Around 100 academics have gathered to discuss the issue of ‘trust’ in a sceptical world for the most recent ‘Forming a Christian Mind’ conference.
Forming a Christian Mind exists to help Christian postgraduates and postdoctoral researchers think Biblically about their double calling: to contribute to their academic field in the light of Scripture, thereby contributing to the common good, and, conversely, to turn what they study to cultural apologetics and outreach – showing how the nature of reality points to the relevance and plausibility of the gospel of Christ.
Their most recent conference was titled ‘Trust in Academia?: Christianity and trust in a sceptical world’. The conference launched the book Trust: A Philosophical Study (OUP 2023), written by Dr Tom Simpson (Associate Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford), and explored how a Biblical understanding of trust can enrich the work and witness of Christian academics.
Dr Simpson provided a compelling summary of his thesis which touched on the basis for trust, and some of the implications for who and what we trust in academia, as well as how his arguments could be used apologetically in making the case for trust in God. This was followed by responses from three academics working in fields ranging from computer science to history and subject-specific workshops in which delegates discussed how these ideas could be applied within their faculties. It was a fruitful time engaging with important questions, deepening understanding of how to approach academic work from a Christian perspective and discussing how it can be used to point others to Christ.
The next Forming a Christian Mind conference will take place in autumn 2024, and if you are a Christian postgraduate or academic you can be informed about it if you sign up to the mailing list or visit the website.
The Forming a Christian Mind ministry hosts conferences in Cambridge for delegates across the UK and Europe, and provides additional resources, such as its annual Fellows Programme, through which PhD students can receive training in the development of a Christian intellectual life and support for an academic career.
You can follow Forming a Christian Mind on social media for more details.
