We are delighted to welcome you to the website of the Center of Theological Inquiry (CTI).

CTI is an academic community focused on theological research at the highest academic levels. In this work, we engage with all other academic disciplines of the university, believing Theology has both important insights to learn and much wisdom to offer other areas of study as we tackle the big questions of our age.

I use the term “community” to describe us with purpose. At CTI, we to model a kind of research which is rare in the Humanities, and perhaps in academic and university settings in general. This is a type of research that is conducted in a rigorous context of discussion, conversation and debate around the most pressing questions of the age. We believe that engaging with other world-leading scholars from within and outside of Theology will deepen and strengthen the insights and horizons of the work we do. In his brochure to launch CTI, Dr. Jim McCord (our founder) said this:

A multidisciplined, university environment is essential for a theological enterprise to flourish. Such setting attracts talented individuals and creates an atmosphere where ideas are debated, differences of opinion are encouraged, and theological discussions serve as the daily bread for all. Strong bonds are forged, with Members exchanging insights, wisdom, and scholarship. Peer criticism and a collegial forum for study are spawned. A critical mass of intellectual material is assembled for exploring new areas of inquiry, while enlarging and renewing existing fields. Research becomes a corporate endeavor, a common undertaking where similar methods and standards are applied to diverse topics. There is engendered a deeply sensed feeling of shared investigations and struggles.

It is precisely this kind of academic community we create and cultivate here. We are an academic community of researchers in which the most difficult questions can be asked and in which debate can happen in the context of ongoing intellectual friendship. Such communities, in my experience, are rare; but they are sorely needed.  

We also believe that the deep groundwork we do in our academic research has to count on the ground. As such, we bring people together around major themes or topics of inquiry. Alongside work on The Church outside of Christendom (funded by the McDonald-Agape Foundation) and a project on The Future of Theology, our current focus is a three-year project entitled From Despair to Hope. This project seeks to change the thermostat of society from one of despair to one of hope, drawing on the resources that Theology has to offer deep wisdom to five areas and themes of contemporary life which need transformation: Artificial Intelligence and Technology; Civic Society and Democracy; Health and Medicine; Youth and Education; and Economics and Entrepreneurship. Our aim in each of these areas is to do deep theological research which will have deep impact on church, university, culture and society. This major project is made possible by a multi-million dollar grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Just as you are new to our website, I am new to the role of Director and to Princeton. As I arrive, I find time and time again St. Paul’s words in Romans ones of both comfort and challenge—comfort in terms of the high calling we have as an institution; challenge in terms of fulfilling that call. Paul writes (words which would later become so important for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr): “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Our aim is to be an institution that cultivates transformation by the renewing of our minds so that we can create in the broader world forms of moral leadership which bring us to a brighter future.

I believe our best days as an institution are ahead. All that holds us back is the resources to unleash our vast potential to cultivate a theological renaissance which will bring lasting and positive change to the world.

I hope you enjoy looking through our website, checking out the resources we have and the work we are doing, and consider partnering with us in the desperately needed work we are doing.

Yours faithfully,

Tom Greggs,

MA (Oxon), PhD (Cantab), DLitt, FRSE

Director