The Oxford Literary Festival comes to a close on Sunday. Here we highlight five big events from the remaining few days

KAREN ARMSTRONG – Fields of Blood
Today (Thursday), 2pm

Britain’s foremost scholar of world religion Karen Armstrong follows up her talk yesterday about her acclaimed A History of God — an account of the troubled history of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam and the definitive role played in modern civilisation by the idea of a god through 4,000 years of the three religions — with a talk about Fields of Blood.

In this book she tackles the relationship between religion and violence and looks at how different cultures and faiths can co-exist peacefully.

Armstrong looks at medieval crusaders, modern jihadists, the pacifism of Buddha and the vision of Jesus, arguing that the underlying reasons for war often had little to do with religion.

Armstrong spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun before going to university and then becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster. Her other books include The Case for God and Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life.

PAUL HEINEY
Tomorrow (Friday), 2pm at Bodleian: Divinity School

Well-known writer, broadcaster, presenter of ITV’s Countrywise and keen sailor Paul Heiney describes the single-handed voyage he made around Cape Horn in an effort to reconnect with his son, Nicholas, who committed suicide at the age of 23. Nicholas was also a keen sailor and Heiney decided to set off on a voyage he would have liked them to have made together.

Heiney’s story is a powerful one of finding peace of mind in the face of insurmountable grief. It is also a story about facing one of the bleakest and wildest places in the world and battling violent winds and tempestuous seas.

Heiney has appeared on all of Britain’s major radio and television networks in a 30-year broadcasting career including long stints on Watchdog and That’s Life. He has also written more than a dozen fiction and non-fiction books including Can Cows Walk Downstairs?, a bestseller in 15 languages. His family were originally beach fishermen and lifeboat men and he has sailed for more than 25 years.

DAVID LODGE – Quite A Good Time to be Born
Tomorrow (Friday), 2pm

Award-winning novelist, playwright and literary critic David Lodge looks back at his life and the early formative influences that turned him into the writer he is today. Lodge’s latest book is Quite A Good Time to be Born: A Memoir: 1935-1975 which reflects on his life from the moment of his birth.

Lodge considers 1935 a good year for a writer to be born. He was four when the Second World War began and his formative years were ones of great upheaval and change — the perfect material for a future writer. Lodge refl-ects on his childhood and youth, and the impact it had on his later writing.

Oxford Mail:

TERRY WAITE
Saturday, 10am

Former advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury and Middle East hostage Terry Waite talks about his first venture into fiction, The Voyage of the Golden Handshake. Waite spent 1,763 days in captivity in the Lebanon after being taken hostage in 1987 while attempting to negotiate others’ release.

The Voyage of the Golden Handshake is a comic novel that follows retired shopworker Albert Hardcastle and retired Admiral Sir Benbow Harrington as they head off on The Golden Handshake’s maiden cruise.

Waite is founder and chairman of Hostage, a charity supporting hostages and their families, and is also author of Taken on Trust, Footfalls in Memory and Travels With a Primate.

LORD GEORGE CAREY and ALISTER McGRATH – Warfare or Mutual Enrichment?
Saturday, 5pm

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey and leading professor of science and religion Alister McGrath look at the relationship between science and religion.

Science and religion are often seen to be at war, particularly by the media, although it is a view long since aban-doned by scholars. Are science and rel-igious faith really at war? Or are there more productive and reliable ways of thinking about their relationship?

Carey was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002. He holds a doctorate from King’s College London, and, before becoming Archbishop, taught at three Anglican theological colleges.

Oxford Literary Festival
Until Sunday
Visit oxfordliteraryfestival.org