Readiness For Theological Study A Framework for a Preliminary Year

Theological College, described the task of a theological college as being: to think through a theological problem, relating it to the documents of the Christian faith, and to the coherent totality of Christian doctrine, and thus aiming at some relevant formulation in modern terms. The procedure in our study of ethics is first to awaken an awareness of the moral problems of men and women today, and the situations, which gave rise to them; then to consider the tools, which the Christian tradition has made available for handling ethical problems; and, finally, to use the tools in such a way that a piece of teaching, or counselling, or direction, can be given, which has not only been assimilated as the truth, but as the truth for the teacher or counsellor, as part of the basis of his own personal life.1 What sort of priest do we need in the church in Melanesia today? What kind of personal and spiritual qualities must he possess? What sort of person comes to us for training, and what kind of educational processes must he undergo, in order effectively to meet the needs of the church in PNG and Melanesia today? These were the questions we, the present staff at the Anglican seat of priestly formation, Newton College, faced early in 1991, as we sat down, with the help of a consultant, Professor Michael Horsburgh,2 to discuss the curriculum at Newton College. This paper will attempt to outline these discussions. I first want to look at issues related to readiness for theological study, then, in the second part of the paper, give a brief background to the teaching situation at NTC, as currently practised, and then to give a background to the discussions we had, focusing particularly on the preliminary studies. Finally, I will outline the structure of the preliminary studies, as we hope to see it – starting in the 1993 academic year