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{{Update|reason=talks about "future" projects from 2010|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Grenville J. R. Kent
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1965}}
| alma_mater = [[University of Manchester]], [[Australian College of Theology]]
| known_for = Academic, film producer, author
}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}}
'''Grenville J. R. Kent''' (born 1965)<ref>Andy Nash, ed., ''Unleash the Dream'' (United States: Review and Herald), p140 allows a rough estimate of his birth year</ref> is an Australian academic, film producer, author, and Christian communicator. He is the producer of ''Big Questions'', a forthcoming documentary series examining faith, and the "10 Questions for God" series of booklets. He has earned a PhD from the [[University of Manchester]], England, and a [[Doctor of Ministry|D.Min]] from the [[Australian College of Theology]], and taught Cultural Apologetics (Arts/Theology) and [[Old Testament]] at the Wesley Institute (now [[Excelsia College]]) in Sydney.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
⚫
Grenville Kent is producer of ''Big Questions''. The pilot episode, "Does God Exist? Part 1" examines flight and compares design features of the [[albatross]] and the [[Airbus A380]]. It includes interviews with two [[Oxford University]] professors: [[Atheism|atheist]] [[Peter Atkins]] and [[John Lennox]], a Christian. It was shot in New Zealand, Hungary, England, France and Australia. Kent is co-presenter alongside his seven-year-old son Marcus. Future episodes will discuss consciousness, space and the stars, human morality, and whether God genuinely spoke through the Bible.<ref>"[http://wi.excelsia.edu.au/www.wi.edu.au/news/big-questions-documentary-series-grenville-kent.html Tackling the Big Questions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311142805/http://wi.excelsia.edu.au/www.wi.edu.au/news/big-questions-documentary-series-grenville-kent.html |date=11 March 2016 }}" by Hannah Bath. Wesley Institute, 25 August 2009</ref>
Grenville Kent is producer of ''Big Questions'', a documentary series funded and commissioned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Australian Union Conference. The controversial series remains unreleased due to financial indiscretions and personal misconduct by Kent. Kent has refused to hand-over the original footage of the video series despite not owning the copyright.


⚫
Kent taught Old Testament and Cultural Apologetics (Arts/Theology) at the Wesley Institute from 2003 to 2013. His PhD from the University of Manchester is in Old Testament literature, and examines the [[Witch of Endor|Witch of En-Dor]] narrative in {{bibleverse||1Samuel|28|NIV}} using [[film theory]]. His DMin is in Apologetics (the rational explanation of Christianity) and looks at factors influencing Australians towards and away from belief in God. His [[Master of Arts|MA]] ([[Christian theology|Theol]]) from [[Morling College]] studied the [[Song of Songs|Song of Solomon]], a piece of [[Bible|Biblical]] [[erotica]].<ref name="Wesley">"[http://www.wesleymission.org.au/wi/courses/Theology/Faculty.asp Theology Faculty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113061101/http://www.wesleymission.org.au/wi/Courses/Theology/Faculty.asp |date=13 January 2010 }}" section "Rev Dr Grenville Kent", Wesley Institute. Accessed September 2009</ref> His MA (Film) was from the [[University of Technology, Sydney]].<ref name="Reel">[http://www.reeldialogue.com/conference-speaker-grenvillekent.htm Keynote speakers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908072912/http://www.reeldialogue.com/conference-speaker-grenvillekent.htm |date=8 September 2008 }}, Reel Dialogue conference 2008. Accessed September 2009</ref> He also earned a Grad. Cert. Commerce (Marketing) from the [[University of New South Wales]], a BA (Theol) from Pacific Union College, and a BA (Mass Communication) from the [[University of Technology Sydney]].<ref name="Wesley"/>
Kent is currently working for Dr Wayne French of Avondale College for the ''King Tut'' ''Roadshow''. Despite specific instructions from Seventh-day Adventist Church leadership to not engage Kent on the project, Kent is working as a script writer for Dr French.


⚫
Kent's memberships include the [[Society of Biblical Literature]] and the [[Evangelical Theological Society]] in the United States, and the [[Tyndale Fellowship]] in the United Kingdom. He has guest-lectured in the Philippines and Trinidad.<ref name="Wesley"/> He has presented papers at the annual Society of Biblical Literature meetings.
⚫
The pilot episode, "Does God Exist? Part 1" examines flight and compares design features of the [[albatross]] and the [[Airbus A380]]. It includes interviews with two [[Oxford University]] professors: [[Atheism|atheist]] [[Peter Atkins]] and [[John Lennox]], a Christian. It was shot in New Zealand, Hungary, England, France and Australia. Kent is co-presenter alongside his young son. Kent shot an episode on ‘Sexuality and the Soul’ at a porn convention in Las Vegas. The episode interviewed a range of porn stars and was deemed too explicit and graphic by Church Leaders and was later canned. Future episodes will discuss consciousness, space and the stars, human morality, and whether God genuinely spoke through the Bible.[[Grenville Kent#cite note-2|<sup>[2]</sup>]]


⚫
He has presented on [[Christian apologetics]] for the [[Cambridge Scholars Network]], [[European Leadership Forum]]<ref>[http://www.euroleadership.org/index.pl?iid=3881 European Media Communicators Network]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, European Leadership Forum. Accessed 8 October 2009</ref> (Hungary) and Campus Life, and travels internationally as a youth outreach speaker across several Christian denominations. He is a frequent presenter on Christian TV programs.
⚫
Kent has taught Old Testament and Cultural Apologetics (Arts/Theology) at the Wesley Institute however was made redundant in 2013. His PhD from the University of Manchester is in Old Testament literature, and examines the [[Witch of Endor|Witch of En-Dor]] narrative (1Samuel 28) using [[film theory]]. His DMin is in Apologetics (the rational explanation of Christianity)and looks at factors influencing Australians towards and away from belief in God. His [[Master of Arts|MA]] ([[Christian theology|Theol]]) from [[Morling College]] studied the [[Song of Songs|Song of Solomon]], a piece of [[Bible|Biblical]] [[erotica]].[[Grenville Kent#cite note-Wesley-3|<sup>[3]</sup>]] His MA (Film) was from the [[University of Technology, Sydney]].[[Grenville Kent#cite note-Reel-4|<sup>[4]</sup>]] He also earned a Grad. Cert. Commerce (Marketing) UNSW, BA (Theol) Pacific Union College, and a BA (Mass Communication) UTS.[[Grenville Kent#cite note-Wesley-3|<sup>[3]</sup>]]


Kent started "Church With No Ties" as a youth pastor and university chaplain.<ref name="Unleash">Andy Nash, ed. ''Unleash the Dream'', p140?</ref> Kent's speaking appointments have included men's conferences,<ref>2007 Men For Christ Ministries conference in Sydney, topic "Images of Masculinity in the Media". Free audio download available from the [http://www.menforchrist.asn.au/pages/pastevents-2007.php conference webpage]{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. See also [http://www.menforchrist.asn.au/files/mmc08poster.pdf 2008 poster]()</ref> theology congresses<ref>For instance, Wesley Institute [http://www.wesleymission.org.au/wi/Releases/Theology_Conference_09.asp Theology Conference 09] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121205145354/http://www.wesleymission.org.au/wi/Releases/Theology_Conference_09.asp |date=5 December 2012 }} on 1 August 2009. Theme "Jonah's God: Then and Now", and Kent was the keynote speaker</ref><ref>One talk, "Who appeared at Endor?" was published in a 2006 book (OCLC number 76952711)</ref> camp meetings, and many others.
⚫
Kent's memberships include the [[Society of Biblical Literature]] and the [[Evangelical Theological Society]] in the United States, and the Tyndale Fellowship in the United Kingdom. He has guest-lectured in the Philippines and Trinidad.[[Grenville Kent#cite note-Wesley-3|<sup>[3]</sup>]] He has presented papers at the annual Society of Biblical Literature meetings.

⚫
He has presented on [[Christian apologetics]] for the Cambridge Scholars Network, European Leadership Forum<sup>[[Grenville Kent#cite note-5|[5]]]</sup> (Hungary) and Campus Life, and travels internationally as a youth outreach speaker across several Christian denominations. He is a frequent presenter on Christian TV programs.[[Grenville Kent#cite note-6|<sup>[6]</sup>]]

Kent started "Church With No Ties" as a youth pastor and university chaplain[[Grenville Kent#cite note-Unleash-7|<sup>[7]</sup>]] in the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]], where he was ordained a minister of the gospel.

Until forced to resign from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in July 2016, Kent's speaking appointments included men's conferences,[[Grenville Kent#cite note-8|<sup>[8]</sup>]] theology congresses[[Grenville Kent#cite note-9|<sup>[9]</sup>]][[Grenville Kent#cite note-10|<sup>[10]</sup>]] camp meetings,[[Grenville Kent#cite note-11|<sup>[11]</sup>]] and many others.[[Grenville Kent#cite note-12|<sup>[12]</sup>]]<sup> </sup> An Australia-wide ban on Kent preaching in Adventist churches is the result of fraudulently stealing in excess of $250,000.00 from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

== Personal Life ==
Kent is divorced.

Kent is currently in a relationship with Aleta King, director of music at Avondale College of Higher Education.

Kent was diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder in 2002, however has exhibited signs of this disorder since his mid-20’s, increasingly markedly with age. This disorder was diagnosed by esteemed Sydney doctor at the Royal North Shore Sydney Hospital.


== Publications ==
== Publications ==
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=== Books ===
=== Books ===
* ''Say It Again, Sam: A Literary and Filmic Study of Narrative Repetition in 1 Samuel 28''. Pickwick, 2011. About the [[witch of Endor]]]
* ''Say It Again, Sam: A Literary and Filmic Study of Narrative Repetition in 1 Samuel 28''. Pickwick, 2011. About the [[witch of Endor]]
* Grenville Kent, forthcoming commentary on Song of Songs<ref>Cited in [[Richard M. Davidson]], ''Flame of Yahweh: A Theology of Sexuality in the Old Testament'' (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007), page 617 – footnote 36. Quote: "See the forthcoming [[Exegesis|exegetical]] monograph on the Song of Songs by Grenville Kent, which shows how the Song explicitly provides a stark contrast to modern pornography." (The Biblical book is very subtle)</ref>
* Grenville Kent, forthcoming commentary on Song of Songs<ref>Cited in [[Richard M. Davidson]], ''Flame of Yahweh: A Theology of Sexuality in the Old Testament'' (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007), page 617 – footnote 36. Quote: "See the forthcoming [[Exegesis|exegetical]] monograph on the Song of Songs by Grenville Kent, which shows how the Song explicitly provides a stark contrast to modern pornography." (The Biblical book is very subtle)</ref>
* Grenville Kent and Philip Rodionoff, ''The Da Vinci Decode'' (Victoria, Australia: Signs, 2006); {{ISBN|1-876010-90-8}}; [http://www.thedavincidecode.net/ book website]; [[Inaccuracies in The Da Vinci Code|a critique]] of [[Dan Brown]]'s 2003 novel ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]''.<ref>"[http://adventistreview.com/article.php?id=536 Adventists Answer ''DA VINCI'' Challenges]" by [[Nathan Brown (writer)|Nathan Brown]]. ''Adventist Review'' (18 May 2006). "[http://www.signsofthetimes.org.au/archives/2006/june/article1.shtm Decoding The Da Vinci Code]" by Grenville Kent. ''Signs of the Times'' (June 2006). "[http://link.adventistconnect.org/record/2006/rec25-06_07_01.pdf ''Decode'' for Sydney Universities]" by ''Record'' staff, Samantha Ireland, and James Etwell. ''Record'' 111:25 (1 July 2006), p1,4. "[http://news.adventist.org/2006/05/a-feature-avetists-reay-ia-vici-coei-respose-affirm-bible-accout.html ANN Feature: Adventists Ready ''Da Vinci Code'' Response, Affirm Bible Account]" by Mark A. Kellner, Nathan G. Brown, and ANN staff. Adventist News Network, 16 May 2006</ref> Also published in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]<ref>''O código Da Vinci e a Bíblia: seria o Cristianismo a maior fraude da história?'' (Tatuí, São Paulo: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 2006), 1st edn</ref> and [[Czech language|Czech]].<ref>''Šifra mistra Leonarda rozluštěna'' (Praha: Advent-Orion, 2006), 1st edn</ref>
* Grenville Kent and Philip Rodionoff, ''The Da Vinci Decode'' (Victoria, Australia: Signs, 2006); {{ISBN|1-876010-90-8}}; [http://www.thedavincidecode.net/ book website]; [[Inaccuracies in The Da Vinci Code|a critique]] of [[Dan Brown]]'s 2003 novel ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]''.<ref>"[http://adventistreview.com/article.php?id=536 Adventists Answer ''DA VINCI'' Challenges] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903084803/http://www.adventistreview.com/article.php?id=536 |date=3 September 2011 }}" by [[Nathan Brown (writer)|Nathan Brown]]. ''Adventist Review'' (18 May 2006). "[http://www.signsofthetimes.org.au/archives/2006/june/article1.shtm Decoding The Da Vinci Code]" by Grenville Kent. ''Signs of the Times'' (June 2006). "[http://link.adventistconnect.org/record/2006/rec25-06_07_01.pdf ''Decode'' for Sydney Universities]" by ''Record'' staff, Samantha Ireland, and James Etwell. ''Record'' 111:25 (1 July 2006), p1,4. "[http://news.adventist.org/2006/05/a-feature-avetists-reay-ia-vici-coei-respose-affirm-bible-accout.html ANN Feature: Adventists Ready ''Da Vinci Code'' Response, Affirm Bible Account]" by Mark A. Kellner, Nathan G. Brown, and ANN staff. Adventist News Network, 16 May 2006</ref> Also published in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]<ref>''O código Da Vinci e a Bíblia: seria o Cristianismo a maior fraude da história?'' (Tatuí, São Paulo: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 2006), 1st edn</ref> and [[Czech language|Czech]].<ref>''Šifra mistra Leonarda rozluštěna'' (Praha: Advent-Orion, 2006), 1st edn</ref>
* Christina Hawkins, Warwick Bagg, and Grenville Kent; ''Health'' (Berkeley Vale, New South Wales: [[Sanitarium Health Food Company]], 1999) (Kent was one editor for a series of 12 booklets)
* Christina Hawkins, Warwick Bagg, and Grenville Kent; ''Health'' (Berkeley Vale, New South Wales: [[Sanitarium Health Food Company]], 1999) (Kent was one editor for a series of 12 booklets)
* Grenville Kent, ''Millennium'' (Sydney: Religious Education Media Australia, 1996); {{ISBN|0-646-27865-7}}
* Grenville Kent, ''Millennium'' (Sydney: Religious Education Media Australia, 1996); {{ISBN|0-646-27865-7}}
Line 47: Line 42:
* ‘The Heavens Are Telling: A Biblically Informed Cosmology’, in Bryan W. Ball (ed), In The Beginning: Science and Scripture Confirm Creation (Boise: Pacific Press, 2012), 171–183.
* ‘The Heavens Are Telling: A Biblically Informed Cosmology’, in Bryan W. Ball (ed), In The Beginning: Science and Scripture Confirm Creation (Boise: Pacific Press, 2012), 171–183.
* ‘"His Desire Is For Her": Feminist readings of the Song of Solomon’, in Andrew Sloane (ed.), Tamar’s Tears: Evangelical Engagements with Feminist Old Testament Hermeneutics (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2011), 217–245.
* ‘"His Desire Is For Her": Feminist readings of the Song of Solomon’, in Andrew Sloane (ed.), Tamar’s Tears: Evangelical Engagements with Feminist Old Testament Hermeneutics (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2011), 217–245.
* Grenville J. R. Kent, Paul J. Kissling, and Laurence A. Turner, eds., ''Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching'' (Inter-Varsity Press, 2010)<!--; ISBN 9780830838875-->, [http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3887 publisher's page]. Kent also wrote the chapter, "Preaching the Song of Songs". The book won the annual ''Preaching Today'' award for the "Enhancing the Preacher's Skill" category.<ref>"[http://www.preachingtoday.com/skills/2011/february/annualptawards.html The Annual PT Book Awards]". ''Preaching Today'' website, posted 2011-07-02. One judge commented, "''Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching'' is well-written, practical, scholarly but readable, and the writers come from a variety of theological positions within evangelicalism. Each chapter discusses how to preach a particular book or genre of the Old Testament. I especially like the example sermons in each chapter. The book has a great chapter on preaching from difficult Old Testament texts."</ref> An alternative title is ''He Began with Moses: Preaching the Old Testament today'' (Inter-Varsity Press, 2010)<!--; ISBN 9781844744480-->, [http://www.ivpbooks.com/9781844744480 publisher's page].
* Grenville J. R. Kent, Paul J. Kissling, and Laurence A. Turner, eds., ''Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching'' (Inter-Varsity Press, 2010)<!--; ISBN 9780830838875-->, [http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3887 publisher's page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522121548/http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3887 |date=22 May 2010 }}. Kent also wrote the chapter, "Preaching the Song of Songs". The book won the annual ''Preaching Today'' award for the "Enhancing the Preacher's Skill" category.<ref>"[http://www.preachingtoday.com/skills/2011/february/annualptawards.html The Annual PT Book Awards]". ''Preaching Today'' website, posted 2011-07-02. One judge commented, "''Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching'' is well-written, practical, scholarly but readable, and the writers come from a variety of theological positions within evangelicalism. Each chapter discusses how to preach a particular book or genre of the Old Testament. I especially like the example sermons in each chapter. The book has a great chapter on preaching from difficult Old Testament texts."</ref> An alternative title is ''He Began with Moses: Preaching the Old Testament today'' (Inter-Varsity Press, 2010)<!--; ISBN 9781844744480-->, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716084608/http://www.ivpbooks.com/9781844744480 publisher's page].
* 'Did The Medium at En-Dor Really Bring Forth Samuel?', in Gerhard Pfandl (ed.), Interpreting Scripture: Bible Questions and Answers: Biblical Research Institute Studies, vol. 2 (Silver Spring: Biblical Research Institute, 2010), 196–200.
* 'Did The Medium at En-Dor Really Bring Forth Samuel?', in Gerhard Pfandl (ed.), Interpreting Scripture: Bible Questions and Answers: Biblical Research Institute Studies, vol. 2 (Silver Spring: Biblical Research Institute, 2010), 196–200.
* "Pop Culture: My Angel Goes to Movies" in Andy Nash, ed., ''Unleash the Dream: A New Generation Challenges the Church They Love'' (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1999), p52–62; [http://www.rhpa.org/index.php/products/profile/0828014264.rhpa publisher's page]
* "Pop Culture: My Angel Goes to Movies" in Andy Nash, ed., ''Unleash the Dream: A New Generation Challenges the Church They Love'' (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1999), p52–62; [http://www.rhpa.org/index.php/products/profile/0828014264.rhpa publisher's page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721100200/http://www.rhpa.org/index.php/products/profile/0828014264.rhpa |date=21 July 2011 }}


Additionally, Kent has many stories published in the "Australian Stories" series of books, which are published from Sydney by Strand:<!-- started 2001? The 2004 book invites contributions to the 2005 one, stating they are now in the 4th year -->
Additionally, Kent has many stories published in the "Australian Stories" series of books, which are published from Sydney by Strand:<!-- started 2001? The 2004 book invites contributions to the 2005 one, stating they are now in the 4th year -->
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* ''Inspirational Australian Stories'' ed. David and Rachel Dixon (2004) chapters "Common Scents", "Going Off", "The Game They Play in Heaven", and "When Is an Atheist Not an Atheist?"<ref>Pages 23–25, 106–108, 138–140, and 188–191 respectively. These originally appeared in ``Signs of the Times'' September 1996, November 1995, September 2000; and ``Record'' 25 October 2003 respectively</ref>
* ''Inspirational Australian Stories'' ed. David and Rachel Dixon (2004) chapters "Common Scents", "Going Off", "The Game They Play in Heaven", and "When Is an Atheist Not an Atheist?"<ref>Pages 23–25, 106–108, 138–140, and 188–191 respectively. These originally appeared in ``Signs of the Times'' September 1996, November 1995, September 2000; and ``Record'' 25 October 2003 respectively</ref>
<!-- p245 of the "Contributors" section states, "'''Grenville Kent''' is Lecturer in Biblical Studies (Old Testament) at Wesley Institute and pastor of Kellyville Adventist church in Sydney. He has produced Christian comics and an outreach web page (www.bigquestions.com), and has another life as a film-maker, writing and directing commercials and shorts in Australia and documentaries anywhere from Rwanda to Turkey to New York City. He and his wife Carla have two children." -->
<!-- p245 of the "Contributors" section states, "'''Grenville Kent''' is Lecturer in Biblical Studies (Old Testament) at Wesley Institute and pastor of Kellyville Adventist church in Sydney. He has produced Christian comics and an outreach web page (www.bigquestions.com), and has another life as a film-maker, writing and directing commercials and shorts in Australia and documentaries anywhere from Rwanda to Turkey to New York City. He and his wife Carla have two children." -->
* ''Australian Stories for the Spirit'' (2003)<!--; ISBN 1876825103-->, one chapter<ref>Cited in [http://link.adventistconnect.org/record/2003/rec43-03_11_07.pdf#page=3 Flashpoint]. ''Record'' 108 (1 November 2003), p3</ref>
* ''Australian Stories for the Spirit'' (2003)<!--; ISBN 1876825103-->, one chapter<ref>Cited in [http://link.adventistconnect.org/record/2003/rec43-03_11_07.pdf#page=3 Flashpoint] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724224632/http://link.adventistconnect.org/record/2003/rec43-03_11_07.pdf#page=3 |date=24 July 2011 }}. ''Record'' 108 (1 November 2003), p3</ref>
* ''Australian Stories for the Heart'' (2002) chapters "I'm Rich!", "Hedonists Don't Get No Satisfaction", and "Meeting the Godfather"<ref>Pages 35–37, 224–28, and 242–44 respectively</ref>
* ''Australian Stories for the Heart'' (2002) chapters "I'm Rich!", "Hedonists Don't Get No Satisfaction", and "Meeting the Godfather"<ref>Pages 35–37, 224–28, and 242–44 respectively</ref>


Line 62: Line 57:
Kent has produced the following films:
Kent has produced the following films:
* ''Big Questions'' documentary series
* ''Big Questions'' documentary series
* ''The Cross'', a 2000 [[Short subject|short film]] written and directed by Kent<ref name="Reel">[http://www.reeldialogue.com/conference-speaker-grenvillekent.htm Keynote speakers], Reel Dialogue conference 2008. Accessed September 2009</ref><ref>"[http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=CROTHE Cross, The]". [[Screen Australia]] website, accessed September 2009</ref>
* ''The Cross'', a 2000 [[Short subject|short film]] written and directed by Kent<ref name="Reel"/><ref>"[http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=CROTHE Cross, The] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018183540/http://afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=CROTHE |date=18 October 2009 }}". [[Screen Australia]] website, accessed September 2009</ref>
* ''Cushy Job: Rwanda Volunteer'', a 1995 short film written and directed by Kent<ref>"[http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=CUSHYJ Cushy Job: Rwanda Volunteer]". Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009</ref>
* ''Cushy Job: Rwanda Volunteer'', a 1995 short film written and directed by Kent<ref>"[http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=CUSHYJ Cushy Job: Rwanda Volunteer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019210807/http://afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=CUSHYJ |date=19 October 2009 }}". Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009</ref>
* ''What Future?'' A 1994 short film co-written and co-directed by Kent<ref>"[http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=WHAFUT What Future?]" Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009</ref>
* ''What Future?'' A 1994 short film co-written and co-directed by Kent<ref>"[http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=WHAFUT What Future?]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}" Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009</ref>
* ''Alcheringa'', a 1993 short film written by Kent<ref>"[http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=ALCHER Alcheringa]". Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009</ref>
* ''Alcheringa'', a 1993 short film written by Kent<ref>"[http://www.afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=ALCHER Alcheringa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091023092826/http://afc.gov.au/filmsandawards/filmdbsearch.aspx?view=title&title=ALCHER |date=23 October 2009 }}". Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:Australian film producers]]
[[Category:Australian film producers]]
[[Category:Australian evangelicals]]
[[Category:Australian evangelicals]]
[[Category:Australian Seventh-day Adventists]]

Latest revision as of 12:25, 21 August 2024

Grenville J. R. Kent
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Alma materUniversity of Manchester, Australian College of Theology
Known forAcademic, film producer, author

Grenville J. R. Kent (born 1965)[1] is an Australian academic, film producer, author, and Christian communicator. He is the producer of Big Questions, a forthcoming documentary series examining faith, and the "10 Questions for God" series of booklets. He has earned a PhD from the University of Manchester, England, and a D.Min from the Australian College of Theology, and taught Cultural Apologetics (Arts/Theology) and Old Testament at the Wesley Institute (now Excelsia College) in Sydney.

Biography

[edit]

Grenville Kent is producer of Big Questions. The pilot episode, "Does God Exist? Part 1" examines flight and compares design features of the albatross and the Airbus A380. It includes interviews with two Oxford University professors: atheist Peter Atkins and John Lennox, a Christian. It was shot in New Zealand, Hungary, England, France and Australia. Kent is co-presenter alongside his seven-year-old son Marcus. Future episodes will discuss consciousness, space and the stars, human morality, and whether God genuinely spoke through the Bible.[2]

Kent taught Old Testament and Cultural Apologetics (Arts/Theology) at the Wesley Institute from 2003 to 2013. His PhD from the University of Manchester is in Old Testament literature, and examines the Witch of En-Dor narrative in 1Samuel 28 using film theory. His DMin is in Apologetics (the rational explanation of Christianity) and looks at factors influencing Australians towards and away from belief in God. His MA (Theol) from Morling College studied the Song of Solomon, a piece of Biblical erotica.[3] His MA (Film) was from the University of Technology, Sydney.[4] He also earned a Grad. Cert. Commerce (Marketing) from the University of New South Wales, a BA (Theol) from Pacific Union College, and a BA (Mass Communication) from the University of Technology Sydney.[3]

Kent's memberships include the Society of Biblical Literature and the Evangelical Theological Society in the United States, and the Tyndale Fellowship in the United Kingdom. He has guest-lectured in the Philippines and Trinidad.[3] He has presented papers at the annual Society of Biblical Literature meetings.

He has presented on Christian apologetics for the Cambridge Scholars Network, European Leadership Forum[5] (Hungary) and Campus Life, and travels internationally as a youth outreach speaker across several Christian denominations. He is a frequent presenter on Christian TV programs.

Kent started "Church With No Ties" as a youth pastor and university chaplain.[6] Kent's speaking appointments have included men's conferences,[7] theology congresses[8][9] camp meetings, and many others.

Publications

[edit]

Kent has authored dozens of articles, the "10 Questions for God" Bible study series, films, comic books (graphic novels), books, and book chapters.

Books

[edit]
  • Say It Again, Sam: A Literary and Filmic Study of Narrative Repetition in 1 Samuel 28. Pickwick, 2011. About the witch of Endor
  • Grenville Kent, forthcoming commentary on Song of Songs[10]
  • Grenville Kent and Philip Rodionoff, The Da Vinci Decode (Victoria, Australia: Signs, 2006); ISBN 1-876010-90-8; book website; a critique of Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code.[11] Also published in Portuguese[12] and Czech.[13]
  • Christina Hawkins, Warwick Bagg, and Grenville Kent; Health (Berkeley Vale, New South Wales: Sanitarium Health Food Company, 1999) (Kent was one editor for a series of 12 booklets)
  • Grenville Kent, Millennium (Sydney: Religious Education Media Australia, 1996); ISBN 0-646-27865-7
  • Grenville Kent, The Siege (Sydney: self-published, 1994); ISBN 0-646-21173-0
  • Grenville Kent, What Future? The Forgotten Dream (Sydney: self-published, 1994); ISBN 0-646-17185-2

Book chapters and scholarly articles

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Scholarly articles:

  • 'Preaching Old Testament Narratives’, Southeastern Theological Review 2/1 (Summer 2011) 11–24.
  • ‘Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany and the sinful woman of Luke 7: the same person?’ Journal of the Asia Adventist Seminary 13.1 (2010): 13–28.
  • Book review of Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide by Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz. European Journal of Theology 18:1 (2009), p80–81

Book chapters:

  • ‘The Heavens Are Telling: A Biblically Informed Cosmology’, in Bryan W. Ball (ed), In The Beginning: Science and Scripture Confirm Creation (Boise: Pacific Press, 2012), 171–183.
  • ‘"His Desire Is For Her": Feminist readings of the Song of Solomon’, in Andrew Sloane (ed.), Tamar’s Tears: Evangelical Engagements with Feminist Old Testament Hermeneutics (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2011), 217–245.
  • Grenville J. R. Kent, Paul J. Kissling, and Laurence A. Turner, eds., Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching (Inter-Varsity Press, 2010), publisher's page Archived 22 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Kent also wrote the chapter, "Preaching the Song of Songs". The book won the annual Preaching Today award for the "Enhancing the Preacher's Skill" category.[14] An alternative title is He Began with Moses: Preaching the Old Testament today (Inter-Varsity Press, 2010), publisher's page.
  • 'Did The Medium at En-Dor Really Bring Forth Samuel?', in Gerhard Pfandl (ed.), Interpreting Scripture: Bible Questions and Answers: Biblical Research Institute Studies, vol. 2 (Silver Spring: Biblical Research Institute, 2010), 196–200.
  • "Pop Culture: My Angel Goes to Movies" in Andy Nash, ed., Unleash the Dream: A New Generation Challenges the Church They Love (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1999), p52–62; publisher's page Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine

Additionally, Kent has many stories published in the "Australian Stories" series of books, which are published from Sydney by Strand:

  • Australian Stories of Life ed. David and Rachel Dixon (2005) chapters "Hardly Davidson", "Bowled Over", and "Oink!"[15]
  • Inspirational Australian Stories ed. David and Rachel Dixon (2004) chapters "Common Scents", "Going Off", "The Game They Play in Heaven", and "When Is an Atheist Not an Atheist?"[16]
  • Australian Stories for the Spirit (2003), one chapter[17]
  • Australian Stories for the Heart (2002) chapters "I'm Rich!", "Hedonists Don't Get No Satisfaction", and "Meeting the Godfather"[18]

Films and documentaries

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Kent has produced the following films:

  • Big Questions documentary series
  • The Cross, a 2000 short film written and directed by Kent[4][19]
  • Cushy Job: Rwanda Volunteer, a 1995 short film written and directed by Kent[20]
  • What Future? A 1994 short film co-written and co-directed by Kent[21]
  • Alcheringa, a 1993 short film written by Kent[22]

References

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  1. ^ Andy Nash, ed., Unleash the Dream (United States: Review and Herald), p140 allows a rough estimate of his birth year
  2. ^ "Tackling the Big Questions Archived 11 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine" by Hannah Bath. Wesley Institute, 25 August 2009
  3. ^ a b c "Theology Faculty Archived 13 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine" section "Rev Dr Grenville Kent", Wesley Institute. Accessed September 2009
  4. ^ a b Keynote speakers Archived 8 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Reel Dialogue conference 2008. Accessed September 2009
  5. ^ European Media Communicators Network[permanent dead link‍], European Leadership Forum. Accessed 8 October 2009
  6. ^ Andy Nash, ed. Unleash the Dream, p140?
  7. ^ 2007 Men For Christ Ministries conference in Sydney, topic "Images of Masculinity in the Media". Free audio download available from the conference webpage[permanent dead link‍]. See also 2008 poster()
  8. ^ For instance, Wesley Institute Theology Conference 09 Archived 5 December 2012 at archive.today on 1 August 2009. Theme "Jonah's God: Then and Now", and Kent was the keynote speaker
  9. ^ One talk, "Who appeared at Endor?" was published in a 2006 book (OCLC number 76952711)
  10. ^ Cited in Richard M. Davidson, Flame of Yahweh: A Theology of Sexuality in the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007), page 617 – footnote 36. Quote: "See the forthcoming exegetical monograph on the Song of Songs by Grenville Kent, which shows how the Song explicitly provides a stark contrast to modern pornography." (The Biblical book is very subtle)
  11. ^ "Adventists Answer DA VINCI Challenges Archived 3 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine" by Nathan Brown. Adventist Review (18 May 2006). "Decoding The Da Vinci Code" by Grenville Kent. Signs of the Times (June 2006). "Decode for Sydney Universities" by Record staff, Samantha Ireland, and James Etwell. Record 111:25 (1 July 2006), p1,4. "ANN Feature: Adventists Ready Da Vinci Code Response, Affirm Bible Account" by Mark A. Kellner, Nathan G. Brown, and ANN staff. Adventist News Network, 16 May 2006
  12. ^ O código Da Vinci e a Bíblia: seria o Cristianismo a maior fraude da história? (Tatuí, São Paulo: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 2006), 1st edn
  13. ^ Šifra mistra Leonarda rozluštěna (Praha: Advent-Orion, 2006), 1st edn
  14. ^ "The Annual PT Book Awards". Preaching Today website, posted 2011-07-02. One judge commented, "Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching is well-written, practical, scholarly but readable, and the writers come from a variety of theological positions within evangelicalism. Each chapter discusses how to preach a particular book or genre of the Old Testament. I especially like the example sermons in each chapter. The book has a great chapter on preaching from difficult Old Testament texts."
  15. ^ Pages 61–62, 123–125, and 166–167 respectively. They originally appeared in ``Signs of the Times March 1992, May 1996, and August 1993 respectively
  16. ^ Pages 23–25, 106–108, 138–140, and 188–191 respectively. These originally appeared in ``Signs of the Times September 1996, November 1995, September 2000; and ``Record 25 October 2003 respectively
  17. ^ Cited in Flashpoint Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Record 108 (1 November 2003), p3
  18. ^ Pages 35–37, 224–28, and 242–44 respectively
  19. ^ "Cross, The Archived 18 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine". Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009
  20. ^ "Cushy Job: Rwanda Volunteer Archived 19 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine". Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009
  21. ^ "What Future?[permanent dead link‍]" Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009
  22. ^ "Alcheringa Archived 23 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine". Screen Australia website, accessed September 2009
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