austraLasia
#1792
The Gospel according to
Judas - austraLasia's first podcast!
ROME: 19th March 2007 -- Under embargo for the moment but due to be made
available on 20th March, is austraLasia's first podcast - a 20 minute interview
with Professor Frank Moloney, co-author of The Gospel according to
Judas. The interview will be made available as an mp3 download both
directly from the Bosconet homepage and as part of the new Salesian Digital
Library at http:sdl.sdb.org.
Frank flew into Rome on
Sunday morning from Australia and now faces a gruelling series of public
launches starting in Rome (he had a pre-launch rehearsal at the Biblicum on
Sunday evening) then on to London, Dublin and finally New York. He will be
accompanied, of course by co-author Lord Jeffrey Archer.
This writer and interviewer has read the 'gospel' and agrees with the viewpoint
of several others who were permitted to read it beforehand - a wonderful story
of Jesus in the long Christian tradition of telling stories of Jesus. The fact
that it is written through the eyes of Judas and his son just makes it all the
more interesting!
The interview is not to be missed.
While many other interviews with either of the two authors will focus on issues
to the far right or left of the solid and centred Christian tradition, here you
will find a Salesian interviewing a Salesian, neither of whom are all that
bothered by who is to their right or left but by another divide. "It is my
experience over the years that the Church and the world at large are speaking
two different languages", says Frank in the interview.
We
explore questions relating to the creative process, especially in a co-authoring
context. At one point I ask him if it eventually became the book (after
the process) that he wanted to write. What were his deeper motivations for
taking up the challenge? Where is the 'Salesian' in it all? Every question
receives a thoughtful answer, and you become aware that there are some surprises
in this gospel but, as Frank says, while some things may be improbable,
absolutely nothing in it is impossible. And maybe some of the things you
thought were 'gospel' truth, ain't necessarily so! By the way, you will
see that biblicists don't reference with footnotes but in the
margin.
I didn't say this to Frank at the time, but the
thought struck me - the Torah has the two tablets of the Law written by 'the
finger of God'. It is a wonderful metaphor slipped into a dramatic piece of
narrative. God has a hand in human affairs. You may come away from this
interview with the same feeling I had, that in this unlikely coupling of
creative effort by the artful Archer and the mettlesome Moloney, there just
might be another finger at work.
As soon as the podcast is
made public, readers will be informed. jbf
_________________
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