title: That 'austere anti-aesthetic angel': James K. Baxter and Puritanism

authors: Moffat, Kirstine

abstract: It is necessary to begin with an apology to James K. Baxter. In my previous musings on the Puritan legacy in New Zealand I have chastised Baxter, along with other writers and critics of his generation, for using Puritanism as a reductive catchphrase to summarise all that they most despise about New Zealand society (Moffat, 'Destruction'). The phrase that I have repeatedly used to epitomise Baxter's perceived antagonism is his description of Pu,itanism as an 'austere anti-aesthetic angel' (Complete Prose 2. 328). Returning to this phrase as I meditate at much greater length on Baxter's relationship with Puritanism, I realise that I am guilty of flattening and simplifying what is a much more complex engagement with Puritanism in his prose writing. Baxter's phrase contains both condemnation and implied praise. He was vehemently opposed to what he regarded as the Puritan suspicion of imagination and sexuality, and throughout his writing castigated all the social and religious forces that sought to curb and quell aestheticism and the natural, instinctual self. Yet, he also refers to Puritanism as 'austere', a quality that much of his writing and his own life choices suggest he regarded as admirable, particularly as it relates to a paring back and relinquishing of the unnecessary paraphernalia of capitalism and materialism. And what to make of 'angel'? Surely this is more than simply alliterative effect. It too undercuts the antagonism of 'anti-aesthetic' to suggest that in Baxter's eyes there is at least a trace of the divine about Puritanism and its legacy.

text: That 'austere anti-aesthetic angel': James K. Baxter and Puritanism It is necessary to begin with an apology to James K. Baxter. In my previous musings on the Puritan legacy in New Zealand I have chastised Baxter, along with other writers and critics of his generation, for using Puritanism as a reductive catchphrase to summarise all that they most despise about New Zealand society (Moffat, 'Destruction'). The phrase that I have repeatedly used to epitomise Baxter's perceived antagonism is his description of Pu,itanism as an 'austere anti-aesthetic angel' (Complete Prose 2. 328). Returning to this phrase as I meditate at much greater length on Baxter's relationship with Puritanism, I realise that I am guilty of flattening and simplifying what is a much more complex engagement with Puritanism in his prose writing. Baxter's phrase contains both condemnation and implied praise. He was vehemently opposed to what he regarded as the Puritan suspicion of imagination and sexuality, and throughout his writing castigated all the social and religious forces that sought to curb and quell aestheticism and the natural, instinctual self. Yet, he also refers to Puritanism as 'austere', a quality that much of his writing and his own life choices suggest he regarded as admirable, particularly as it relates to a paring back and relinquishing of the unnecessary paraphernalia of capitalism and materialism. And what to make of 'angel'? Surely this is more than simply alliterative effect. It too undercuts the antagonism of 'anti-aesthetic' to suggest that in Baxter's eyes there is at least a trace of the divine about Puritanism and its legacy.

year: 2017

title: Necessary non-apodicity: Hermeneutic priority and textual authority in Christian-Muslim dialogue

authors: Pratt, Douglas

subjects: Christian

abstract: This article seeks to explore something of the significance of the notion of necessary non-apodicity as a leitmotif for the reading of sacred text in the context of Christian-Muslim dialogical engagement. Far from being a contentious challenge to received traditions of the status and reception of our respective scriptures, it contends that the notion of an inherent requirement to apply hermeneutic tools and approaches to sacred text is a mark of the mode of divine revelation as such. The absolute word of God was and is spoken into and through multifarious concrete contexts; the apprehension of the divine message throughout changing contexts and differing situations is thus intended to invite interpretive engagement necessarily. Or, put otherwise, the hermeneutical task that necessarily applies to the reading of scripture suggests that the sacred text of divine revelation is marked by necessary non-apodicity. In exploring this idea further, the article addresses some general issues of Christian and Muslim perspectives on sacred text then turns to an examination of the 2007 letter, 'A Common Word', from Muslims to Christians that seeks a renewed emphasis on dialogue.

text: Necessary non-apodicity: Hermeneutic priority and textual authority in Christian-Muslim dialogue This article seeks to explore something of the significance of the notion of necessary non-apodicity as a leitmotif for the reading of sacred text in the context of Christian-Muslim dialogical engagement. Far from being a contentious challenge to received traditions of the status and reception of our respective scriptures, it contends that the notion of an inherent requirement to apply hermeneutic tools and approaches to sacred text is a mark of the mode of divine revelation as such. The absolute word of God was and is spoken into and through multifarious concrete contexts; the apprehension of the divine message throughout changing contexts and differing situations is thus intended to invite interpretive engagement necessarily. Or, put otherwise, the hermeneutical task that necessarily applies to the reading of scripture suggests that the sacred text of divine revelation is marked by necessary non-apodicity. In exploring this idea further, the article addresses some general issues of Christian and Muslim perspectives on sacred text then turns to an examination of the 2007 letter, 'A Common Word', from Muslims to Christians that seeks a renewed emphasis on dialogue.

year: 2009

title: The New Zealand psychological society and the Treaty of Waitangi: Proposed implementation plan

authors: National Standing Committee on Bicultural Issues

subjects: Maori

abstract: In August 1993, the National Standing Committee on Bicultural Issues (NSCBI) was asked to prepare an implementation plan for the above Rule 3 for presentation to the Council of the New Zealand Psychological Society. This paper proposes a number of strategies whereby the Society might move towards attaining the goals of Rule 3. This paper has been prepared as a ‘proposed plan’ as the NSCBI believes that ongoing discussion and consultation is necessary to confirm specific directions proposed. In particular, the committee would like to gain feedback from Maori who attend the Hui for Maori in Psychology in February 1995, and from the Society membership generally.

text: The New Zealand psychological society and the Treaty of Waitangi: Proposed implementation plan In August 1993, the National Standing Committee on Bicultural Issues (NSCBI) was asked to prepare an implementation plan for the above Rule 3 for presentation to the Council of the New Zealand Psychological Society. This paper proposes a number of strategies whereby the Society might move towards attaining the goals of Rule 3. This paper has been prepared as a ‘proposed plan’ as the NSCBI believes that ongoing discussion and consultation is necessary to confirm specific directions proposed. In particular, the committee would like to gain feedback from Maori who attend the Hui for Maori in Psychology in February 1995, and from the Society membership generally.

year: 1993