This talk will focus on those theological voices that do not think religion has much to do with ethics, holding instead that it is more about salvation, for example.

Thus, The Pilgrim’s Progress has “Morality” as one of the temptations that can distract the protagonist, Christian, from his path, and forgiveness also has a complex relationship with morality, often seeming amoral or even anti-moral. Kierkegaard is another figure who contrasts the theological with the ethical, juxtaposing Abraham’s faith with conventional moral thinking. It is this uneasy relationship between the two that the talk will explore.

Entry is free and all are welcome.

About our speaker

Giles Fraser is an English Anglican priest, journalist, and broadcaster. His PhD was on Nietzsche and he was a Lecturer in Philosophy at Wadham College, Oxford. He is currently the priest-in-charge at St Mary’s, Newington, near the Elephant and Castle, south London. He used to write a column for The Guardian, as well as appearing frequently on BBC Radio 4. He is a regular contributor on Thought for the Day and a panellist on The Moral Maze as well as an Assistant Editor of UnHerd. Giles Fraser was formerly a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, and director of the St Paul’s Institute. As Canon Chancellor, Fraser was a residentiary canon with special responsibility for contemporary ethics and engagement with the City of London as a financial centre.