This Gospel I Believe: Confidence and Crisis in the Christian Academic Mind

You are warmly invited to a Forming a Christian Mind day conference, entitled 'This Gospel I Believe: Confidence and Crisis in the Christian Academic Mind', with Prof Oliver O’Donovan and Dr Jared Michelson, which will take place on Saturday 14 March 2026 at the McGrath Centre, St Catharine's College, Cambridge.

This event is for postgraduate students, postdoctoral researchers and junior academics, based in the UK or wider Europe.

What is the relevance of the gospel, as clarified in the Reformation, for the work of Christian academics? It can seem that the gospel is true, but that it does not speak directly to the challenges faced by Christian academics in the modern world. But why is that, and how can Christian academics respond with clarity and confidence?

At our Spring conference, we have the honour of being joined by Prof Oliver O’Donovan and Dr Jared Michelson, who will argue that the way forward requires recovering the deep foundations of the evangelical tradition.

Drawing on his new book The Doctrine of God and the Crisis of Modernity, Dr Michelson will show how Enlightenment philosophy eroded confidence in our ability to know God as he truly is and how we are to relate to him in his creation, leading to distortions in theology, and across the sciences and humanities. He will make the case that reclaiming a classical, Nicene doctrine of God is central to the reawakening of the evangelical mind, as this returns God to his rightful place as the living foundation of theology and culture, and our daily work in the academy.

Prof O’Donovan will then develop this vision by providing an updated take on his seminal work Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline of Evangelical Ethics. He will make the case that not only a classical doctrine of God is needed, but also a correct understanding of how this creation and the new creation relate to each other. He will demonstrate that the resurrection of Christ is key to this, and show how it provides the ethical and intellectual framework to reorient academic work in both the sciences and humanities.

Prof O’Donovan will also offer practical tools and case studies for applying this evangelical ethic across academic disciplines, equipping emerging scholars to take up the task of faithful engagement in their fields.

Building on these talks, the day will also feature field-specific responses and seminars from Prof John Wyatt (Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics & Perinatology at UCL), Dr Sarah Barnett (Lecturer in Speech & Language Sciences, Newcastle University), and Dr Edward Creedy (Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Theology and Religion, Durham University). They will explore how the plenary talks connect to their disciplines, sparking cross-disciplinary dialogue. In the afternoon, field-specific seminars led by these scholars will enable attendees to consider how the day’s arguments can be applied in their own academic contexts.

Join us as we consider how the doctrines of God, creation and redemption provide the foundation for a genuine reawakening of the evangelical mind, equipping Christian academics to think with depth, courage, and hope in a fragmented age.

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Not a postgraduate student, postdoctoral researcher or academic at a university in the UK or Europe? We may be able to accommodate you if do not fit into one of the categories of the Eventbrite tickets and registration form. Please fill in this application form and we will then review your application.

Please note that this conference will be in-person only. Tickets are non-transferable. Register by 14 February to get the £5-off early-bird discount!

For more information and to join our mailing list to stay up to date please visit: www.formingachristianmind.org

Prof Oliver O’Donovan is Professor Emeritus of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at the University of Edinburgh. He held teaching posts at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and Wycliffe College, Toronto before becoming Regius Professor of Moral & Pastoral Theology and Canon of Christ Church at the University of Oxford in 1982. He was Professor of Christian Ethics & Practical Theology at Edinburgh from 2006 to 2012. He has held distinguished visiting lectureships in Cambridge, Durham, Rome, Hamilton, Pasadena and Hong Kong, and delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of St Andrews in 2021. He is the author of several books, including Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics (Eerdmans, 1986).

Dr Jared Michelson is Gifford Fellow at St Mary's College, University of St Andrews. He received his BA in Church History and Biblical Studies from The Master’s University, California, and his MLitt in Systematic and Historical Theology and PhD in Systematic Theology from the University of St Andrews. He previously served as Lead Minister of Cornerstone Church in St Andrews. He is due to join the faculty at Calvin Theological Seminary, Michigan, in autumn 2026. His notable publications include The Doctrine of God and the Crisis of Modernity (T&T Clark, 2025) and several journal articles on Schleiermacher, the doctrine of divine simplicity, and other related topics.

Prof John Wyatt is Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics & Perinatology at University College London, and is a senior researcher at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge. He worked as a paediatrician specialising in the care of newborn babies at a leading neonatal intensive care unit for more than 25 years. Having now retired from frontline medical practice, he engages with the ethical, philosophical and theological issues raised by rapidly advancing technology. He has written and edited several books including, Matters of Life and Death: Human Dilemmas in the Light of the Christian Faith (IVP, 1998) and The Robot Will See You Now: Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith (SPCK, 2021).

Dr Sarah Barnett is a Lecturer in Speech & Language Sciences at Newcastle University.

Dr Edward Creedy is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.

09.30 - Arrival and registration​

10.00 - Welcome

10.15 - Plenary lecture: Cultural Crisis and the Doctrine of God (Jared Michelson)

10.50 - Plenary lecture: The Resurrection as an Ethical and Intellectual Foundation (Oliver O'Donovan)

11.30 - Tea & coffee

12.00 - Field-specific responses (Prof John Wyatt, Dr Sarah Barnett and Dr Edward Creedy)

12.30 - Q&A

13.00 - Lunch (provided in the Round Church)​

14.30 - Plenary lecture: Building on a Gospel Foundation (Oliver O’Donovan)

15.00 - Discipline-specific seminars

16.15 - Panel discussion

17:15 - Finish and optional pub trip​

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