On Wednesday 8 December, our A-level religious studies pupils in Years 12 and 13 travelled to the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford to attend a conference given by Academy Conferences. Throughout the conference, the pupils heard from philosophers and theologians on a number of topics.
The following is a report of the trip from theology and philosophy teacher, Miss Jones:
"There were four lectures on different aspects of the course, which were given by philosophers and theologians from the university and other organisations.
The day started with Julie Arliss presenting on the question of "Where does moral value lie?", considering whether morality is absolute or subjective in nature. This was followed by Andrew Pincent who spoke on the age-old problem of evil and the challenge it presents to religious believers.
A fascinating lecture considering whether theism is rationally defendable was given by Alister McGrath in which he considered the legitimacy of arguments for the existence of God and whether they are necessary at all. The final, and most interesting/controversial lecture, was delivered by feminist theologian Daphne Hampson who declared that Christianity cannot deal with the modern paradigm of equality as the religion is ancient in nature.
The students found the lectures to be fascinating and that contributed a great deal to their understanding of philosophy, ethics and theology. It also gave many a first taste of what lectures at a university level are really like! Many thanks to Mr Woolner and to Revd Chris Briggs for their support with the trip."
