CHRISTIAN
DOCTRINE
The Christian Doctrine Study Group of Tyndale Fellowship exists to promote evangelical scholarship within the disciplines of Christian Doctrine and Historical Theology.
We meet in-person at the annual Tyndale Fellowship conference, along with the Fellowship's other study groups.
Chair
Jason Sexton
Co-Chair
Alex Irving
Tyndale Fellowship Christian Doctrine Study Group
2027 Call for Papers
The demonic, spiritual powers, and angels
Our 2027 Study Group seeks proposals for papers showcasing research that provides an opportunity for rich evangelical scholarship on this topic with a view toward a significant publication that will serve both the Church and the theological academy. Mindful of recent work by systematic theologian Philip Ziegler (our 2026 Christian Doctrine Tyndale Lecturer), Patristic scholar Gabrielle Thomas (our 2027 Christian Doctrine Tyndale Lecturer), and Dominican scholar Serge-Thomas Bonino, we are looking for proposals that variously (a) engage with the Christian tradition on the demonic and evil spiritual powers, and especially angelic powers; (b) interact with key insights from biblical interpretation, e.g., Pauline apocalyptic texts; (c) draw on the Protestant-Evangelical and wider Christian tradition concerning evil and good and how these have been conceptualized and responded to [i.e., not the ‘problem of evil’, as in philosophy], including the kerygmatic force of the sending of the Son and the Spirit and the bearing this has on evil, spiritual forces, the ‘world’, and the heavenly realm.
We are also open to bringing the doctrinal heritage of the faith into discussion with pastoral practice, ministerial education, public and political theology, missiology, and contemporary socio-political concerns so long as these features are rooted in doctrinal work as the principal content of the paper. We are also eager to centre global perspectives, and are open especially to research on angels, and considerations from the sciences (e.g., atmospheric, geological, neuroscientific, etc.), and from what particular traditions (e.g., Wesleyan, Lutheran, Baptist theologies, etc.) might offer to contemporary doctrinal discourse on angels, demons, and spiritual powers.
For consideration in the 2027 program, please send a 150-200 word proposal (Word or .pdf) to jasonsexton@ucla.edu and Alex.Irving@stmellitus.ac.uk by 1 December 2026, including your name, institutional affiliation, and email address.
Successful proposals will be notified in the new year and we plan to have the program available by early January. All paper drafts will need to be submitted by 15 June 2027 in order to allow for chosen respondents of the study group to prepare formal peer-review responses, leading to our wider discussions in the study group. And we will aim to collect a select number of the papers for a volume on the 2026 and 2027 conference theme.
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Tyndale Fellowship Study Groups annual summer conference takes place Wednesday 30 June - Friday 2 July 2027 at High Leigh, Hoddesdon, UK. Registration and bursary applications will open on 15 January 2027. Early bird registration runs for 1 month, and bursary funds are usually fully allocated by March.
All seven study groups of the Tyndale Fellowship meet concurrently in the same venue, sharing mealtimes, coffee breaks, Tyndale Fellowship Lectures, a prayer meeting, worship service and members' meeting. Attendees are welcome to spend time in the other study groups during the conference.