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Mon 15Relocating Religion: Cultural and Spiritual Realignments
Mon 15 February, 2:00 pm to Thu 18 February, 2:00 pmMon 08Mon 08Meet the Academic Staff
Ann Philp
Chaplain, Centre for Formation in Ministry Read more
Karen O’Donnell
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Jayme Reaves
Coordinator, Centre for Encountering the Bible and Short Courses Read more
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- This event has passed.
Empathy and the Experience of Faith
- Course Dates: Fri 9 November 2018, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Using examples from literature, poetry, theology and film, this day will explore the idea that the shared experience of vulnerability, of woundedness, lies both at the heart of what it is to be human, and at the root of Christian faith.
For Christians, faith is not a cognitive faculty, or a heard demand for obedience, or adherence to a law; it is an elicited response to the call to love. Ultimately, we are commanded, not to know or to obey, but to love. So empathy – how we imaginatively and lovingly relate to and share in the wounded condition of others – is the essence of a Christian life, and a prerequisite for all human creativity. Empathy, we find, is a crucial element in the deep grammar of fallen nature, faith and human flourishing.