Caught in between: Australian biblical studies between Asia, the Pacific, and the West.

Biblical criticism in Australia has always suffered from an identity crisis: it has hung on to the idea that it is an outpost of Western scholarship at the same time that it exists at the intersection between the Pacific and Asia. For most of that time, it has valued the first while barely taking notice of the other two. So in this survey and proposal for the future of biblical studies in the in-between zone of Australia, I trace the legacy of Western biblical scholarship and ponder the possibilities of a greater meshing with Asia and the Pacific. I have organized my discussion in terms of four types of analysis. If we view biblical criticism in Australia as a room, then these types are windows into that room. We look into the same room, but the window through which we do so affects how we see that room. A small window on one side gives a distinct picture, while a stained-glass window on another side provides a very different insight, a louvered window provides multiple views, and then a large panoramic window on yet another side shows up the whole room in a very different light again. I have called these windows "legacy," "institutions," "caught in between," and "crystal ball.