You Tube Theology

Welcome to another episode of Politics at the Cross+Roads, the podcast that sits at the intersection of Christian faith and political conviction. In Politics at the Cross+Roads, I interview interesting Christians in the public square about where they are politically and how their faith helped them get there. In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Nigel Biggar. Nigel is Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Christchurch College, University of Oxford. Before that, he taught theology and ethics Leeds and Trinity College, Dublin. Nigel has written on pretty much all the big topics in ethics and public lifewar and peace, medical ethics and euthanasia, the nation, empire and much more. He also has a new book out on rights with Oxford University Press. I have come to greatly appreciate Nigel's willingness to combine careful, Christian reflection with a realism that is firmly rooted in the messiness of human experiencethis really shines through in what Nigel has to say in this episode. In the course of the episode, we discussed rights and duties in the context of the pandemic, thinking Christianly about the nation and the importance of realism. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. You can find this interview and others, in short and longer format here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/politics-at-the-cross-roads/id1552163196#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fthesaeculum.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fpost_type%3Dpodcast%26p%3D2466 Politics at the Cross+Roads is a project of the Saeculum (www.thesaeculum.com) Episode Notes: - For Nigel's webpage at Oxford: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/staff/professor-nigel-biggar - For Nigel's new book, What's Wrong with Rights? (OUP, 2020) : https://global.oup.com/academic/product/whats-wrong-with-rights-9780198861973?lang=en&cc=us - There were a number of references to Edmund Burke (or Burkean conservatism). See here for more: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/conservatism/#NarSenBurConSceAboRea - For Nigel's work on war, see In Defence of War https://global.oup.com/academic/product/in-defence-of-war-9780199672615?cc=us&lang=en& - Nigel's piece, 'An Ethic for the Epidemic' can be read here: https://www.thearticle.com/an-ethic-for-the-epidemic - On the nation, see Nigel's book, Between Kin and Cosmopolis: https://wipfandstock.com/9781620325131/between-kin-and-cosmopolis/ - A classic example of Nigel's emphasis on realism and holding this in tension with lament and hope is seen in this piece on nuclear weapons: http://web.archive.org/web/20150512005046/http://www.scottishreview.net/NigelBiggar5a.html