Christians can model a warm sense of covenant and hospitality in how they provide education on behalf of the state, leading educationalist Professor Trevor Cooling said on Monday evening (20th March) as he delivered the Church of Ireland’s 65th Annual Theological Lecture at Queen’s.

Professor Cooling, from Canterbury Christ Church University, was speaking at Stranmillis University College, which is currently marking its centenary year.  He suggested that there is a difficulty when facts are elevated above values as everyone interprets knowledge in certain ways depending on the values which they hold.  “We are all people of faith,” he remarked, “because knowledge is not just something ‘out there’ – it is personal; it is something we interact with as human beings.”