The second talk in the Summertown Wolvercote and Wytham Church Partnership (SWWCP) Spring Lecture Series was given by Revd Dr Laura Biron Scott who explored the extent to which C.S. Lewis's ideas might inform contemporary discussions of the Book of Nature – focusing on both the mystical and rational dimensions of his writings.
The idea of nature as a ‘book’ to be read alongside sacred scripture has a long history in the Christian tradition, and has found contemporary application in discussions of the environmental crisis. The metaphor invites us to see God as the author of two distinct yet complementary books – the natural world and the Bible – and thus to imagine nature as in some sense readable, intelligible, and a source of revelation about God.
After graduating from Cambridge University with a Triple First in Philosophy, Laura spent a year at Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar, before returning to Cambridge for her PhD. During this time, she discerned a call to ministry, and began training for ministry at Westcott House alongside a Junior Research Fellowship in Philosophy at Queens’ College. Laura then took up a lectureship in Philosophy at the University of Kent and completed her ordination training at St Augustine’s College of Theology. Laura now works in full-time parish ministry, currently as Vicar of Holy Trinity Headington Quarry. She is an honorary chaplain at Magdalen College, Oxford, and a Research Fellow at St Augustine's College of Theology.