Blessed are those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness with Francis Bridger

It was a huge pleasure to welcome back a former Principal of Trinity College, the Very Revd Dr Francis Bridger, who first came to Trinity as an ordinand 50 years ago and went on to become Principal two decades later. Francis preaches on Matthew 5:6: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled", introducing us to the idea of two aspects of righteousness, which he terms "righeousness A" and "righteousness B". He goes on to talk about the connection between righteousness and justice and challenges us to act on this verse in our own lives.
In their discussion before and after the sermon, Francis and Sean (Doherty, our current Principal) inevitably talk about being Principal (and how daunting it feels to assume the role), and Francis reminisces about Trinity 50 years ago in the 1970s, recalling what drew him to Trinity. He goes on to speak of the joy of teaching (and learning from the students) before recounting his move to Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.
He and Sean also talk about:

• changing attitudes to Anglicanism and what Anglicanism offers the wider church
• the joys and challenges of learning from students from around the world
• the meaning of justice and how the justice and love of God are inseparable
• putting justice into practice

Finally they discuss AI - a particular ethical interest of Francis', its effect on those who sift and label the data, the resources needed to support it and the prospect of companion robots.
The books referred to in the conversation are:

• The Robot Will See You Now - Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith by John Wyatt and Stephen N. Williams (SPCK 2021)
• Atlas of AI - Power, Politics and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence by Kate Crawford (Yale University Press, 2022)

As Tim said at the top of the episode, we have several fully-funded scholarships for independent students, in partnership with the Relay Trust, supported by a new programme to help students from a less academic background to flourish. To find out more, click here or email [email protected].

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