Sedbergh Festival of Ideas

Richard Holloway

In 1897 Paul Gauguin received the news in distant Tahiti that his daughter Aline had died of pneumonia. In response he produced a massive painting that was a cry of puzzlement at the riddle of existence. He wrote three questions on a corner of the canvas: D‘où Venons-Nous? Que Sommes- Nous? Où Allons-Nous? Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Those are the questions that come with our existence. Richard Holloway‘s lecture will look at the way in which religion has responded to them. It will suggest that there are, broadly, four types of answer to Gauguin‘s great questions, and the lecture will explore them. The tone will be descriptive rather than prescriptive, suggesting that this is how people do think about these matters, rather than how they ought to think.

Richard Holloway was Bishop of Edinburgh and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church until 2000 when he stood down. He is the author of 28 books; his latest, Between the Monster and the Saint: Reflections on the human condition, is published this August and is the occasion for this lecture. Richard was a founding member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and served on the Broadcasting Standards Commission. At present he is Chair of the Joint Board of Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council. He broadcasts regularly on radio and television.