Neil Ormerod’s 40-year career as a theologian almost never happened.
It’s surprising, considering his track record: he spent 20 years in various theological settings, before teaching for 14 years as a professor of theology at Australian Catholic University. He then worked for some time at Sydney College of Divinity and Australian College of Theology, helping to improve their research culture and quality. More recently, he was appointed Honorary Professor at Alphacrucis University College.
He’s a prolific writer, with 14 books, 40 book chapters and more than 90 articles in academic journals. In 2013, he became a fellow of the Australian Catholic Theological Association (FACTA), making history as the first non-clerical member to receive this honour.
But he never intended to become a theologian. Neil’s first passion, and intended career path, was mathematics. So what changed his mind?
Neil says it’s been ‘an interesting journey’. He grew up in a Catholic household and went to Catholic schools, so his faith has remained a constant part of his life from a very early age. He remembers being very academically inclined as a child, and especially gifted at mathematics—or, as he puts it, ‘I was one of those nerdy mathematical kids.’
While I was at university, I found there was a more intellectual side to faith that I hadn’t recognised before
He followed this interest all the way to university, completing honours in pure mathematics, then a PhD. While he was sure he’d pursue mathematics as a career, his interests were piqued in an entirely different area: theology.
‘While I was at university, I found there was a more intellectual side to faith that I hadn’t recognised before,’ he says. ‘I had exposure to modern critical readings of Scripture that changed my perspective and gave me a whole new way of looking at my faith.’
‘I started to see the Bible as literature and treat it according to those principles rather than a more fundamentalist and literalistic reading.’
He pivoted away from mathematics and completed a bachelor of divinity, followed by a masters and a doctorate, and secured a teaching position. He credits this teaching role with helping him find initial direction for his research and the tools he needed to deepen his understanding.
‘What interested me most were the more doctrinal questions: original sin and the doctrine of the Trinity,’ he says.
‘Original sin is clearly enunciated in various ways, especially in the Catholic tradition, but there are problems in terms of its understanding of human origins. And the doctrine of the Trinity is such a profound mystery.’
The whole salvation and redemption narrative hangs on how we understand original sin.
He’s also internationally recognised as an expert on prominent Catholic philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan. Lonergan’s 1957 book, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding, a major philosophical work spanning almost 800 pages, marked a turning point for Neil.
‘I read the introduction, and it said, “Thoroughly understand what it is to understand, and not only will you understand the broad lines of all there is to be understood, but also you will possess a fixed base, and invariant pattern, opening upon all further developments of understanding,”’ Neil says. ‘I thought, “Well, either this guy’s crazy, or I should read his book.” So I did.’
‘It made sense of so much: human cognition, epistemology, metaphysics. Then I read his second book, which opened up even more for me to understand what was going on theologically, philosophically and in life. I’ve never looked back.’
‘He really gets what maths and physics are all about, in a way that a lot of philosophers might talk about, but they’ve never had to actually solve an equation.’
More recently, Neil has been reflecting on what it means to be human, and the implications of modern scientific understandings of human evolution for the doctrine of original sin. Once again, a book played an important role in shaping his thinking.
‘One of my American colleagues, Thomas Hughson SJ, wrote a book called Neanderthal Religion? Theology in Dialogue with Archaeology,’ Neil says.
‘It took me back to some of my questions from my early work on original sin, because what constitutes our original sinfulness and how we understand it seems to me to have been overturned by modern scientific discoveries of human origins.’
‘We can no longer simply narrate the Garden of Eden story as if it’s something that happened in the way it’s depicted literally: the first humans were not living in a lovely garden; their conditions were harsh and survival-oriented.’
‘The whole salvation and redemption narrative hangs on how we understand original sin.’
Neil argues that meaning-making is fundamental to being human, but that with meaning-making comes the possibility of deception.
‘Once you start producing art, like cave art, you’re communicating meaning,’ he says. ‘That shows these people are responsible for the world that they’re making, and they are also capable of distorting meaning and deceptive behaviours. I’m thinking more and more that the primal sin was a sin of deception.’
Being human is about having responsibility, being held accountable for our actions and for the meaning that we make—not just individually, but as a society as well.
As for where human evolution fits in, Neil says it’s hard to pinpoint a historical Fall, but it’s easier to determine when meaning-making first appeared on the scene.
‘It’s quite clear from Tom’s book that Neanderthals were meaning-making beings,’ Neil says.
Regardless of when and where original sin took place, Neil says it’s clear that this sinfulness permeates the human condition, and we will all ultimately be called to give an account of our lives before God.
‘No other animal that we know of has to be capable of giving an account of its life—and being judged by that,’ he says.
‘Being human is about having responsibility, being held accountable for our actions and for the meaning that we make—not just individually, but as a society as well.’
While he’s now officially retired, Neil is still active as a theologian, writing and publishing on two key areas of interest: the Trinity and ecotheology, the latter inspired by his wife’s work as a climate activist.
‘I don’t have the pressure of “publish or perish” anymore,’ he says. ‘I have a wide range of interests, but now I can just focus on what I think is most important and interesting.’
‘And I’ve been giving away a lot of my books.’
Neil Ormerod is a Fellow of ISCAST—Christianity and Science in Conversation. He will be speaking on the topic of human evolution and original sin at ISCAST’s upcoming Conference on Science and Christianity, ‘Humanity 2.0? God, Technology, and the Future of Being Human’ (29 November – 1 December, Sydney). For more conference details and to register, visit cosac.iscast.org.
Banner image: Thea and Neil Ormerod in the Daintree Rainforest. (Photo courtesy of ISCAST.)