Public lecture: Why Education Needs Theology, by Dr Ben Egerton
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"Knowledge is provisional, but wonder is eternal" —Canon Mark Oakley
At a time when education policy in Aotearoa and worldwide narrows towards knowledge-rich syllabi, when school and university education privileges measurable outcomes, and when arts teaching (and funding) is perilous, Dr Egerton advocates for theology to inform and ‘re-wonder’ education. Such an approach offers balance, perspective and a bulwark against technological infringement and corruption — valuing human creativity and imagination, alongside reason, as vital to understanding ourselves in relation to our past, our future, to each other and eternity.
In this public lecture Dr Egerton argues for theologically informed education — not to proselytise or limit, but the very opposite. For theology, in exploring relationships between God and human experience, cultivates wonder. It invites us to look beyond knowledge as a fixed end, and affirms our innate human impulse to sense-make through creative acts.
Ben Egerton is Director of Initial Teacher Education at Te Whānau o Ako Pai School of Education at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. Ben is also a poet. He holds an MA and PhD in poetry from the International Institute of Modern Letters, where his PhD sought to understand how contemporary poetry explores faith and belief. He is the author of three poetry collections, the most recent of which is /a is to b as c is to d/ (Kelsay Books, 2026). Ben is also an Associate Fellow of the Rivendell Center for Theology and the Arts at Yale University.
The lecture will be followed by a response from Kate Duignan, Senior Lecturer at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka, and a Wellington novelist, short-story writer, reviewer and teacher. She has published two critically acclaimed novels: /Breakwater/ (2001) and /The New Ships/ (2018).
At a time when education policy in Aotearoa and worldwide narrows towards knowledge-rich syllabi, when school and university education privileges measurable outcomes, and when arts teaching (and funding) is perilous, Dr Egerton advocates for theology to inform and ‘re-wonder’ education. Such an approach offers balance, perspective and a bulwark against technological infringement and corruption — valuing human creativity and imagination, alongside reason, as vital to understanding ourselves in relation to our past, our future, to each other and eternity.
In this public lecture Dr Egerton argues for theologically informed education — not to proselytise or limit, but the very opposite. For theology, in exploring relationships between God and human experience, cultivates wonder. It invites us to look beyond knowledge as a fixed end, and affirms our innate human impulse to sense-make through creative acts.
Ben Egerton is Director of Initial Teacher Education at Te Whānau o Ako Pai School of Education at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. Ben is also a poet. He holds an MA and PhD in poetry from the International Institute of Modern Letters, where his PhD sought to understand how contemporary poetry explores faith and belief. He is the author of three poetry collections, the most recent of which is /a is to b as c is to d/ (Kelsay Books, 2026). Ben is also an Associate Fellow of the Rivendell Center for Theology and the Arts at Yale University.
The lecture will be followed by a response from Kate Duignan, Senior Lecturer at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka, and a Wellington novelist, short-story writer, reviewer and teacher. She has published two critically acclaimed novels: /Breakwater/ (2001) and /The New Ships/ (2018).
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Where is it happening?
Ngā Mokopuna, 46 Kelburn Parade, Kelburn, Wellington, New Zealand
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherChaplaincy VUW
