Staff Directory

Rev. Dr Michael Trainor Name: Rev. Dr Michael Trainor
Senior Lecturer (Biblical Studies)
Organisational Area
Faculty of Theology & Philosophy
Department
National School of Theology
Location

ACU Adelaide Leadership Centre(Bldg.800 - 116 George Street, Thebarton, South Australia 5031)-Ground-RoomG.05
Biographical Information

MA (Biblical literature and languages, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois, US), MEd (Boston College, Boston, MA, USA), D.Theol (MCD, Melbourne, Australia)

Michael is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Adelaide, South Australia, and parish priest of Lockleys in the western suburbs of Adelaide.He was born in Tailem Bend. After attending Catholic primary and secondary schools, Michael entered St Francis Xavier&rsquos Seminary, Rostrevor and was ordained by Archbishop Gleeson in 1974. A few years of pastoral ministry in parishes led him to undertake post-graduate study in USA (Chicago, and later Boston), Israel and Melbourne, completing a Masters of Arts (in biblical literature and languages), Master of Education and a Doctorate in Theology. On returning to Adelaide, Michael taught at the Seminary, coordinated adult education for the Archdiocese and taught in the faculty of theology at Flinders University in biblical studies with the Adelaide College of Divinity.  

Currently, he is senior lecturer in biblical studies with the Australian Catholic University, adjunct lecturer with the University of Divinity, and is engaged in inter-faith and inter-religious dialogue. He is an executive board member of the International Council of Christians and Jews (www.iccj.org) and immediate past chair of the Australian Council of Christians and Jews. Within Adelaide, he co-chairs the SA Council of Christians and Jews and the Uniting Church-Roman Catholic Dialogue. Michael has authored several books on theology, education and the Bible. And for a hobby, he regularly flies a glider out of Gawler. This helps him come to a realistic perspective about himself, his world and the university!

Publications

Recent Publications

About Earth's Children: An ecological listening to the Acts of the Apostles. London, UK: Bloomsbury, 2019.

Neoliberalism and the Biblical Voice: Owning and Consuming. (with Paul Babie) London, UK: Routledge, 2018.

About Earth's Child: An ecological listening to the Gospel of Luke. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2017.

The Body of Jesus and Sexual Abuse: How the Passion Narratives inform a Pastoral Approach. NY: Wipf & Stock, 2015.

About Earth's Child: An ecological listening to the Gospel of Luke. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2012

"Texts of Terror in the New Testament: Encountering or hating the 'other'", Law, Religion and Love: Seeking Ecumenical Justice for the Other. P. Babbie and Vanja-Ivan Savic, editors. London, UK: Routledge, 2018, pp. 81-101.

"'Dealing with the Enemy': Ecological Reflections out of Luke's Story of Jesus." A. Elvey and K. Dyer, editors. Ecological Aspects of War: Engagements with Biblical Texts. London, UK: T&T Clark, Bloomsbury, 2017, 69-85.

"The Quest for the 'Perfect Tile': Fundamentalism in Roman Catholicism." In Fundamentalism in the Modern World. Volume 2, Fundamentalism and Communication: Culture, Media and the Public Sphere. Ulrika Märtensson, Jennifer Bailey, Priscilla Ringrose, Asbjørn Dyrendal (editors). London / New York: I. B. Tauris (2011): 169-191.

Other Selected Publications

Befriending the Text: A Beginner's Guide to the Bible. Melbourne: Collins Dove, 1991.

According to Luke: Insights for Contemporary Pastoral Practice. Melbourne: Collins Dove, 1993.

The Quest for Home: The Household in Mark&rsquos Gospel. Collegeville, Minnesotta: The Liturgical Press, 2001

Journeying: A Beginner&rsquos Guide to the Bible. Kensington: St Paul Publications, 2005.

About Angels: Companions in our Quest for God. Kensington, NSW: St Paul Publications, 2009.

Research

Michael's focus concerns biblical studies, interfaith and inter-religious dialogue and engaging contemporary local church and community issues, especially environmental concerns, with the insights that emerge from the earliest Jesus' followers.  .

Interests

Michael's interests concern biblical hermeneutics and education, the study of the Gospels and letters of Paul, and the Gospel stories of Jesus' death and their implications for engaging the current issues about institutional sexual abuse and safeguarding.
 

Experience

Michael's academic focus and pastoral interests have been exercised in several ways.

  • His teaching in the university combines current scholarship with the depths of insight from the biblical, specifically the New Testament world. He teaches courses in the Gospels, Pauline studies, Acts and the Book of Revelation. A particular interest is the ecological implications for interpreting biblical texts. Two publications have resulted from this interest.
     
  • He leads study tours and immersion programs in the Middle East, including Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus and (not now, but in earlier years!) Syria. His interest in the interface between culture, early Christianity, especially Pauline studies, and archaeology motivated him to initiate research on the then unexcavated site of Colossae in south-eastern Asia Minor (Turkey).
     
  • Michael has studied and taught in Israel, in Jerusalem, where, through the Biblical Studies Centre at Ecce Homo, Jerusalem, coordinated by the Sisters of Sion, has taught Mark and Matthew in its biblical program.
     
  • Michael's pastoral focus brings him to offer ways of enabling the local parish explicate the implications of the ecclesiology of Pope Francis and his emphasis on synodality. 
     
  • Michael also conducts retreats, formation programs for educational and religious communities, and facilitates conferences.
Professional Memberships
  • 1984 - present: Member of the Catholic Biblical Association of America
  • 1985 - present: Member of the Australian Catholic Biblical Association
  • 1991 -1992, 2004- 2006, 2016-2018: President of the Australian Catholic Biblical Association
  • 1992 - present: Member of the Uniting Church-Roman Catholic Dialogue, Adelaide
  • 1994 - present: Co-chair of the Uniting Church-Roman Catholic Dialogue, Adelaide
  • 1997-  present: Co-chair of the South Australian Council of Christians and Jews
  • 2001 - present: Member of the Australian Council of Christians and Jews
  • 2012 - present: Member of the Executive Board of the International Council of Christians and Jews
  • 2012 - present: Chair of the theology committee of the International Council of Christians and Jews
  • 2019 - present: Member of the International Society of New Testament Scholars

 

 

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