Image: Peter at Masada, January 2020.

Early this year, I joined my wife on a field trip to Jordan and Israel for her masters. Suspecting this would be a ‘bucket list’ experience, I enrolled in a Graduate Certificate of Divinity so that I could do the unit myself and get the most out of the trip. Led by academics from Sydney, we were joined by local guides on arrival: one in Jordan, the other in Israel. Both had higher degrees in archaeology or history and travelled with us in-country. To be led through that ancient land by local scholars who taught with authority and helped us contextualise what we were seeing was an extraordinarily rich experience.

Since then, I’ve been hooked, enjoying the study so much that, when the Time for Change program invited expressions of interest for voluntary redundancy, I saw it as an opportunity to do something completely different in the second half of life. I’ve been interested in biblical studies at a higher level almost all my adult life, getting my first Analytical Greek New Testament at the age of 23, but never having actually ‘gotten around to it’ with respect to learning the ancient language.

For me, both in terms of my academic background and my faith, theology is a kind of ‘final frontier.’ It combines so many disciplines that interest me: critical textual studies, yes, but also languages, geography, archaeology, philosophy, ethics, history and, depending on the direction I take, leadership, management, aid & development studies, spiritual formation, pastoral care and more.

People often ask me what ‘Divinity’ is or how it is different to Theology. Well, they are synonymous really, both being the study of religion, the knowledge of God and, in my case, specifically linked to my Christian faith. In practice, it seems that theological colleges and universities generally offer a Masters of Divinity to people who have a first degree in another discipline and who want a qualification in theology. Someone with a Masters of Theology generally has a bachelor’s degree in theology and has completed a 1-2 year coursework/research masters. The Masters of Divinity is a full three-year theological degree taught and assessed at AQF level 9. As a result, it is predominantly coursework, but the final year features a traditional masters-level research or capstone experience.

Sometimes people wonder, “Are you going to be like, er, a pastor in a church?” Well, that is a possibility I’m open to, but I have chosen not to get too specific yet. There are lots of roles this qualification could lead to ranging from ordination to chaplaincy, management in a para-church organisation (there are many, ranging from Bible, missions and aid agencies) to academia (teaching and research). I believe that things will unfold naturally as I progress through my studies – networks and connections will bring to light opportunities that excite me and will become obvious in time. So the short answer is, “I’m looking forward to finding out!”

Peter Holford, 3 December 2020