What is the relevance of the gospel, as clarified in the Reformation, for the work of Christian academics? It may seem that, while true, the gospel does not speak directly to the challenges we face as Christian academics. Why is that, and how can we respond with clarity and confidence?

At our 2026 Spring conference, we had the honour of being joined by Prof Oliver O’Donovan and Dr Jared Michelson, who argued that the way forward requires recovering the deep foundations of the evangelical tradition.

Drawing on his recently published book, The Doctrine of God and the Crisis of Modernity, Dr Michelson showed 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 made 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 then developed this vision by providing an updated take on his seminal work Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics. He argued 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 demonstrated that the resurrection of Christ is key to this, and showed how it provides the ethical and intellectual framework to reorient academic work in both the sciences and humanities.

Prof O’Donovan also offered 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 featured field-specific responses and seminars from Prof John Wyatt, Dr Sarah Barnett,  and Dr Edward Creedy, sparking cross-disciplinary dialogue. In the afternoon, field-specific seminars led by these scholars enabled attendees to consider how the day’s arguments might be applied in their own academic contexts.