Bridging the Divide through Character and Virtue Education

MARVIN OXENHAM
Dr. Marvin Oxenham
General Secretary: European Council for Theological Education; Programme Leader for Postgraduate and Doctoral Training in Theological Education (London School of Theology)
Seminar title: Bridging the Divide through Character and Virtue Education

This workshop considers bridging the sacred-secular divide through character and virtue education. We will first bridge back into the ‘secular-classic’ tradition to reconsider the lost tradition of character and virtue education. As we stand on the shoulders of giants like Aristotle, we will discover that we are also rubbing shoulders with a significant number of contemporary ‘secular’ educators who are looking to character and virtue education as the most needed societal reform (warning: you must believe in common grace to appreciate this first part). Secondly, we will look at what it might mean to bridge outwards into secular society through the intentional formation of citizens of character and virtue. This enlarged mission dei is uniquely possible in the contexts of theological education and may represent the new face of Christian apologetics.