A Tale of Two Conferences... #tnconf14

Following on from my initial post, today sees the second part of my Tale of Two Conferences, with a few words and images from #TNConf14. I will blog about #MissioDei14 (Which, in all honesty, was chronologically prior!) soon. Properly titled 'Theology and Scripture: An Invitation to a Deeper Conversation', this was a short undergraduate day conference. We organisers didn't have any illusions as to the scale or impact of the conference, but were excited about the possibility to learning from each other with short paper/essay presentations from undergraduates at different stages of their education, and hear some longer pieces from faithful PhD students studying some cutting edge stuff! We held the conference at the University of Nottingham, for the Theology Network Nottingham Group (and friends!), and were lucky (by virtue of the Christian Union [of which TN is part] being part of the Students Union) to have an excellent room in the Humanities Building. 

Co-host Josh Heyes and myself kicked things off, with an introduction to the day, the point of the day, and what we hoepd to achieve. I shared a little about how this style of thing works - commenting on the difference between a keynote (45 mins, 20 minutes for discussion) and a short paper (20 minutes, 10 minutes for discussion), as well as the expected level of dialogue and courtesy to each other. We were thrilled with the level of conversation and debate we had, with input throughout the day (some folk dropped in and out) from the aforementioned PhD students, MA students, 1st, 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates, stray faculty and one of our UCCF Staffworkers. 

Phil Whitehead presenting his expert paper on Paul and Other Religions, moderated by Josh Heyes.

 

Brandon Walker presenting his stimulating 'Telling the Story: Orality, Memory and Miracles', moderated by yours truly.

The two keynotes came from my friends Brandon Walker and Philip Whitehead. Phil opened the conference proper with a fascinating paper considering the thorny question of how the Apostle Paul might have addressed other religions. The relevance of Phil's paper to our multi-religious, pluralistic society was clear, and he led us on a masterful tour of the relevant New Testament texts, Paul's vocation as a missionary, the exclusivity of Christ, and the relationship of Christianity and Judaism. Brandon shared a really deep and wide-ranging paper on Miracles in Luke-Acts, titled 'Telling the Story: Orality, Memory, and Miracles'. He made use of powerpoint well, and broke up his paper (which was a good move given the warm afternoon!) with questions and comments throughout, directed at the gathered listeners. This was a brilliant presentation, looking at different understandings of learning and seeing the miracles as central parts of the story that shapes Christian discipleship.

Our paper sessions were really rather exciting, especially considering the fact that it was the debut for all presenters in this sort of context. Firstly, we had a 'Theological Perspectives' panel, with two papers. The first, from a finalist BA student, examined the question 'Darwinism: Is science in general with particular reference to evolution compatible with religion?', and proved a great catalyst for a lively discussion about this issue which is so vital for apologetics, evangelism, and theological students' discipleship. The second paper looked at 'Augustine and Evil', and was a really helpful discussion, drawing on the notion of 'divine and genuinely abiding things', and applying this reasonably abstract theological discussion to the vital and sensitive topic of domestic violence, contrasting Augustine's understanding with the theory of much secular practice and opinion. Both these papers had helpful implications and questions for normal life, as well as articulating the value of thoughtful, gospel-centred theology.

The second paper session, on Biblical Studies, saw three papers with a common thread of New Testament interest and the importance of the holistic and total implications/demands of the Gospel. Firstly a second-year BA student (Who is one of our TN leaders next year) examined the important question of Politics and the Christian, looking in particular at Romans 13:1-7. Covering questions of New Testament Anthropology, civil disobedience, and the eschatological nature of Pauline ethics, this paper led to some lively discussion, and tallied well with Phil's keynote. Next up was a part-time MA student, and fellow 2012 graduate, who spoke on 'Salvation is by Grace Alone'. Packing a lot in, Josh led us through justification, salvation, and some of the biggest questions of this vital area of scriptural teaching. The final paper came from another BA finalist, looking at the Birth Narratives and whether 'salvation history' demands Bethlehem as Jesus' birthplace. This was an accomplished and careful paper, linking with others particularly through the notion of politicised prophecy.

All in all, then, this was a really stimulating conference which was an interesting contrast to my enjoyable but rather intense time in Chester the day before. As a 'first draft' of something like this, the TN Group and Leaders were really encouraged by both turnout (so late in term) and presentation quality, as well as the support of the University of Nottingham Theology and Religious Studies Department. The UoN TRS department were really helpful and supportive of this effort, which we are very grateful for. I hope that the incoming ASW, and the new TN leadership team, will build on this and other events that TN has run in Nottingham this year, and look forward to hearing more about ways that Theology Network is growing, deepening and inviting others into deeper conversations about Jesus over the next few years. 

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