Hilary Term 2026
Thursday 22nd Jan (Week 1)
Prof Mark D. Chapman
‘Theology, Europe, and the Persistence of War’
Mark D. Chapman is Professor of the History of Modern Theology at the University of Oxford, having formerly served as Vice-Principal at Ripon College, Cuddesdon for many years. He has published widely in historical theology (from 1750, with a focus on the UK, Germany, and the US), ecumenism, the history and theology of Anglicanism, liberal theology, as well as political and social theory. Among numerous books, edited volumes, and essays, Prof Chapman is the author of Theology at War and Peace: English Theology and Germany in the First World War (2017), Theology and Society in Three Cities: Berlin, Oxford, and Chicago 1800-1914 (2014), and Doing God: Religion and Public Policy in Brown’s Britain (2008).
Thursday 12th Feb (Week 4)
Prof David Gushee
‘Ethical Implications of the Book of Job’
David Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University and Chair of Christian Social Ethics at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He is also a visiting scholar at the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life. A past president of both the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Christian Ethics, he has contributed widely in both academic and broader public settings. Author or editor of almost 30 books, some of Prof Gushee’s key texts include Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies (2023), The Sacredness of Human Life (2013), and Kingdom Ethics (with Glen Stassen, 2003, 2016).
Thursday 26th Feb (Week 6)
Dr Eleanor McLaughlin
‘Disability, Relationality and Technology: A Bonhoefferian Perspective’
Eleanor McLaughlin in Lecturer in Theology at Ripon College Cuddesdon and an associate member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford. She is the author of Unconscious Christianity in Bonhoeffer’s Late Theology: Encounters with the Unknown Christ, foreword by Rowan Williams (Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2020). Her most recent publications include ‘Bonhoeffer,’ in Ashley Cocksworth and Rachel Muers (eds), Ford’s The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology Since 1918 (Wiley-Blackwell, 2024), and ‘Human Flourishing, disability, and technology’ in Jens Zimmermann (ed), Human Flourishing in a Technological World: A Theological Vision (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023).
Thursday 12th March (Week 8)
Prof John Berkman
“Anscombe on Killing and Murder: The Unpublished Book Sequel to Anscombe's Intention”
John Berkman is Professor Ordinarius of Moral Theology at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto. He previously taught at the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology/Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, and The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. He has published widely in the field of Christian ethics, with a particular focus on healthcare and medical ethics, animal ethics, issues of war and peace, and the ethics and philosophy of Elizabeth Anscombe. He is a visiting scholar with the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life (January – June 2026) during which time he is working on an intellectual biography of Elizabeth Anscombe.
