Assoc Prof Glenn Morrison

Glenn Morrison, Associate Professor, PhD (ACU); Grad. Cert. Uni. Teach. (UNDA); M.Theol, B.Theol [Hons] (University of Divinity); B.Ec (Macq)
Associate Professor in Theology

Email: glenn.morrison@nd.edu.au
Phone: 9433 0146

  • Biography

    Dr Morrison holds a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University. He has gained a Bachelor of Theology with honours first class in Philosophy and a Masters in Theology whilst studying at Yarra Theological Union (University of Divinity), Melbourne. He completed his PhD in Systematic Theology and Continental Thought at Australian Catholic University, Melbourne where he has also held a lecturing position. He has also completed a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching here at The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle. Dr. Morrison has published in journals such as The Heythrop Journal, Irish Theological Quarterly, the Journal of Ecumenical Studies and the Australian eJournal of Theology. His research interests include Trinitarian Theology, the Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, the Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, Judaism, Interfaith Relations, Eschatology, Spirituality and Pastoral Theology. In the Fall Semester of 2012, Dr. Morrison was visiting professor at the University of Portland, Oregon where he taught in the Master of Arts and Pastoral Ministry Program (MAPM).

    In 2013, Dr. Morrison's book, A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis, was published with Duquesne University Press. The book engages Emmanuel Levinas' philosophy with Hans Urs von Balthasar's theology as a means to develop a language of alterity (or otherness) for theology in a variety of contexts: paschal mystery, Trinity, eschatology, Paul's encounter of the risen Christ, emotions, mental health, forgiveness, film, Jewish-Christian friendship, and living at the margins of life.

  • Teaching Areas

    Systematic Theology, Continental Thought, Pastoral Theology

  • Research Expertise and Supervision

    Supervision (completed): 1 PhD, 1 Doctor of Pastoral Studies; 2 MATS; 4 Master of Theology; 1 Master of Professional Research
    Supervision (current): 3 Doctor of Philosophy; 1 Master of Philosophy

    Completed

    Doctor of Philosophy

    • 2018 Jim Cregan, From the Garden of Eden to the New Creation in Christ” A Theological Investigation into the Significance and Function of Old Testament Imagery of Eden within the New Testament

    Doctor of Pastoral Studies

    • 2010 Rev. Matthew Brain, A Pauline approach to the transmission of faith to Generation Y: Come with me as I tell you the way.

    Master of Theology,

    • 2019 Maddison Reddie-Clifford, Ontologia ad Theologia: An Intellectual History of Contemporary English Language Rahner Scholarship
    • 2018 Fr. Peter Porteous, Quranic Christology: A Study of Islamic Theological Notions of Isa al Maseeyr (Jesus the Messiah)
    • 2016 Jonathon Bergmann, The Decline of Sacramental Theology and Practice in the Modern Evangelical Church, And its Effects on The Theology and Practice of Communion and Baptism.
    • 2011 Andrew Broadbent, Mission as Transformation: The Theology of Lesslie Newbigin and TEAR Australia.

    Master of Arts (Theological Studies)

    • 2009 Richard Mavros, Towards a theological understanding of overseas mission in the Edmund Rice Tradition.
    • 2007 Rev. John Smith, The Ecclesiology of the TEAM Training Programme and its role in the mission of the Anglican Church in Western Australia.

    Master of Professional Research

    • 2010 Mark Shaw, A Theological Investigation into the Perceptions of Catholic Health Care in Perth.

  • Books

    A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis. Pittsburgh PA: Duquesne University Press, 2013.

  • Book Chapters

    “St. Paul and the Resurrection Effect: Phenomenological and Pastoral Soundings” in Ormerod, Neil and Robert Gascoigne, eds. Priest, Poet and Theologian: Essays in Honour of Anthony Kelly CSsR. Preston, Vic: Mosaic Press, 2013, 22-38.

    “Good Teaching, Spirituality and the Challenge of Encountering Cultural Difference in Australia” in Abe Ata, ed. Catholics and Catholicism in Australia: challenges and achievements. Kew East VIC: David Lovell Publishing, 2012, 183-193.

    Abe Ata and Glenn Morrison, “Opting for an Eschatological Interpretation of Interfaith Marriages” in Abe Ata, Us and Them: Observations on Interfaith Relations and Cultural Harmony in Australia. Bowen Hills, Qld: Australian Academic Press, June 2009, pp. 173-178.

    “Renewing Christian Theology with Levinas: Towards a Trinitarian Praxis” in Burggraeve, Roger, ed. The Awakening of Meaning: A Provocative Dialogue with Levinas. Leuven: Peeters, 2008, 137-160.

    “The (im)possibilities of Levinas for Christian Theology: the search for a language of alterity” in De Tavernier, J., Selling, J. Verstraeten and P. Schotsmans, eds, Festschrift Roger Burggraeve: Responsibility, God and Society. Theological Ethics in Dialogue. Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 217. Leuven: Peeters, 2008, 103-122.

  • Journal Articles and Proceedings

    • “From Cave to Tomb: Vulnerability, Melancholy and Awakening to the ‘Silken Voice’ of God”. Pastoral Liturgy 50:3 (June – Nov 2020): 6-9.
    • “The Affectivity of Good Teaching: Towards the Transformative Practice of Possessing a ‘Thinking Heart’”. International Studies in Catholic Education 12:1 (2020): 35-50.
    • “Triptych in Tears: Towards a Theology of Redemption. Facing Sexual Abuse within the Church”. Pastoral Liturgy 50:2 (Feb-June 2020): 6-9.
    • “I Love People So Terribly”” Approaching Affectivity with Levinas, Hillesum and Christian Theology”. Journal of Ecumenical Studies 54:4 (Fall 2019): 539-561.
    • “Disturbing Deacons: Upstanders Through Moral Resistance”. The Furrow 70”1 (November 2019): 615-622.
    • “God’s Stumbler: On Being a Martyr in the World”. The Furrow (July/August 2019): 395-400.
    • “A Theology of Feasting: Encountering the Kingdom of God”. Irish Theological Quarterly 82:2 (May 2017): 128-147.
    • “Practical Theology from the Heart: Becoming Children of God”. Compass: A Review of Topical Theology 50:3 (Spring, 2016): 30-34.
    • “We Make Ourselves Real by Telling the Truth: Merton and Ageing”. Tjurunga 87 (2015): 11-25.
    • Grapes, Olives and Yams: towards a theology of the garden in Oceania," Australian eJournal of Theology 20: 3 (December, 2013): 171-184.
    • "Children of a Lesser God: Truth as Bodiliness and Forgiveness," Australian eJournal of Theology 18:2 (August, 2011): 175-188.
    • "Thinking Otherwise: Theology, Inculturation and Climate Change." Australian eJournal of Theology (August, 2010): 1-14.
    • "Journeying Towards the Heart in the Spirit of St. Augustine." Australian eJournal of Theology, (January, 2010), 1-9. Excerpt also published in the University of Notre Dame Australia publication, In Principio 21:1 (Semester One, 2010): 22-23.
    • "Good Teaching, Spirituality and the Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas". Australian eJournal of Theology (August, 2009): 1-14.
    • "Humanism, Education and Spirituality: Approaching Psychosis with Levinas". Australian eJournal of Theology (July, 2008): 1-24.
    • "Walter Kasper's Religious Quest for Jesus Christ". Irish Theological Quarterly 72 (Autumn, 2007): 274-294.
    • "Phenomenology, Theology and Psychosis: Towards Compassion". The Heythrop Journal (July, 2007): 561-576.
    • "Pastoral Care and Counselling: Towards a Post-Metaphysical Theology of Friendship". Australian eJournal of Theology (March 2007): 1-21.
    • "Living at the Margins of Life: Encountering the Other and Doing Theology". Australian eJournal of Theology (February 2006): 1-7.
    • Abe Ata and Glenn Morrison. "Guest Editorial: Health Care Providers, Bereavement Anxieties and Ethnocentric Pedagogy: Towards A Sense of Otherness." Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health (AeJAMH) (December, 2005): 1-4.
    • Abe Ata and Glenn Morrison. "Dynamics of Interfaith Marriage: An Eschatological Vocation Beyond the Limits of Dialogue". Australian eJournal of Theology (August 2005), 1-10. Also published in Dialogue & Alliance 19:1 (Spring/Summer 2005): 91-100.
    • "Understanding Levinas' Origins: Husserl, Heidegger and Rosenzweig". The Heythrop Journal XLVI (January, 2005): 41-59. This article appeared in 2007 as number one in a list of the top cited articles for The Heythrop Journal, based on ISI citation data collected from journals published in the last 3 years. This list includes up to 20 of the journal's most cited articles.
    • "The Triune Drama of the Resurrection via Levinas' Non-Phenomenology". Sophia (International journal for philosophy of religion, metaphysical theology and ethics), 42:2 (Oct, 2003): 79-97.
    • "Emmanuel Lévinas and Christian Theology". Irish Theological Quarterly 68:1 (Spring, 2003): 3-24.
    • "A Review of Michael Purcell's Theological Development of Levinas' Philosophy". The Heythrop Journal 44:2 (April, 2003): 147-166.
    • "Jewish-Christian Relations and the Ethical Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas: 'At the very moment where all is lost, everything is possible'". Journal of Ecumenical Studies 38:2-3 (Spring-Summer, 2001): 316-329.
    • "'God Writes Straight with Crooked Lines': Eros, Agape and the Witness of Glory. An Encounter Between the philosophy of Emmanuel Lévinas and Feminist Liberation Theology". Colloquium (The Australian and New Zealand Theological Review) 33:1 (May, 2001): 23-37.
    • "Sacred Feelings: Lévinas and the Universe. Unlocking the mystery of the there is [il y a]". Australasian Catholic Record (April, 2001): 153-162.
    • "In Your Face I Hear the Word of God: Lévinas and the Trinity". Compass Theological Review (Spring, 2000): 22-24.
    • "Silence: The Experiences of Sebastian Rodrigues SJ". The Japan Mission Journal (Autumn, 1995): 201-212.

  • Conference Papers

    • The (im)possibilities of Levinas for Christian Theology”. Paper presented at the International Conference Responsibility, God and Society. Theological Ethics in Dialogue, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, May 7-10, 2008.
    • Pastoral Care and Counselling: Towards a Post-Metaphysical Theology of Friendship”. Paper presented at the APTO (The Association for Practical Theology in Oceania) Conference, Auckland, November 3-5, 2006.
    • Ethics at the Margins of Life: Encountering the Other. Paper presented at the ANZATS.ANZSTS Conference, The Peril of Christianising Jesus: Faith, Culture & Conflict, Perth, 4-8 July, 2005.
    • Re-Thinking Cosmology Ethically and Theologically in the Light of Emmanuel Lévinas’ Phenomenology of Evil”. Paper presented at the CTNS Creation and Complexity Workshop, Canberra, January 25-30, 2002.

  • Original Creative Works

    Book Reviews:
    ◾God and the Art of Happiness, by Ellen Charry (Eerdmans, 2010). The Heythrop Journal 59:2 (March 2018): 358-360. Previously also published in The Heythrop Journal 58:5 (Sept 2017): 825-827.
    ◾Earthly Paradise: Myths and Philosophies, by Milad Doueihi (Harvard UP, 2009). The Heythrop Journal 59:2 (March 2018): 358-360.  Previously also published in The Heythrop Journal 58:5 (Sept 2017): 825-827.
    ◾Human Experience and the Triune God: A Theological Exploration of the Relevance of Human Experience for Trinitarian Theology, by Bernhard Nausner (Peter Lang, 2008). Forthcoming, The Heythrop Journal.
    ◾Discovering Levinas, by Michael L. Morgan (Cambridge University Press, 2007). The Heythrop Journal 55:4 (July, 2014): 742.
    ◾Only One Way? Three Christian Responses on the Uniqueness of Christ in a Religiously Plural World. Gavin D'Costa, Paul Knitter and Daniel Strange. Pp. vii, 240. SCM Press, 2011. The Heythrop Journal 55:3 (May, 2014): 495-496.
    ◾Practical Theology: An Introduction, by Richard R. Osmer (William B. Eerdmans, 2008). The Heythrop Journal 55:2 (March, 2014): 309-310. Previously also published in The Heythrop Journal 52:4 (July, 2011): 711-713.
    ◾The Meaning of Life, by S. L. Frank (Eerdmans, 2010). The Heythrop Journal 54:4 (July, 2013): 702-704.
    ◾Atoms and Eden: Conversations on Religion and Science, by Steve Paulson (Oxford UP, 2010). The Heythrop Journal 54:4 (July, 2013): 702-704.
    ◾Emmanuel Levinas, by Seán Hand (Routledge, 2009). The Heythrop Journal 53:1 (January, 2012): 172-173.
    ◾Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century, by Craig Detweiler (Baker Academic, 2008). The Heythrop Journal 52:6 (November, 2011): 1083-1984.
    ◾A Brief History of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church, by Franz Dunzl (T&T Clark, 2007). The Heythrop Journal 52:5 (September, 2011): 822-823.
    ◾The God Who is Triune: Revisioning the Christian Doctrine of God, by Allan Coppedge (IVP Academic 2007). The Heythrop Journal 52:5 (September, 2011): 830-831.
    ◾Studying Christian Spirituality, by David Perrin (Routledge, 2007). The Heythrop Journal 52:4 (July, 2011): 711-713. Reprinted, The Heythrop Journal 55:2 (March, 2014): 309-310.
    ◾Practical Theology: An Introduction, by Richard R. Osmer (William B. Eerdmans, 2008 ). The Heythrop Journal 52:4 (July, 2011): 711-713. Reprinted, The Heythrop Journal 55:2 (March, 2014): 309-310.
    ◾Christ in Postmodern Philosophy, by Frederiek Depoortere (T&T Clarke, 2008). The Heythrop Journal 52:1 (January, 2011): 172-173.
    ◾A Balm for Gilead: Spirituality and the Healing Arts, by Daniel Sulmasy (Georgetown UP, 2006), The Heythrop Journal 51:3 (May, 2010): 501.
    ◾Tayloring Reformed Epistemology: Charles Taylor, Alvin Plantinga and the De Jure Challenge to Christian Belief, by Deane-Peter Baker (Veritas 2007). The Heythrop Journal 50:3 (May, 2009): 512.
    ◾The Bible and Epistemology: Biblical Soundings of the Knowledge of God, ed. By Mary Healy and Robin Parry (Paternoster 2007). The Heythrop Journal 50:3 (May, 2009): 512-513.
    ◾Human Experience: Philosophy, Neurosis and the Elements of Everyday Life, by John Russon (State Univ. of New York, 2003), The Heythrop Journal 49:3 (May, 2008): 535-536.
    ◾Death, by Geoffrey Scarre (Acumen, 2007), The Heythrop Journal 49:3 (May, 2008): 539-540.
    ◾Gathered For the Journey: An Introduction to Catholic Moral Theology. Edited by David Matzko McCarthy and Therese Lysaught (London: SCM Press, 2007), The Expository Times (August, 2008): 554.
    ◾Dan Cohn-Sherbok & Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok, An Encylopedia of Judaism and Christianity (London: DLT, 2004) in Australian EJournal of Theology Issue 6 (February 2006).

    Newsletter Articles:
    ◾“You Want It Darker: There Is A Crack In Everybody”. Mission & Spirituality (Broken Bay Institute eNewsletter), March 6, 2017.
    ◾“Truth and Forgiveness: Discovering the Kingdom of God”. Mission & Spirituality (Broken Bay Institute eNewsletter), March 1, 2016.
    ◾“Ageing and Interfaith Dialogue: storytelling and the beginning of the wisdom of love”. Council of Christian and Jews Western Australia Newsletter 5775 Shevat (January 2015): 1.
    ◾"Interfaith Dialogue and Transcendence: Being face-to-face". Council of Christian and Jews Western Australia Newsletter 5774 Shevat (January 2014): 1.
    ◾"Ageing and Interfaith Dialogue: storytelling and the beginning of the wisdom of love". Council of Christian and Jews Western Australia Newsletter 5775 Shevat (January 2015): 1.

  • In the Media

    Theresia Titus, “The Effect of Prayer on the Soul”. Interview with Associate Professor Glenn Morrison. The Record Magazine 24 “Soul: ‘Nurturing the Spiritual Principle in Us” (16 June 2020): 26-27
    Reprinted in “Catholic Outlook: News from the Diocese of Parramatta"

  • Professional Affiliations

    2011- 2015 The Council of Christians and Jews Western Australia. 2013-2015, Chairperson
    2006-Current APTO – The Association for Practical Theology in Oceania
    2000-Current ACTA – Australian Catholic Theological Association
    2003-2004 The Council of Christians and Jews (Victoria)

  • Awards

    Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship, PHD.

  • Other

    “A Plan to Resurrect”. Clergy-Connect e-Bulletin (Archdiocese of Perth, WA), 1:3 (May 2020): 1.

    A Reflection on Micah Chapter 6, verse 8. The Mandorla Art Award 2020 Theme