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Thumbnail image for Summer School 2012 – IMAGO DEI: dignified, degraded or redeemed

Summer School 2012 – IMAGO DEI: dignified, degraded or redeemed

1 December 2011

The Oxford Summer School is sold out!   Click Here to view course details   The belief that people are made in the image of God has been responsible for shaping humanity and civilization for centuries. But when these “foundations are destroyed what should the righteous do?” (Psalms 11:2) What happens when the image of God [...]

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Thumbnail image for Training Day, Oxford – 22 January 2011

Training Day, Oxford – 22 January 2011

9 December 2010

“Lord I believe! Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) neatly sums up the unease that many Christians feel at certain times. We not only live in a postmodern age that is highly sceptical of any truth claim, but believers are told by the new atheists that there is almost certainly no God. The result is that many people experience a nagging sense of uncertainty; an attitude epitomised by the journalist John Humphrys in his book, In God We Doubt: Confessions of a Failed Atheist.

How then should Christians deal with the issue of doubt? Do other competing worldviews really offer the kinds of proof that Christianity supposedly lacks and what responses should we give to those who are sceptical about aspects of our faith? Could it even be possible that doubt might actually be a positive force that invites us to grow in our faith and understanding?

Doubt is a day of apologetics training designed to tackle vital questions such as these. The event aims to help Christians develop a confident faith that is able to respond to the important issues today without ducking the difficult questions.

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Thumbnail image for AFFLUENZA: Money & Power

AFFLUENZA: Money & Power

9 December 2010

For many people, the ultimate goal in life is the acquisition of greater wealth and power. As Voltaire famously said, “When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion”. Yet, in spite of this seemingly universal quest, a number of commentators have been surprised to observe that increased levels of prosperity in society do not appear to have delivered the kind of happiness or fulfillment that they seemed to promise. Instead, the never-ending drive to accumulate more and more has been likened to a contagious disease, which can result in sufferers feeling worthless and dissatisfied.

This affliction is popularly described as affluenza, a term coined by Oliver James.

Although many in the world may be in the grip of this condition, it also presents an amazing opportunity for the Christian. During the Summer School, we will look at the causes, conditions and consequences of this global social phenomenon in order to learn more about how we might communicate the gospel message more effectively to a world suffering from affluenza. As Robert McNamara challenges us, the test of this generation “will not be how well you stood up under adversity, but how well you endured prosperity.”

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