ABOUT US

Through a Glass Darkly

Oxford's very own journal of Christian Thought

Oxford is a crazy place. It is rigorous, multifarious, imposing, and unrelenting. And yet, it is precisely this confluence of intellect, diversity, heritage, and eagerness that makes it a fantastic centre for novel ideas, scholarly thought, and creative expression—that is, the pursuit of truth.

This publication was born out of that heartbeat. A group of students got together and wondered: what would it look like for us to pursue truth? What does it look like for us to pursue truth?

Through a Glass Darkly seeks to be a platform for us to have that conversation. We are united in our belief that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth, and that this belief should permeate all aspects of our lives. We want to consider how our domains of study and interest integrate into the bigger picture of our worldviews. We care about the big questions and the little ones too, and we would love to engage you to think about these questions too.
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This doesn’t mean that this journal is only intended for Christians! Part of the joy of being at university is meeting people with differing perspectives, and we hope to be a launchpad for discourse about these, regardless of whether you would consider yourself a Christian or not. So, we hope that you don’t merely read through these pieces. We hope that you ask questions, raise objections, contemplate issues, and make use of the pink squishy goodness between your ears.

"Through a Glass Darkly seeks to be a platform for us to have that conversation. We are united in our belief that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth, and that this belief should permeate all aspects of our lives. ​"

Publications

Spring 2020 | Hope - a mini issue

This mini-issue comes at a time of a global pandemic. But we're not focusing on that. Rather, we’re thinking about hope - the hope that we all seek to tide us through this season. We’ve teamed up with Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union to bring this collection of art and short writings. You will find that our contributors are so certain that we can have hope even in this current emergency. Why is this so? Our hope is from a body that was beaten, hung up, and pierced; a body that was given for us, through an emergency. It is a body that was raised, that ascended, and that provides the basis for a living, breathing hope.
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Read it here.

official launch: 8 may 2020

Autumn 2019 | Excess

In this inaugural issue, we’re thinking about excess. Abundance is often perceived as good, but our unlimited wants seem to always bleed into wasteful excess—think about the environmental impacts of consumerism, or the inequality resulting from accumulation of wealth. But there are also more intangible types of excess—excessive investments in relationships, excessive insistence on ideologies, and even the excessive desires that drive many of these other excesses.
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The essays, poetry, and art in this issue seek to look at these challenging questions from various angles, ranging from ecology to economics and Ecclesiastes. We’ve learnt much from assembling these different viewpoints, and perhaps you will too.

​Read it here.

official launch: 26 october 2019

Selected Writing

Sparking Joy

​The meaning of decluttering

Alvin Tan
Marie Kondo is somewhat of a contemporary cult figure. A self-styled tidying guru, Kondo stepped into the public spotlight with the publication of her bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and its sequel, Spark Joy. Since then, she has appeared on many television and radio programmes, been listed as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people, host- ed her own show on Netflix, and amassed a large crowd of followers who call themselves “Konverts”. But why does her tidying have that magical effect? And—perhaps more interestingly—why do some people refuse to buy into her magic?