Publications
The Divinity School: a novel by Michael Bird
Michael Bird, The Divinity School, Morning Star, 2016.
The Divinity School follows the lives of four of faculty members at an interfaith studies centre at the fictitious Hamilton University. A widower now Catholic priest tries to reconcile with his gay daughter. A Jewish rabbi confronts domestic violence and is tempted to return to a life he left behind. A Muslim woman tries to help a former student stop her sister from travelling to Syria to join ISIS, and a grieving Episcopal priest finds himself confronted with zany situations that amuse as much as annoy him. The Divinity School is a story that touches on the themes of grief, the complexity of parental relationships, dealing with one’s past, revenge, the seduction of Islamic extremism, and the complexity of religious freedom in a pluralistic world. It is a comic novel with dramatic flair that confronts the issues of our time.
About the author: Mike Bird is an Anglican priest and lecturer in theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author and editor of over thirty books in biblical and theological studies as well as his debut novel Iskandar.