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Dr Darren Sarisky

Senior Research Fellow
Religion and Theology

Areas of expertise: Modern Christian Doctrine, especially theological interpretation of Scripture, the nature of doctrine, ecclesiology, interfaith dialogue, and theology’s engagement with philosophy; Patristics, especially the history of biblical interpretation.

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: Full

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9863-3401

Phone: +613 9230 8391

Email: darren.sarisky@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Melbourne Campus

Dr Sarisky specializes in Modern Christian Doctrine and is a member of the Religion and Theology research group. His current research focuses on the doctrine of the church. Dr Sarisky is writing a book on the ecclesiology of the Scottish theologian Thomas F. Torrance. This work argues that Torrance’s ecclesiology offers an exceptionally compelling synthesis of the church’s immanent and spiritual aspects. The book delves deeply into Torrance’s perspective, utilizing unpublished archival material, and brings him into dialogue with both Karl Barth and postliberal theologies, arguing that Torrance is in key respects more successful than these alternative views. Dr Sarisky is also leading a grant-funded project until 2024 called “Hermeneutics and Transcendence” which will result in the publication of an edited volume as well as material bringing the project’s findings to a broader audience.

Dr Sarisky’s main area of existing publications is theological interpretation of Scripture. In 2019, he published a book that explores the difference a faith commitment makes for the practice of interpreting the Bible: Reading the Bible Theologically (Cambridge University Press). He has also published several essays that explore different aspects of the broader subject. Some of these articles focus on modern figures and questions about reading the Bible in interfaith settings, while others deal with issues of interpretation as they manifested themselves in the earliest centuries of Christian theology. He now serves as editor-in-chief of Baylor University Press’s new series, Exploring Theological Interpretation, a re-launched version of the Journal of Theological Interpretation Supplement series. 

Dr Sarisky’s other recent projects include the following. In 2021, together with Dr Pui Him Ip, he organized a virtual conference called “Theological Genealogies of Modernity.” The original conference talks were developed and published in 2023 as a special issue of Modern Theology. Dr Sarisky has also published an edited volume called Theologies of Retrieval: An Exploration and Appraisal (T. & T. Clark, 2017), which investigates forms of theology making frequent reference to classical texts when dealing with contemporary questions. 

Prior to coming to Australian Catholic University in 2019, Dr Sarisky was a Departmental Lecturer in Modern Theology at the University of Oxford. While in this role, he received a teaching excellence award for pioneering a new module for the Faculty of Theology and Religion called Key Themes in Systematic Theology. He has also been a Junior Research Fellow at Homerton College, University of Cambridge. During this time, he served as the Co-director of the MPhil in Christian Theology and supervised a wide range of research among postgraduate students. Dr Sarisky received his PhD from the University of Aberdeen.

He welcomes inquiries from doctoral students who are interested in any of his areas of expertise.

Visit Academia.edu profile

Selected Publications

Monographs

• (2019) Reading the Bible Theologically, Current Issues in Theology (Cambridge University Press).
• (2013) Scriptural Interpretation: A Theological Exploration, Challenges in Contemporary Theology (Wiley-Blackwell).

Edited Projects

• (2023) Special Issue of Modern Theology on Genealogies of Modernity. Darren Sarisky, Pui Him Ip, and Austin Stevenson (eds.), (Wiley).
• (2017) Theologies of Retrieval: An Exploration and Appraisal (T. & T. Clark).
• (2015) Theological Theology: Essays in Honor of John B. Webster. R. David Nelson, Darren Sarisky, and Justin Stratis (eds.), (T. & T. Clark).
• (2015) Theology, History, and Biblical Interpretation: Modern Readings (T. & T. Clark).

Journal articles

• (2023) “Neither Progress nor Regress: The Theological Substructure of T. F. Torrance’s Genealogy of Modernity,” Modern Theology 39, 607-626.
• (2023) “Theological Genealogies of Modernity: An Introduction,” Modern Theology 39, 575-587.
• (2021) “Judgments in Scripture and the Creed: Reflections on Identity and Difference,” Modern Theology 37, 703-721.
• (2021) “Gadamer, Barth, and Transcendence in Biblical Interpretation,” European Journal of Philosophy of Religion 13, 87-110.
• (2020) “Religious Commitment in Scriptural Reasoning: A Critical Engagement with Gavin D’Costa’s ‘Catholics Reading the Scripture of Other Religions,’” Modern Theology 36, 317-335.
• (2020) “Ascriptive Realism and the Book of Daniel: Questions for Richard Briggs,” Journal of Theological Interpretation 14, 60-64.
• (2019) “Theological Reading of Non-scriptural Texts,” Scottish Journal of Theology 72, 385-397.
• (2019) “The Ontology of Scripture and the Ethics of Interpretation in the Theology of John Webster,” International Journal of Systematic Theology 21, 59-77.
• (2018) “Biblical Interpretation and Analytic Reflection,” Journal of Analytic Theology 6, 162-182.
• (2014) “The Meaning of the missio Dei: Critical Reflections on Lesslie Newbigin’s Proposal that Mission is of the Essence of the Church,” Missiology: An International Review 42, 257-270.
• (2013) “Who Can Listen to Sermons on Genesis?  Theological Exegesis and Theological Anthropology in Basil of Caesarea’s Hexaemeron Homilies,” Studia Patristica 67, 13-23.
• (2010) “The End of Interpretation in Basil of Caesarea’s De spiritu sancto,” Studia Patristica 47, 91-95.
• (2010) “What is Theological Interpretation?  The Example of Robert W. Jenson,” International Journal of Systematic Theology 12, 201-216.
• (2009) “T. F. Torrance on Biblical Interpretation,” International Journal of Systematic Theology 11, 332-346.

Book Chapters

• (Forthcoming) “Creation and Participation in John’s Gospel,” in Biblical Narrative and Philosophy: Jewish and Christian Approaches, Eleonore Stump and Judith Wolfe (eds.), (Routledge).
• (2021) “The Spirit in Biblical Interpretation: Basil of Caesarea and Modern Discussions of Meaning and Significance,” in Hearing and Doing the Word: The Drama of Evangelical Hermeneutics, Daniel J. Treier and Douglas A. Sweeney (eds.), (T. & T. Clark), 113-126.
• (2020) “John Webster on the Doctrine of Scripture,” in A Companion to the Theology of John Webster, Michael Allen and R. David Nelson (eds.), (Eerdmans), 119-130.
• (2017) “Tradition II: Thinking with Historical Texts—Reflections on Theologies of Retrieval,” in Theologies of Retrieval: An Exploration and Appraisal, Darren Sarisky (ed.), (T. & T. Clark), 193-209.
• (2017) “Introduction,” in Theologies of Retrieval: An Exploration and Appraisal, Darren Sarisky (ed.), (T. & T. Clark), 1-5.
• (2015) “Theological Theology,” in Theological Theology: Essays in Honor of John B. Webster, R. David Nelson, Darren Sarisky, and Justin Stratis (eds.), (T. & T. Clark), 1-15.
• (2015) “A Prolegomenon to an Account of Theological Interpretation of Scripture,” in Theological Theology: Essays in Honor of John B. Webster, R. David Nelson, Darren Sarisky, and Justin Stratis (eds.), (T. & T. Clark), 247-265.
• (2015) “Introduction,” and chapter prefaces in Theology, History, and Biblical Interpretation: Modern Readings, Darren Sarisky (ed.) (T. & T. Clark), 1-10 and passim.
• (2014) “Participation in Augustine: Some Reflections on his Exegesis of Romans,” in “In Christ” in Paul: Explorations in Paul’s Theology of Union and Participation, Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament II, Michael J. Thate, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, and Constantine R. Campbell (eds.), (Mohr Siebeck), 357-374.

Appointments and affiliations

• Visiting Scholar, Duke University Divinity School (2019).
• Associate Fellow, Homerton College, University of Cambridge (2016-present).
• Associate of the Centre for Theology and Modern European Thought, University of Oxford (2016-present).

Recent Projects

• 2022-2024 “Hermeneutics and Transcendence: Toward a Synthesis,” Templeton Religion Trust, $104,620; Part of the Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology project.
• 2019-2021 “Theological Genealogies of Modernity,” John Fell Fund (University of Oxford) and Australian Catholic University, $12,402, Principle Investigators: Dr Darren Sarisky and Dr Pui Him Ip (Cambridge).
• 2017 "Interfaith Engagement and Ministerial Training: Scriptural Reasoning as a Test Case,” Common Awards Research Network Seedcorn Grants (Church of England), $3,680.

Doctoral Supervision

• 2022-. Derek Bruns. ACU. “Where There is Difference There is also Fellowship,” (with Philip McCosker and Ben DeSpain).
• Christopher Parkes. ACU. “Pentecostal Ethics in Light of Stanley Hauerwas's Account of Narrative, Virtue, and the Church,” (with David Kirchhoffer).
• 2018- Pengxiang Lee. Oxford. “The Eschatology of Geerhardus Vos,” (with Johannes Zachhuber).

Public Engagement

• (2013) “Stanley Hauerwas: Life and Theology,” St John’s Nottingham: The Video Timeline Project, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCzZMl-o4KE.
• (2012-2017) Subject Editor of Historical Theology for Marginalia: A Review of Books in History, Theology & Religion, a partner publication of the Los Angeles Review of Books.
• (2007) “Despair and Redemption: A Theological Account of Eminem,” in Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends, Kevin J. Vanhoozer et al. (eds.), (Baker Academic), 81-97. Also available in Chinese, Indonesian English, and Korean.