WEEK 1 - 30 April
17:00 - 18:30
BOOK LAUNCH: Salvation in the Block Universe: Time, Tillich, and Transformation (Cambridge University Press, 2025)
By Dr Emily Qureshi-Hurst, University of Cambridge
With Commentary from Professor Alister McGrath, Emeritus Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion
The Gibson Lecture Room, Gibson Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, OX2 6GG
This event is free and open to all University members and the public.
Refreshments will be served.
Abstract: In Salvation in the Block Universe, Dr Emily Qureshi-Hurst explores the relationship between time, spacetime, and the Christian doctrine of salvation. She offers both a focused treatment of a particular problem – the problem of salvation in the block universe – and a broader exploration of a theological methodology that makes 'science and religion' not only possible but desirable. By bringing time and salvation into dialogue, Dr Emily Qureshi-Hurst's original insights move the conversation between Theology and the Natural Sciences forward into new and productive territory. Qureshi-Hurst also provides tools for other theologians and philosophers to do the same. Essential reading for anyone interested in the interactions between philosophy, religion, and science, she asks: without the reality of change, is personal salvation during one's lifetime even possible?
EMILY QURESHI-HURST is Teaching Associate in Theology and Natural Science, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, and Research Associate, Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge.
WEEK 1 - 7 May
17:00 - 18:30
'Poetics and Climate: Modern Myth and Disenchantment'
Professor Arthur Petersen, University College London (UCL)
The Gibson Lecture Room, Gibson Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, OX2 6GG
This event is free and open to all University members and the public.
Refreshments will be served.
Abstract: This lecture takes up the theme of the supposed process of ‘disenchantment’ of the world and the role science has been claimed to play in this process vis-à-vis religion. It also considers what this implies for motivating people for climate policy, or ecological conservation more generally, on the basis of science. It is a central present-day question in the field of science-and-religion whether a science-compatible modern myth can be construed that replaces or amends classical religious myths and can ‘re-enchant’ the world. In dealing with this theme I will focus on ‘poetics’, a term that encompasses but has a wider sense than ‘poetry’ and refers to the coming together and effects of textual elements.
ARTHUR PETERSEN is Professor of Science, Technology and Public Policy at University College London (UCL), Chief Scientific Adviser to the Dutch Delta Commissioner, and Editor-in-Chief of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science.
