is no suggestion in the biblical text that consensual sex is anything other than a gift from God.”
Read More
Why the Bible welcomes a gender spectrum
“We cannot simply pull a sentence or two from the Bible as if it offers the final word on sex and gender.”
Read More
Why we should shun Folau’s fear-based theology
“A UCA approach to the Bible asks us to do the harder work of interpretation through an awareness of history and culture, as well as with love and compassion. We do not proof text nor scare people into faith.”
Read More
Heaven is more than where we go in death
“In the Christian tradition, heaven and paradise have been conflated as an answer to the question ‘where do I go when I die?’ Yet originally they were more about where God lived, than about us or our ultimate destination.”
Read More
What is hell exactly?
“The afterlife is rarely related to correct belief but is rather about one’s actions and behaviour. Vivid descriptions of “hell” emerge within the Bible and in early Christianity as a means of moral formation designed to persuade people to act ethically.”
Read More