Oxford Christian Union’s annual mission arrives next week, and with the title ‘Free’ it comes with the ambitious promise to lift some of the shackles of financial crisis and global uncertainty amongst the student population.
The British media has gone well and truly credit crunch crazy in the past few months, with endless tales of how the crisis may affect our lifestyles. What’s been noticeably absent, however, has been any attempt to understand some of the deeper effects on British society. With banks collapsing, jobs disappearing and the seeming certainties of international capitalism out the window, the founding tenets of many people’s lives have come under fresh scrutiny as questions of ultimate value and guidance gain new significance.
This sense of moral re-evaluation may be creating an intriguing space for religion, for so long ignored and supposedly left behind on our secular march of progress, but now suddenly finding itself with much to offer to a population trying to remember just why they get out of bed in the morning.
Americans have recently celebrated hope reborn through the inauguration of Barack Obama, and it was fascinating to see just how religious the whole ceremony was, with prayer abounding and the new President himself quoting Scripture and describing the ” source of our confidence” as “the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.”
In Europe, all eyes have been on Kaka and his offer of £500,000 a week just to kick a ball. Certainly footballing decisions were important in his eventual choice, but who can deny the self-confessed significance of his Christian faith in persuading him to forsake the kind of wealth that all but a handful could even dream of?
It is perhaps in such a context that Free will take on a special significance. The choice of the title is surely an indication that this will not be the caricature bible-bashing-fire-and-brimstone-fest of yester year. Instead guest speakers Joe Boot and Rice Tice will be speaking on topics like ‘free from guilt’ and even ‘free to choose’.
Martin Luther once described evangelism as being like “one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread”. The credit crunch might not quite have got to that yet, but perhaps such words will inspire student believers and non-believers alike to share core values and motivating influences in a place when all are still learning and defining themselves. God knows we’re going to need them.
For more information visit www.free09.co.uk
The main talks will be in the Town Hall throughout 3rd Week
