William Ronald George Loader (born 1944

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

catalogue, accessed 26 January 2010) is a minister of the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

and emeritus professor of New Testament at

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. From 1978, Loader was

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

lecturer at the Perth Theological Hall of the Uniting Church in Australia; from 1986, he was lecturer and later Professor of New Testament at Murdoch University (1998-2003 also as Head of the School of Social Inquiry). Loader was the editor of ''Colloquium'', the journal of the Australia and New Zealand Society for Theological Studies (ANZSTS), until 2005. He undertook a five-year

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

professorial fellowship on "Attitudes towards Sexuality in Judaism and Christianity in the Hellenistic Greco-Roman Era", 2005-2010. Loader's academic degrees and qualifications are: * BA (Auckl) - Bachelor or Arts (classics) (1966),

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

* Ministerial education (1964–1967) at Trinity Methodist Theological College,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

* BD (Otago) - Bachelor of

Divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

(1969),

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, New Zealand * Dr theol - Doctor of

Theology 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 ...

(

Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...

(1972),

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) - Supervisor: Ferdinand Hahn; Dissertation published in revised form in 1981: ''Sohn und Hoherpriester. Eine traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung zur Christologie des Hebräerbriefes'', WMANT 53 (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1981)

Books and publications

Loader is perhaps best known to wider non-academic readership for his online book ''Dear Kim, This is what I believe: Explaining Christian Faith Today'' that is written in a style reminiscent of the

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...

and

Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

in being actually or supposedly a letter to a person, but also for his recent research on sexuality in the ancient world. * ''Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church, co-authored with Megan K. DeFranza, Wesley Hill, and Stephen R. Holmes'' (Counterpoints; ed. Preston Sprinkle (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016)) * ''Jesus in John's Gospel: Structure and Issues in Johannine Christology '' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017) * ''Making Sense of Sex: Attitudes towards Sexuality in Early Jewish and Christian Literature '' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011) * ''The New Testament on Sexuality '' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013) * ''Philo, Josephus, and the Testaments on Sexuality: Attitudes towards Sexuality in the Writings of Philo, Josephus, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011) * ''The Pseudepigrapha on Sexuality: Attitudes towards Sexuality in Apocalypses, Testaments, Legends, Wisdom, and Related Literature '' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011) * ''Sexuality in the

'' (London: SPCK, 2010) * ''The

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...

on Sexuality: Attitudes towards Sexuality in Sectarian and Related Literature at

Qumran Qumran ( he, קומראן; ar, خربة قمران ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli ...

'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009) *

Enoch Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...

Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and M ...

, and Jubilees on Sexuality: Attitudes Towards Sexuality in the Early Enoch Literature, the

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

Levi Document, and the

Book of Jubilees The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...

(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007) * ''The New Testament - with Imagination: A Fresh Approach to its Writings and Themes'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007) * ''Sexuality and the Jesus Tradition'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005) * ''The

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

, Sexuality and the New Testament: Case Studies on the Impact of the LXX in Philo and the New Testament'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004). * ''Jesus' Attitude towards the Law. A Study of the Gospels'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002) * ''Jesus and the Fundamentalism of his Day. The Gospels, the Bible and Jesus'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001; Melbourne: Uniting Education, 1998) * Articles on

Baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

: ''The Kiss of Baptism'' and ''Baptism in Context''; * "The Passion of the Christ" and the Passion of Jesus - a Reflection on Mel Gibson's film; * ''Approaches to Scripture: Considering the Options''; * ''"Companions and Competitors" - and Context?'' on John P. Meier's, ''Marginal Jew: Vol 3''; * ''Simple Choices?'' on John Dominic Crossan's, ''The Birth of Christianity'' *

Lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...

Resources: ''First Thoughts'' on Gospel Passages from the Lectionary; * Studies: ''Being the Church Then and Now: Issues from the Acts of the Apostles''; *

Liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

Resources and Reflections: ''The Presence of God''; ''He made himself known in the breaking of the bread''; ''Blessed are the Poor in Spirit''; ''A Service of the Eucharist''; Loader also maintains a page for people seeking Bible study, commentary, sermon and prayer materials related to the

.Recommended Resources on the Web
clergyresources.net, accessed 26 January 2010

Memberships and awards

* Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas * Catholic Biblical Association of America * Catholic Biblical Association of Australia *

Society of Biblical Literature The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...

* Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

(FAHA) * holder of an Australian Centenary Medal 'for services to Australian society and the humanities in the area of religion'

External links

Loader's academic webpage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loader, Bill Australian Christian theologians Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Methodist theologians Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni Uniting Church in Australia ministers University of Auckland alumni University of Otago alumni Living people 1944 births Murdoch University faculty

Books and publications

Memberships and awards

See also

External links

References