Prof. David Wandsborough: Gods and Demons - The Need to Believe

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I’m excited to introduce Professor David Wandsborough’s compelling talk, “Gods and Demons – The Need to Believe.” David brings a rare mix of theology, lived compassion and artistic sensibility to the stage — a former non‑denominational hospice chaplain who’s written biographies of people nearing the end of life, and an accomplished author and exhibiting artist. In this fascinating lecture he explores why humans crave meaning, quoting Freud’s idea of the “thaumaturgic” desire — our readiness to believe in miracle‑makers — and argues that truth and reality often arrive as an ambience we tune into. He weaves vivid stories: the Harbour Bridge as an idea that holds steel aloft, a rabbi sensing “the prayers of a thousand years” at an abbey, and the chilling group atmosphere at Nuremberg. David probes big questions about destiny versus free will, the way small choices ripple into meaningful lives, and how an atmosphere or quality of truth can shape our experience. If you’re curious about belief, scepticism and the human need to connect to something larger, this is an honest, warm and thought‑provoking talk that stays with you.

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Professor David Wandsborough brings warmth, wit and a lifetime of listening to “Gods and Demons – The Need to Believe.” In this candid lecture David — a theologian, non‑denominational hospice chaplain and multi‑published author and artist — explores why rational people still hanker for nonsense, why we long for reassurance, and how an atmosphere of truth or ambience can suddenly make the ordinary feel holy. He opens with Freud’s striking claim about the thaumaturgic (miracle‑making) urge, then moves through memorable anecdotes: the Harbour Bridge imagined as an idea holding iron and steel; a rabbi and his wife unexpectedly sensing “the prayers of a thousand years” in an abbey; and the unnerving collective energy at the Nuremberg rallies.

David shares his hospice experience writing life biographies for those near death — how tiny missed buses and chance encounters are later seen as destiny, raising the age‑old tension between free will and fate. He suggests we might all be partly right and partly wrong, and that cultivating a sense of ambience or truth can change how we live. This talk is gentle, intellectually adventurous and deeply humane.

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