Search for tag: "o’loughlin"

‘Woodbine Willie’ – the Anglican World War I padre who gave cigarettes to the troops and wrote poetry - is well known. But the man himself, G.A. Studdert-Kennedy is not nearly so…

Dr Stuart Bell argues that the early twentieth-century Anglican writer, G.A. Studdert-Kennedy (better known as ‘Woodbine Willie’), is the first modern British theologian in that he…

Dr Sara Parks introduces the text that lies behind the gospels of Matthew and Luke – to which we give the name ‘Q’. In turn, this allows her to study what this text says about women…

Dr Sara Parks introduces the text that lies behind the gospels of Matthew and Luke – to which we give the name ‘Q’. This notion of Q was put forward to explain a literary problem:…

The reformers were faced with many challenges, but one that is often forgotten was the need to justify their actions historically. How did it come about that the church needed reform? To what image…

Dr Simeon Zahl explores what are the distinctive characteristics of Protestant theology. In years gone by this would have been expressed as the proposition ‘it is acceptance of the doctrine of…

Famous to the British soldiers of the Great War as ‘Woodbine Willie,’ the Revd G.A. Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929) is also a great forgotten theologian. In this video, Dr Stuart Bell…

The First World War was the single most important event is shaping modern European society. In this video Dr Stuart Bell discusses how the experience of the war had a long lasting affect on Christian…

The First World War was the single most important event is shaping modern European society. In this video Dr Stuart Bell discusses the experience of one man from Derbyshire in the Great War and how…

The First World War was the single most important event is shaping modern European society. In this video Dr Stuart Bell discusses the myths that grew up about the Great War and religion.

Prof. Frances Knight, an expert on the religious history of the late nineteenth century, examines the religious dimension of the cultural movements we associate with the term ‘Fin de…

Walter Walsh (1857-1931) published a book called The Secret History of the Oxford Movement in 1897. The book is examined in this video by Prof. Frances Knight, an expert on the religious history of…

Until very recently the standard model for assessing the place of religion in the Enlightenment was one of simple opposition: Religion represented the superstition and darkness that the rational…

Joe Scales – and undergraduate in the department – asks two of his teachers why they study theology. There are as many definitions of theology as there are theologians – and here…

Joe Scales – and undergraduate in the department – asks two of his teachers why they consider it so important for people in general (not just a few experts) to have a basic religious…

Prof. Tom O’Loughlin examines what is meant when theologians refer to ‘the analogy of being’ (analogia entis). Other videos that look at the same topic include; Why Study the…

In discussion of ethics and morality one can often hear someone say that ‘the bible says … .’ But this video explores how what ‘the bible says’ is far from a simple…

Dr Claire Taylor of the Department of History, one of the scholars belonging to that department’s Heresy Network, introduces the value attached to the study of heresy to hear voices from the…

Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) is now known, almost exclusively, for his dating the creation to 4004 BC. But far from being an obscurantist, he was a model scholar of his time – and in…

For over forty years the question of why the Reformation did not gain significant traction in Ireland in the sixteenth century has fascinated historians. In this video Prof. Alan Ford introduces the…

Identity is an important topic in seeking to understand a religion. It expresses itself in culture, rules about food, marriage, dress, and views of the divine. In this video Dr Carly Crouch looks…

Prof. Tom O’Loughlin examines how the use of ‘X’ in everyday discourse is similar to the way that the word ‘god’ is used in Christian theology. Other videos in the…

Rabbi Mendy Lent discusses with Prof. Tom O’Loughlin a precious item found in many Jewish homes: a copy of the biblical Book of Esther in its original form as a scroll. Mendy Lent gives an…

Rabbi Mendy Lent explains the significance of attached to the festival of Shavuot which takes place 50 days after the celebration of Passover. It was this celebration which was continued by the early…

Rabbi Mendy Lent tells the story behind the festival of Purim when Jews still celebrate their deliverance at the time of Queen Esther – as found in the Book of Esther in the bible

Archbishop Kevin McDonald discusses with Prof. Tom O’Loughlin how the Catholic Church understands the historic phrase extra ecclesiam nulla salus. McDonald argues that it must not be understood…

Archbishop Kevin McDonald discusses with Prof. Tom O’Loughlin how the Catholic Church sees the challenges facing ecumenism today: there has been real progress on many of the historic issues…

Conor Cunningham looks at the intimate connection between Goodness, Truth, and Beauty as these are studied by theologians. Together these are known as the transcendentals because they are…

Conor Cunningham introduces one of the great movements in twentieth-century philosophy – phenomenology – which is playing an ever more significant role in theology today. He dos this by…

Conor Cunningham introduces the work of the French philosopher Michel Henry (1922-2002) and the contribution that he made to theology. Henry’s work, he argues, can be seen as an attempt to draw…

Conor Cunningham introduces the issue of theism as confronting ‘deep’ materialism and nihilism. The question that theologians must address is not the traditional ‘is there…

Archbishop Kevin McDonald discusses with Prof. Tom O’Loughlin what the Catholic Church sees as the nature of ‘the church’ and how the notion of ‘the church’ relates to…

Archbishop Kevin McDonald discusses with Prof. Tom O’Loughlin the self-perception of the Catholic Church, in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (1962-5), of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism,…

Archbishop Kevin McDonald discusses with Prof. Tom O’Loughlin the significance of the Roman Catholic statement on that church’s view of other religions, and especially how the Catholic…

Agata Bielik-Robson, Professor of Jewish Studies, looks at the notion of human finitude and offer a challenge to the views of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) and his notion of ‘being towards…

Monsignor Kevin McGinnell discusses with Professor Tom O’Loughlin two questions. First, what does it means to celebrate liturgy today; and second, how does the study of liturgy relate to other…

Prof. Tom O’Loughlin examines the various meanings of the word ‘apostle’ in Christian discourse. #a2zoftheology

Agata Bielik-Robson, Professor of Jewish Studies, uses the term ‘philosophical Marranos’ of a group of moderns thinkers, such as Levinas and Derrida, whose common Judaism may be a key to…

Professor Roland Deines looks at the notion of ‘salvation history’ (Heilsgeschichte) as a theme in theology that can be found throughout the bible. It is the notion that humanity stands…

Prof. Richard Bell introduces the life and thought of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). The video gives an account of his epistemology – and how he was influenced by Kant – as a basis for…

Dr Mary Cunningham explores what we know of Arius of Alexandria (d. 336) and his theology. Born in North Africa, he was a presbyter of the church of Alexandria and a very popular preacher. His…

Dr Frances Knight introduces William Temple (1881-1944), Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-44) who has been described as the spiritual father of the Welfare State. A quintessential member of the…

Professor William Kay, one of the world’s leading Pentecostal theologians, gives his vision of the importance of theology. It is concerned with ‘thinking logically about God’ and…

Professor Tom O’Loughlin explains that the familiar chapters and verses – found in every printed bible – are to be viewed solely as a means of finding passages and particular…

Dr Claire Taylor of the Dept of History, one of the scholars belonging to that department’s Heresy Network, introduces the notion of heresy, heretics and dissent as a phenomenon that historians…

Professor Johannes Hoff – from Heythrop College in London – gave the 2013 Bonaventure lecture and proposed the case that modern theology needs to radically re-examine its assumptions…

Dr John McDade looks at what is meant by the terms ‘Catholicism’ and ‘the Catholic Church’ – and argues that one should see Christianity as ‘Reconfigured…

Dr. Musharraf Hussein describes the annual celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, known as ‘the Milad.’ A time of joyful celebration, but also a time for recalling the life…

A small lamp was bought for a few pennies in Roman north Africa. Soon after it was first used, a fault in its manufacture led to its being discarded in a rubbish pit where it remained until uncovered…

Many people, whether they are Christians or not, think they know what the gospels contain, the kind of documents they are, and their purpose. This seminar argues that these are more complex questions…

Lammas – from ‘Loaf Mass’ – is the original harvest thanksgiving feast when the first loaf, baked from the newly harvested grain, was presented in the local church. Because it…

In a world where we think of work as being a Monday to Friday affair, where food comes from a shop, and where ‘work’ and ‘religion’ belong in separate compartments, a festival…

Dr. Peter Watts points out that embedded in many of the earliest Christian documents, such as the letters in the New Testament, there are pieces of poetry that were probably originally hymns sung by…

Dr. Peter Watts draws attention to the number of songs and hymns that can be found in the books of the Hebrew Bible. The most famous collection of these is the Book of Psalms, but there are many more…

Dr. Rob Lutton introduces the value to the historian of studying groups and individuals who were given the label of ‘heretics’ in the later middle ages. These groups point to diversity in…

Dr John McDade questions the nature of modern unbelief. He sees is as generated from within an approach to the question of God which grew up among Christian theologians in the early modern period. In…

Dr Peter Watts explores the range of approaches to the Bible that are encompassed in the term ‘biblical studies.’ He brings out that while the study of the Bible exists as part of…

Dr David Monkton gives an insight into the key elements of Methodist spirituality which he sees as a direct legacy of John Wesley (1703-1791) and concludes that there is no holiness that it not…

Professor Roland Deines looks at four ancient coins – all of them nearly 2000 years old – and shows how they provide a window into the world of Galilee and Judea in the time of Jesus. In…

Dr Rob Lutton of the Department of History in The University of Nottingham describes the origins of an important social and religious movement in fifteenth-century England: Lollardy. This movement,…