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Cafe Theo is an initiative by St Stephen's church designed to open up discussions about God, Faith, Bible and how these matters shape our humanity. The plan is to offer 3 Cafes of 3 or 4 nights each year, where themes are informally opened up by thought leaders who then engage in discussion with attendees. The intention is to create a safe place for rich dialogue with regard to living and understanding our christian faith.

The second season of Cafe Theo
runs for four Thursdays in March, 7-9pm each evening; live music from 6:30pm
Koha $10: Coffee, wine, nibbles provided.

The theme is "The Gospel and ..."

March 07: Dr Mark Harris, St John's Theological College - "What Jesus meant by the Gospel."
March 14: Mark Powell, Former CEO of The Warehouse - "The Gospel: Business and Work"
March 21: Dr Roshan Allpress, Principal Laidlaw College - "The Gospel and Social Action"
March 28: Dr Jacqui Lloyd, Research Fellow Laidlaw College - "The Gospel: This Life and the Next"

Facebook page for Cafe Theo
Picture

Cafe Theo Series One - 2018

Cafe Theo Launch with Brad Jersak

The Launch Event was on 18th July with Brad Jersak as our visiting speaker.  You can listen to Brad or download the recording here.
20180719-brad_jersak.mp3
File Size: 27728 kb
File Type: mp3
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Cafe Theo 2 August: What is the Bible?

Our invited guests were Dr Yael Klangwisan,  Prof Myk Habets and Mr Jonathan Hoskin

Yael Klangwisan is the Head of Education and Senior Lecturer (Hebrew Poetry), Laidlaw College.  She has published in the area of poetics, sacred literatures and philosophy.

Myk Habets is the Director of Research, Dean of Faculty, Head of Carey Graduate School, and Professor of Theology, at Carey Baptist College and Graduate School. He has authored over 20 books and written many articles. His latest book is on Heaven. 

Jonathan Hoskin (M.Th.) is the Academic Support Manager at Laidlaw College.  He is a poet and artist. His work explores the boundary lines between theology, philosophy, and literature.

20180802-cafe_theo.mp3
File Size: 33952 kb
File Type: mp3
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Cafe Theo 9 August: How does one read the Bible and interpret it?

Jacqui leads the Laidlaw College consultancy team who partner with Christian organisations to provide Biblical, theological, missional and leadership consultancy. Previously Jacqui was a Senior Lecturer at Laidlaw in Biblical Studies. Her areas of research include the Gospels, the Historical Jesus, and Archaeology.

Jacqui provided key tips on how to read Scripture well.  She addressed such things as literary context, historical and cultural context, genre, and the importance of knowing where a passage fits within the overarching biblical story. 

Her talk and the question time can be heard or downloaded below.  A pdf of her powerpoint is also available for download.

cafe_theo_2018-02.mp3
File Size: 33185 kb
File Type: mp3
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tips_on_how_to_read_-_pp_main_-_supp.pdf
File Size: 4899 kb
File Type: pdf
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Cafe Theo 16 August - Hard Texts: Genocide and Violence

Hilary Johnston: Hillary is an aspiring poet and a tutor for Laidlaw College. She recently finished a masters thesis on feminism and scriptural authority.  Hilary explored what it means to encounter and wrestle with terrifying texts in scripture.
Nicola Hoggard-Creegan: Nicola is a theologian and co-director of New Zealand Christians in Science. Her latest book is Animal Suffering and the Problem of Evil.  Nicola unpacked the question: Does one have to take the genocide commands as literally from God in order to take the Bible seriously?

Their talks and the question time can be heard or downloaded below.
cafe_theo_2018-3.mp3
File Size: 35269 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File


Cafe Theo 23 August - What story does the Bible tell and what difference does it make?

We close out the series by exploring the question: What story does the Bible tell and what difference does it make?

Andrew Shamy states: “Humans make sense of their lives through stories. The Bible is a collection of texts that together tell a story that demands to reshape the way we see the world.”

Copyright (c)2014-21 St Stephen's Anglican Church, Whangaparaoa, New Zealand.