Tanya Walker – ‘God and morality’
We live in a world with increasingly blurred boundaries between good and evil, and yet with age old cries for justice that give voice to some of the deepest longings of our hearts. The word ‘morality’ can seem a sterile one, concerned simply with rules. But does the very concept give us a glimpse into something far more profound?’
Rob Ellis – ‘A theology of sport?’
A theology of sport? Whatever next! Rob Ellis offers theological explorations of one of the most popular and all-pervasive cultural experiences. Sport has often been used as a vehicle for mission, but might there be something about sport itself which is inherently religious? Might we even encounter God in playing sport?
Lina Andronoviene – ‘Happy?’
What makes people happy? What is supposed to make Christians happy? We may have nice and theologically correct answers ready, but if we are really honest, for many of us happiness seems to be connected to coupledom. Why is that so, and is there a need for transforming our convictions?
Tom Price – ‘Apologetics through film’
While many are reluctant to consider the claims of Christ, a less direct approach can be effective and still faithful to scripture. Everyone, after all, is made in the image of God, able to express themselves through the arts. Movies, therefore, provide a point of contact with those who have turned away from religious/spiritual answers. We will think about how apologetics and film, together, can speak to people who are seeking answers though their film and media choices.
Steve Holmes - ‘Eschatology, Evolution, and Endless Cycles: Christian and non-Christian visions of progress’
Our modern Western culture assumes a relentlessly upward march of progress. A problem, once dealt with, stays dealt with. Other cultures are not so optimistic, seeing all things endlessly returning again and again. Christian eschatology posits a perfect end, but a convoluted road to that end. I explore how these different visions of the shape of history lead us to act differently in relating to questions we face.’
Sir John Houghton – ‘Science, faith and climate change’
Many people believe that science and faith are opposed to each other. I believe they have much in common and are mutually supportive. Science tells us human induced climate change is one of the biggest problem mankind faces. Our Christian responsibility tells us that very urgent action is needed.
Karl Henlin – ‘In search of a donkey: reflections on Caribbean pastoral theology’
A chance visit into a rural hillside village in Jamaica offered to Karl Henlin an unanticipated adventure and also presented an opportunity to show care which inspired deep reflection upon the nature of pastoral theology within the Caribbean.
Lucy Berry – ‘Family fundamentalisms’
Our early family fundamentalisms (those inherited strategies for coping) profoundly inform the principles which we humans apply to wider communities, institutions and religions that we build. Childhood regulations, rewards and punishments affect how we run church, read Scripture, discern friend from enemy, and delineate God. What, honestly, is the function of the ‘family of the Church’? And does Jesus fit?
Martin Accad – ‘A “new Middle East”: moving beyond secularism and religious fanaticism’
The ‘New Middle East’ currently in gestation appears to be more sectarian and more fanatical. It is largely being birthed by secularist and self-serving midwives. What will it take to shift the popular narrative, so that religion becomes an inspiration for peace and coexistence rather than bigotry, exclusion and death?
Glen Marshall – ‘Jesus ‘n jazz’ or ‘What John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald taught me about God’
This talk takes a look at the theology of mission through the lens of jazz to discover what grooving, bopping and improvising can show us about following Jesus and reaching God’s world.
John Upton – ‘Journey into the Unknown’
What’s the future of human civilization, economics, politics, environment, technology, and science? We are on a journey into the unknown. Our lives will never cease to be a pilgrimage. We will never finish taking new steps of risk. Our assurance is that we do not fear a future that God does indeed inhabit.
