Author: Nigel Biggar
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The case against reparations
5 June 2023. Nigel speaks with Lawrence Goldman of History Reclaimed. History Reclaimed is an independent group of scholars with a wide range of opinions on many subjects, but with the shared conviction that history requires careful interpretation of complex evidence, and should not be a vehicle for facile propaganda.
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On Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning: A Reply to Alan Lester
2 June 2023. In the June 2023 issue of the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, Alan Lester has published a relentlessly critical, fifteen-thousand-word-long ‘review’ of Nigel Biggar’s Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning. In his response, which appears in the same issue, Biggar reaches this conclusion: “there are only three minor points where [Lester’s] relentless barrage clearly hits…
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The Bishops are wrong: there’s nothing immoral about controlling our borders
26 May 2023. Nigel Biggar for The Telegraph. The end is just and the means, while severe, are not immoral Earlier in May, the Archbishop of Canterbury described the Government’s illegal migration bill as “morally unacceptable”. This week, he advanced his opposition to the bill’s proposal to remove illegal cross-Channel migrants to Rwanda, by tabling…
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Jordan B. Peterson Podcast: Separating Good from Evil in the British Empire
22 May 2023. ‘Dr. Jordan B. Peterson and Dr. Nigel Biggar break down his new publication, “Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning,” and parse out the truths and falsehoods from the modern day revisionist movement. They explore the ethics of imperialism, the motivations for the British colonies, their role in the slave trade, bringing modernity to much…
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Was the British Empire evil?
22 May 2023. Nigel Biggar for The Hub. A look at the global historical context tells a more nuanced tale than black and white judgements allow for. Today the country is taking a statutory holiday in honour of Queen Victoria, the figure perhaps most emblematic of colonial empire. It requires a bit of cognitive dissonance given that…
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There is no moral case for Britain paying slavery reparations
14 May 2023. Nigel Biggar for The Sunday Telegraph. The UK did not play a unique role in the trade in human bondage, but it did in ending it. The clamour for reparations is growing louder. Last month, Laura Trevelyan announced that she is doing penance fro the sins of her slave-owning ancestors by giving…
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Reckoning with Colonialism
8 May 2023. By Samuel Gregg for Public Discourse. As a moral framework for assessing regimes in an imperfect world, Nigel Biggar’s Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning has much to recommend it. A common feature of many cultural revolutions is the effort to distort or even erase historical truth in the service of ideological goals. Past events, customs,…
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Beyond Charles: a radical case for the monarchy
6 May 2023. By Nigel Biggar for Seen & Unseen. In a culture that tends toward populism and moral relativism, what the coronation says is, ironically, radically prophetic, writes Nigel Biggar. Judging by a recent YouGov poll, the monarchy currently remains popular among the British, with 58 per cent supporting its continuation and only 26…
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Nigel Biggar On Colonialism
5 May 2023. A qualified defense of the British empire, which unwound itself and ended slavery. ‘Nigel Biggar is an Anglican priest, academic and writer. Formerly the Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford, he now directs the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics & Public Life and chairs the board of the UK’s Free…
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On the Faith of Feet: Nigel Biggar Discusses Christianity, Empire, Evil, and Reasons for Optimism
4 May 2023. Nigel joins Robert Aitken at The New Humanum. ‘Nigel Biggar is Emeritus Professor of Moral & Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford, and Director of the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics & Public Life. He studies the contribution of religion to the health of liberal societies; moral questions about killing (especially…