If you’re a thoughtful Christian trying to understand your culture, grapple with complex issues, and live wisely in our time, there’s no better read from the last decade than Biblical Critical Theory.  

 Join our online community to explore this chunky masterpiece in depth, right across 2024. 

Have you heard the buzz? Professor Christopher Watkin, an internationally-respected scholar of European thought, is renowned for making sense of how big thinkers interpret our world. And he’s nailed it with his brilliant book, Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture. 

In it, he shows how the biblical story provides us with incisive, nuanced ways of intervening in debates on everything from science, the arts, and politics to dignity, multiculturalism, and equality. As you read and reflect, you’ll learn how to analyse and engage with artefacts and events in a way that’s both scripturally solid and culturally savvy. 

Sounds great, right? But let’s be honest – how many of us have the time and discipline to read a dense 600-page book on our own, even if it is all it’s cracked up to be?   

That’s where this community comes in. We can all grow in our faith and become wiser with just a little help from our friends! During 15 short Zoom conversations spaced throughout the year, you’ll be led by a skilled guide and tackle a simple set of questions to help you process what you’re reading. Together with peers from across the UK and beyond, you’ll delve into how Watkins’ analysis applies to your everyday life – and what it means for you to join in God’s redemptive work right where he’s put you. 

You don’t need to make it to every date – just commit to attending most sessions as we grow together, building community on Zoom and WhatsApp. If you’re serious about being biblically faithful and culturally relevant, there are few better ways to spend a few hours than reading this book and exploring together what it all means for our lives. 

You’ll need to read 50 pages before each session, and come with four things to share: 

• A question: What didn’t make sense? 
• A challenge: What did I disagree with? 
• An implication: If this is true, what does it mean for my frontline? 
• An application: What does it look like to practise this in everyday life? 

‘Commendations of this book will likely sound like wild exaggerations. They are not. This is a magnificent achievement. It is a must read… Here is a total defence and commendation of Christianity like no other.’ (John Dickson, author and historian)

Session plan 

• 25 January: Foreword, preface, and introduction  
• 8 February: Chapters 1 & 2 – ‘Trinity’ and ‘Creation’ 
• 29 February: Chapter 3 & 4 – ‘Humanity’ and ‘Sin and society’  
• 21 March: Chapters 5 & 6 – ‘Sin and autonomy’ and ‘Sin, anthropology, and asymmetry’ 
• 18 April: Chapters 7 & 8 – ‘From Lamech to Noah’ and ‘Babel’ 
• 2 May: Chapters 9 & 10 – ‘Abraham and Promise’ and ‘Abraham and Covenant’ 
• 23 May: Chapters 11 & 12 – ‘Moses, the Exodus, and Torah’ and ‘Prophecy and Power’ 
• 13 June: Chapters 13 & 14 – ‘Prophecy and cultural critique’ and ‘Wisdom literature’ 
• 27 June: Chapters 15 & 16 – ‘Incarnation, space, and time’ and ‘Incarnation, materiality, and personality’ 

• July and August: Break

• 5 September: Chapters 17 & 18 – ‘The ministry of Jesus, love of God, and love of neighbour’ and ‘The cross, subversion, and grace’ 
• 19 September: Chapters 19 & 20 – ‘The cross, asymmetry, and paradox’ and ‘The resurrection, transformation, and power’ 
• 3 October: Chapters 21 & 22 – ‘The last days, church, and society’ and ‘The last days and parallax living’  
• 17 October: Chapters 23 & 24 – ‘The last days and giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s’ and ‘The last days & modernity’ 
• 7 November: Chapters 25 & 26 – ‘Eschatology and apocalyptic’ and ‘Eschatology and time’ 
• 21 November: Chapters 27 & 28 – ‘Eschatology and identity’ and ‘Eschatology, culture and conclusion’