Hundreds of Oxford University students are finding out about Christianity.
For many this is a first-time experience at a series of special meetings hosted by the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union. Each day over 500 students are attending evening and lunchtime meetings where students are presented with a short Bible presentation, before opening the floor for questions.
Dr. Ard Louis, Reader in Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford, gave a lecture titled ‘Outdated? Hasn’t science buried God?’ He commented: ‘Students at Oxford are discovering that science and faith are not opposed to one another and that it’s possible to be completely committed to scientific disciplines and be a Christian at the same time’.
Follow-up
So far, 15 students have indicated that they would like to become Christians, and, in total, 119 students have started meeting with a member of the Christian Union to either read Luke’s Gospel or attend a local church.
OICCU Executive Committee member Thom Jee, a history student, said: ‘In my college group last week we were able to list five or six friends who were reading with us, and a couple more coming to church on Sunday’. He continues: ‘I had the privilege just last night of speaking for almost an hour with a student, discussing the historicity of the Bible. He’s now persuaded that it’s reliable, and is starting to read Luke’s Gospel’.
Standing up to scrutiny
Brian Weaver, Associate to the Director and Special Projects Manager for UCCF, said: ‘Christian Unions are often the biggest and most active societies on university campuses. There is a stigma about organised religion, but clearly there is still a vast amount of curiosity about spiritual matters and a big interest in the person of Jesus Christ. Throughout Oxford, students are exploring for themselves who Jesus really is and finding that the Christian message stands up to the objections of New Atheism’.
The week of events called ‘Born Loved’ is part of a wider UCCF national initiative where over 200 student-led Christian Unions are putting on around 90 events weeks throughout February and March, where thousands of students will be given the opportunity to find out about Christianity through a series of lunchtime and evening lectures and debates.
Pod Bhogal is Head of Communications, UCCF.
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