Oxford Moral Theologian Targeted by Outrage Mob

Over at the Quillette Podcast, Toby Young interviews Nigel Biggar, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford, about his experience of being mobbed by students, activists, and even colleagues. They discuss what motivates academic outrage mobs and what can be done to defend free speech at British and American universities.

The fuss is over Biggar’s research project pertaining to “The Ethics of Empire,” which is not an apology for empire, as much as an exploration of how empires are remembered and the legacies they create, from China to Britain to the Americas.

It is a truly riveting interview. In particular, Biggar argues that students are not being taught how to argue and reason, instead they are relying on emotional outbursts and authority, which is only one or two steps away from violence (31:00 mins). Toby Young points out that SJW are committed moral relativists but also fanatical moral absolutists which makes no sense (33:00 mins). He also contends that the SJWs have no notion forgiveness or redemption, so it is very much either submit or be destroyed: There is no mechanism is the social justice church to allow sinners to expiate or atone for their sins (37:20 mins).

A must-listen-to interview for anyone interested in academic freedom, ethics, theology, and tertiary education!

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