Masterclass Videos

Bring the Experts into your Classroom

Subject-specific events with experts are highly effective in terms of impact on pupil outcomes. View this A level RS webinar day with distinguished academics to inspire and enthuse, as well as boost grades. Whether you’re looking to freshen up student-directed learning or to equip students with the skills and knowledge to excel, the EthIQa webinar is designed for you.

Recordings of Webinar sessions

Divine Command Theory

Professor Keith Ward Divine command theory is the belief that things are right because God commands them to be. In other words, it means that things which are considered wrong or unethical are wrong because they are forbidden by God. Approx 40 minutes

Dying, death and beyond. Does it matter?

Dr. Andrew Pinsent Andrew considers the path he has taken both as a scientist and a philosopher. What influenced him to become a RC priest and how does he now see the relationship between faith and science. He will look at what constitutes a good death, and discuss different beliefs about the afterlife, and why he thinks it matters. Approx 54 minutes

Faith and Reason

Professor Tom Greggs All the arguments for the existence of God and all attempts at theological speech to some degree fall down to one question: how do faith and reason relate to each other? This lecture not only traces the usual (and sometimes unnuanced) accounts of complimentarity and fideism, but also challenges the paradigm, modelling multiple ways in which faith and reason might relate through discussion of the relative weight placed on each. Offering a paradigmatic framework for the relation of faith and reason, this lecture offers important insights not only for the philosophy of religion but also for modern theology. Approx 54 minutes

Making Essay Writing Work for YOU

Peter Baron Using the examples of utilitarianism and natural law, Peter Baron will show how to build structure and argument into an essay to maximise marks for both AO1 (Knowledge and Understanding) and AO2 (Analysis and Evaluation) skills). He will be using practical examples of both good and bad essay-writing technique to establish a clearer understanding of what to look for as we both teach and assess essay-writing skills. Approx 28 minutes

Meta-Ethics

Professor Keith Ward GE Moore insisted that if we don’t try to answer the question of what ‘good’ means then the rest of ethics is useless. What do we mean when we use a word like ‘good’ or ‘ought’? What is the relationship between facts and values? This session will address a number of responses to this question including ethical naturalism, ethical non-naturalism, emotivism and prescriptivism. Approx 37 minutes

Natural Moral Law

Dr Andrew Pinsent Natural moral law is an absolutist theory that was developed by Thomas Aquinas, a priest and prominent theologian in the early Church, and uses the natural order of the world as its basis. Approx 50 minutes

Ontological Argument

Tom Greggs The Ontological argument is one of the best topics for demonstrating deep knowledge and high level skills. In this session students will be engaged by the core question raised by the Ontological Argument – is it a natural theological proof for the existence of God, or a piece of revealed theology? This session will explain the difference between an a priori argument and an a posteriori argument and discuss whether, even theoretically, it is possible to have an a priori existential argument. What, if anything, does the strongest form of Ontological argument have to contribute to the debate about the existence of God? From Anselm to Descartes to Malcolm and Plantinga – this ‘proof’ is a puzzle for the philosophically minded and Professor Greggs will show just how readily it lends itself to evidencing high level achievement in the classroom. Approx 55 minutes

Religion as Gender Politics

Professor Daphne Hampson Daphne considers the path she has taken as a theologian. What have been the continuities and what the discontinuities and developments in her thinking about that reality which is God? She looks at confusions that have arisen over her thinking. What of her new book, “Religion as Gender Politics”, and what does she yet hope to accomplish? The discussion explores some of the major issues concerning the truth of Christianity and its viability in an age of gender equality. Approx 64 minutes

Religious Language. Is it true that only ‘God speaks well of God?’

Julie Arliss The difficulties of using language about the quantum world are understood and accepted, yet God is often talked about in language at a level suitable for a seven year old. There is in fact a rich discourse between theology and philosophy concerning the meaningfulness of religious language. This session will map the key ideas and introduce the important themes. The very different questions asked by philosophers such as Wittgenstein and Ayer, and theologians such as Aquinas and Karl Barth will be identified to give students a clear handle on this complicated topic. Cognitive and non-cognitive approaches will also be evaluated and students given tools for critical evaluation. Approx 50 minutes

Revise Right - Getting the most out of your teacher-marked assessment work

Andrew Capone This year’s assessment requires students to meet Exam Board assessment objectives. Schools need to be able to evidence that students have met the objectives. Andrew Capone will take students through the best way of evidencing the objectives in written work, to maximise the grades teachers can award. Approx 27 minutes

Secularism and Secularisation

Professor David Ford Professor Ford will explain some of the key influences on his thinking before examining the challenges of secularism and secularisation. In particular he will explore the historical role of Christianity in British culture and whether Christianity is, or should be, a significant contributor to culture and values in multi-cultural Britain. Approx 57 minutes

Self Death and Afterlife

Julie Arliss How do ideas about ‘who I am?” relate to the big question of what happens when we die? This lecture will give students a map of how these ideas, and the language used to speak of them, has changed through history. It will show how they have influenced, and been influenced by, changing philosophical ideas. What is it to be a person? Does life have meaning and purpose? Discussion will include evaluation of modern positions including materialism, dual aspect monism and process thought. Approx 42 minutes

The Divine Attributes

Professor Keith Ward

Voted the most popular talk from our November webinar we are delighted to be able to air this talk again.

In Western thought, there are four main views of God:

  • Classical – God is eternal, simple, and immutable (Aristotle/Aquinas).
  • Process – Events are free and creative; God attracts them to good outcomes, but they may resist (Whitehead).
  • Biblical – God is maximally good, knowing and powerful, but maybe not technically omniscient and omnipotent.
  • New Testament – God becomes incarnate and all things are united in Christ, so God suffers and changes and includes the cosmos. This talk defends the ‘New Testament’ view. But is it really in the New Testament? It is for you to decide!

Approx 40 minutes

Thoughts of the Sage of Stockport : A Defence of Freewil

Professor Raymond Tallis Raymond will outline his journey as a scientist, medic , literary figure and philosopher and explain the most important influences upon his thinking as an atheist. He will explore the key themes in his latest book, “Freedom” where he argues that practical belief in our own agency, and theoretical doubts about freewill, can be reconciled. Approx 51 minutes

Who was Jesus?

Professor Keith Ward Keith will outline the path he has taken from his first love, music, through philosophy to theology. He will explain the key influences on his thought, and his conclusions about Jesus Christ. In particular he will consider the authority of Jesus and respond to the key points raised on specifications. Approx 68 minutes

Speakers

Julie Arliss

Julie Arliss

Julie Arliss is a well-known experienced teacher and author. She works closely with exam boards and is perfectly placed to support students in preparation for A level examinations. She is an experienced examiner. Julie has an international reputation for inspiring academic excellence and encouraging students to push the boundaries of knowledge.
Professor Keith Ward

Professor Keith Ward

Emeritus Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford University. Professor Keith Ward is a leading philosopher of religion and much in demand on the international academic scene. Liberation Theology and Marx feature in his book, ‘A Guide for the Perplexed’ and more fully in ‘In Defence of the Soul’ both of which are accessible to students. A Former President of the World Congress of Faiths and member of The Board of Social Responsibility for the Church of England; Professor Ward has also written a 5 volume work on ‘Comparative Theology’, which is about inter-faith relations. Professor Ward has recorded programmes for Al Jazeera TV and recently for the Egyptian Arabic TV channel. He is a former Chair of the Governors of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and on the Academic Committee of the Islamic Centre at Oxford.
Dr Andrew Pinsent

Dr Andrew Pinsent

Dr Pinsent is an international speaker, in great demand across the globe. He is a polymath with doctorates in both physics and philosophy. There are few better placed to discuss matters of science and philosophy. He is a former particle physicist at CERN and a named author on thirty-one papers of the DELPHI experiment. He is a member of the United Kingdom Institute of Physics. Dr Pinsent also has a second doctorate in philosophy and is currently the Research Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, a Research Fellow of Harris-Manchester College and a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University.
Professor Daphne Hampson

Professor Daphne Hampson

Associate, Theology and Religion, Oxford University Daphne Hampson trained in Theology at Harvard and is Professor Emerita of Divinity at the University of St Andrews, an Associate of the Department of Theology and Religion at Oxford University and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge. Daphne is a ‘constructive’ systematic theologian though she is also interested in Continental philosophy. She wants to critique Christian mythology from a post-Christian perspective and to find ways to speak of that which is God compatible with the present state of our knowledge and commensurate with gender equality. She has published widely on feminism and theology and furthermore on the contrast between Lutheran and Catholic presuppositions and the thought of Kierkegaard.
Andrew Capone

Andrew Capone

Andrew Capone has been an an examiner for OCR and Edexcel and leads a very successful department at St Simon Stock School. He is an inspirational teacher, passionate about RS and determined to develop the full potential of every student both in the classroom and under the pressure of examinations. Andrew is author of a number of popular teaching packs and revision guides for A level, and is a highly valued member of the EthIQa team.
Professor Tom Greggs

Professor Tom Greggs

Marischal Chair, University of Aberdeen. Tom Greggs holds the Marischal Chair, (actually a physical chair established in 1616) at the University of Aberdeen. He previously held a chair at the University of Chester. He has also taught at the University of Cambridge. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Scotland, and is an Honorary Professor of Theology at St Mellitus College, London. He has been a visiting research fellow at St John’s College, Durham, and College of Arts and Sciences International Visiting Scholar and Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia. He is the author of five major books and is currently the recipient of a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship. He is in high demand as a speaker and well known for his engaging wit.

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PLEASE NOTE that you will be in breach of copyright if a recording is made of any of these webinars. A licensed copy of the presentations is available for 1 month when purchased for school use and may be shared in class.