William Athol Gill (1937–1992), often known as ''Athol Gill'' or Dr. Athol Gill, was an influential Australian
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
and one of the leaders of the Australian radical discipleship movement.
Education
Gill attended the
NSW Baptist Theological College
Morling College is a Baptist college in Macquarie Park, New South Wales. It is affiliated with the Australian Baptist Ministries. It is an approved teaching institution of the Australian College of Theology and a registered teaching institution o ...
,
Spurgeon's College, and the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, obtaining a
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...
degree with Honours in 1965; and thereafter he attended
Rüschlikon International Baptist Seminary
International Baptist Theological Study Centre (IBTS) is a Baptist theological school, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is affiliated with the European Baptist Federation.
History
The Seminary was founded in 1949 in Ruschlikon, Switzerla ...
and the
University of Zürich, obtaining a master's degree in 1967 and a
D.Theol. degree in 1971.
Professional career
Gill served as a lecturer at the
Baptist Theological College of Queensland
Malyon College is a Baptist college located in Brisbane, Queensland. The college is associated with the Queensland Baptists ( Australian Baptist Ministries) in Gaythorne, Queensland. It offers degrees through the Australian College of Theology
...
in 1971-2; with the Methodist Training College in Brisbane in 1973-4; and with
Whitley College
Whitley College is a Baptist theological institute in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college is associated with the Baptist Union of Victoria (Australian Baptist Ministries) and is one of the theological schools of the University of Divinity ...
within the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
, initially as Dean of Studies from 1975 to 1979, and then as Professor of New Testament from 1979 until his death in 1992.
Intentional community
Gill was founder of two intentional Christian communities, the House of Freedom in Brisbane and the
House of the Gentle Bunyip
W. B. Fox's Villa is a historic farmhouse built in 1867 in Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia. It was also known as The House of the Gentle Bunyip, an intentional Christian community established by Athol Gill. In the 1990s, the building had fallen ...
in Melbourne, both of which were linked informally with the House of the New World in Sydney.
Publications and writings
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Recognition
Gill's significance is commemorated in the naming of the Athol Gill Centre, within Whitley College and opened in 2001; in a collection of scholarly essays in honour of Gill, published in 2002; in a biography by fellow theologian Harold Pidwell, published in 2007; and in a commemorative screen by artist David Wong, completed in 2012.
[History of Whitley College: http://whitley.unimelb.edu.au/sites/whitley.unimelb.edu.au/files/download/Complete%20PG%20Hbk%20PDF.pdf , accessed 18 July 2017; Neville, Prophecy and Passion: Essays in Honour of Athol Gill; Pidwell, A Gentle Bunyip: The Athol Gill Story; and The Athol Gill Commemorative Screen. 2012. http://atholgillscreen.weebly.com/index.html, accessed 18 July 2017]
References
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Australian Christian theologians
1937 births
Australian biblical scholars
People from Sydney
Alumni of the University of London
1992 deaths