Talks & Lectures

Overview This is the second of two lectures with the theme: "The Gospel and the Common Good: Bearing Witness in Public Life and the Public Square." Both explore the connection between the Gospel and communal welfare, emphasising the role of theology in contemporary societal issues. The first lecture is: Theology as Narrative Discourse: Reframing our Understanding of the Gospel addresses how modern Christianity's overlook of the common good can be attributed to theological methodologies that misinterpret the biblical narrative. This one continues to explore and build upon the themes introduced in the first lecture, offering deeper insights into how the Gospel influences public life and the common good. 

Speaker Zac Niringiye

About the speaker Dr. Zac Niringiye holds a PhD in Theology and Mission History from the University of Edinburgh (UK), an MA in Theology from Wheaton College (USA), as well as a Physics Honours degree and Teaching Diploma from Makerere University in Uganda. He is a leader with national and international acclaim and has experience as a church leader, theologian, peace and social justice activist and an organizational development consultant. Bishop Zac who previously served as Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Kampala, is now engaged in full-time civic-political activism in his native country of Uganda.

Overview The giant global computer companies increasingly control our personal, social and political behaviour. Their recent breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence have been hailed by technophiles as a step closer to human intelligence and the prospect of freedom from our current limitations. Technophobes fear that the same developments will eventually outsmart and even turn against the human species. This lecture will avoid both the “hype” and the “fear-mongering” and instead draw attention to the material and human aspects of AI, its underlying assumptions and worldview, and highlight real ethical concerns that are rarely discussed in the public realm.

Speaker Vinoth Ramachandra

About the speaker Vinoth lives in Sri Lanka. He served with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students  in various leadership roles for over four decades. He has encouraged Christian students and professors develop a holistic, dialogical engagement with the world of the university; and has written several essays and books addressing social and political challenges Christians face in various national contexts.

Overview This is the first of two lectures with the theme: "The Gospel and the Common Good: Bearing Witness in Public Life and the Public Square." Both explore the connection between the Gospel and communal welfare, emphasising the role of theology in contemporary societal issues. Lecture 2 will be on 21 May. The first lecture is: Theology as Narrative Discourse: Reframing our Understanding of the Gospel addresses how modern Christianity's overlook of the common good can be attributed to theological methodologies that misinterpret the biblical narrative.

Speaker Zac Niringiye

Lecture Series Theology

Tags Gospel

About the speaker Dr. Zac Niringiye holds a PhD in Theology and Mission History from the University of Edinburgh, UK an MA in Theology from Wheaton College, USA as well as a Physics Honours degree and Teaching Diploma from Makerere University, Uganda. He is a leader with national and international acclaim and has experience as a church leader, theologian, peace and social justice activist and an organizational development consultant. Bishop Zac who previously served as Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Kampala, is now engaged in full-time civic-political activism in his native country of Uganda. Publications

Overview This lecture is primarily about the rise and dynamic nature of OCMS as a centre of research at the doctoral level and only secondarily concerns the history of the ideas and vision that gave rise to it. It draws from personal experience, interviews with founders, academic officers, faculty, alumni, and current students.

Speaker Thomas Harvey

About the speaker Dr. Thomas Harvey’s expertise is in China and Southeast Asian Church and State. In Singapore he served as Chair of the Theological Review and Response Committee of the Presbyterian Church and as an executive board member of the National Council of Churches. He authored Acquainted With Grief: Wang Mingdao’s Stand for the Persecuted Church in China as well as numerous articles on Christianity and Christian social engagement in Asia and Southeast Asia. Tom is a member of the Lausanne Congress Global Diaspora Network and European Coordinator of the Lausanne European Diaspora Educator’s Group and is a missionary co-worker with the Presbyterian Church USA.

Overview The lecture will delve into the Guided Research Program exploring other effective ways to present missional research to a broader audience beyond the traditional doctoral program format.

Speaker Mark Oxbrow

About the speaker Rev. Canon Mark Oxbrow is an Anglican priest who has spent most of his ministry in cross-cultural mission, initially with the Church Mission Society as International Mission Director and then as the International Director of Faith2Share, a global network of mission agencies.  He is now the Programme Director of the Guided Research Programme at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, serves with the Anglican Communion Office and is a board member of a number of Christian organisations including chairing the board of Solomon Academic Trust which runs the Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies in Oxford.