EHA Online Public Lecture
|
The Australian Bible Society and the Crisis of War and Pandemic, 1914–1919
EHA Zoom Public Lecture with Dr Michael Gladwin Lecturer in History at St Mark's National Theological Centre in the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University, Canberra Hosted by The Evangelical History Association Oct 29, 2020, 08:00 PM DST (that is 08:00 PM in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney) This lecture offers a historical perspective on how a group of Australian Christians responded to a time of crisis. The focus here is on leaders and supporters of the Australian arm of the British and the Foreign Bible Society (BFBS)—since renamed the Bible Society of Australia. The Bible Society’s response to a period of “unprecedented” crisis—marked by the First World War and the Spanish Influenza pandemic.
As this lecture will show, Bible Society leaders and supporters responded with a clear focus on their mission and raison d’être; with creativity that saw opportunities within crises; with sacrificial commitment and flexibility; and with a stubborn optimism underpinned by a theology of a transcendent kingdom governed by the generous and good providence of God—all of which was pursued in the face of profound uncertainty and loss that touched almost every family in Australia. |
|