Neo-Calvinism and Islam, Istanbul: Call for papers

The KabaConference: “Another Religion? Neo-Calvinism and Islam”

When: 25–26 August 2016

Where: Istanbul, Turkey

Plenary speakers:

  • Prof. George Harinck, Theological University Kampen
  • Prof. Kees van der Kooi, VU University Amsterdam
  • Prof. Richard J. Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena

Sponsors:

  • The Historical Documentation Centre at the Free University Amsterdam
  • The New College, University of Edinburgh
  • The Theologische Universiteit Kampen

See the conference brochure (PDF 127 KB) for more on the conference theme and instructions for paper propsals.

“Religion, Mission, and Kingdom: A Comparison of Herman Bavinck and Johan Herman Bavinck” by Paul Visser

Ds. Paul Visser
Ds. Paul Visser

The Rev. Ds. Paul J. Visser, pastor of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (Amsterdam) and chairman of the Foundation for the Promoting of Reformed Missiology and Ecumenics, delivered the following lecture at the 2008 Bavinck Conference: “Religion, Mission, and Kingdom: A Comparison of Herman Bavinck and Johan Herman Bavinck” (MP3).

Visser’s lecture was published as “Religion, Mission, and Kingdom: A Comparison of Herman and Johan Herman Bavinck,” Calvin Theological Journal 45, no. 1 (2010): 117–32.

The respondent is the Rev. Dr. Allan Janssen. Starting at ~66:00, Janssen provides an intriguing foray into the recently published lectures of A. A. van Ruler on natural and revealed theology as an additional point of comparison between H. and J. H. Bavinck.

Related resources

  1. Paul J. Visser, Heart for the Gospel, Heart for the World: The Life and Thought of a Reformed Pioneer Missiologist, Johan Herman Bavinck, 1895-1964 (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2003).
  2. Johan Herman Bavinck, The J. H. Bavinck Reader, ed. John Bolt, James D. Bratt, and Paul J. Visser, trans. James A. De Jong (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013); see also “Announcing the J. H. Bavinck Reader.”
  3. Paul J. Visser, “Reformed Principles as Remaining Roots,” in Shirley J. Roels, ed., Reformed Mission in an Age of World Christianity: Ideas for the 21st Century, 37–44 (Grand Rapids, MI: Calvin Press, 2011).
  4. Paul J. Visser, “Religion in Biblical and Reformed Perspective,” Calvin Theological Journal 44, no. 1 (2009): 9–36.

Interview with John Bolt regarding Bavinck on the Christian Life

Bavinck on the Christian Life — by John BoltToday, Books at a Glance published an interview with Professor John Bolt regarding his latest book, Bavinck on the Christian Life: Following Jesus in Faithful Service (Crossway, 2015; excerpt [PDF 2.8 MB]).

Bolt answers questions about:

  • who Bavinck was
  • his own interest in studying Bavinck’s theology
  • the grace-restores-nature theme in Bavinck’s thought
  • Bavinck’s significant other writings besides the Reformed Dogmatics
  • Bavinck’s vision for practical piety and Christian discipleship in the modern world
  • and where in Bavinck’s corpus are good entry points for new readers.

See also “What Bavinck Taught Me” by John Bolt

The Bavinck Review 5 (2014) Released

The Bavinck Review 5 (2014)The Bavinck Institute at Calvin Seminary is pleased to release volume 5 of The Bavinck Review. The majors include:

  1. What Kuyper Saw and Thought: Abraham Kuyper’s Visit to the Holy Land — Bert de Vries
  2. The Missional Character of the (Herman and J. H.) Bavinck Tradition — John Bolt
  3. We Do Not Proceed into a Vacuum: J. H. Bavinck’s Missional Reading of Romans 1 — Gayle Doornbos
  4. An Adventure in Ecumenicity: A Review Essay of Berkouwer and Catholicism by Eduardo Echeverria — John Bolt
  5. The Pros and Cons of a Dogmatic System — Herman Bavinck, trans. Nelson D. Kloosterman

Preview of The Bavinck Review 4 (2013)

TBR4_coverThe Bavinck Review 4 (2013) is now available to Bavinck Society members. Preview the contents and editorial.

This year’s essays include

  • an insightful study of the development in Bavinck’s view of non-Christian religions,
  • an exchange between two Society members regarding the relation of Herman and J. H. Bavinck to the contemporary insider missiological debate,
  • a review of digital Bavinck research tools,
  • and another voice in the discussion between Drs. VanDrunen and Klosterman regarding Herman Bavinck’s view of natural law and the two kingdoms.

The translation piece is a handful of letters that Herman Bavinck sent to one of his seminary students who was forced to leave his studies at Kampen due to a terminal illness.

John Bolt’s Dissertation on Bavinck’s Two Essays on the Imitatio Christi

A Theological Analysis of Herman Bavinck’s Two Essays on the Imitatio Christi by John BoltThe Bavinck Institute is pleased to announce its second publication this spring: John Bolt, A Theological Analysis of Herman Bavinck’s Two Essays on the Imitatio Christi: Between Pietism and Modernism (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2013).

Professor Bolt defended his original dissertation in 1982 at the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto, under the title, ”The Imitation of Christ Theme in the Cultural-Ethical Ideal of Herman Bavinck.” For the published edition he has updated the scholarship and added a concluding chapter on application and relevance. Also, he has included the first available English translations of Bavinck’s two imitation articles of 1885/86 and 1918.

Bolt’s investigation of Bavinck’s essays on the imitation of Christ . . . immerses us in some of the most important aspects of the Christianity and culture debate. What is the relationship of God’s work of creation to his work of redemption? What is the relationship of nature and grace? What is the significance of common grace and natural law? What is the relationship of the Old Testament law, as summarized in the Decalogue, to New Testament ethics, especially as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount? Can the Sermon on the Mount really direct our social-cultural life and, if so, how? These will undoubtedly remain central questions to discussions about Christian cultural activity, and Bolt reflects on all of them as he expounds Bavinck’s essays. I predict that his conclusions will surprise many readers, challenge simplistic assumptions about Bavinck’s view of culture, and inspire many people to read Bavinck anew. (David VanDrunen, “Forward,” v–vi)

Announcing The J. H. Bavinck Reader

The J. H. Bavinck ReaderThe Bavinck Institute is pleased to announce the publication of John Bolt, James D. Bratt, and Paul J. Visser, eds., The J. H. Bavinck Reader, trans. James A. De Jong (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013).

The Reader makes ”some of the Dutch missiologist’s seminal works in revelation and religion, religious consciousness, and the engagement of the Christian gospel with other religious traditions available in convenient form for an English audience” (Editors’ Preface, ix).

Preview the book via Google Books.

Book Launch

On 7 May 2013 the following speakers participated in a book launch for the Reader:

  • John Bolt, editor and professor of systematic theology at Calvin Seminary
  • James Bratt, editor and professor of history at Calvin College
  • James A. De Jong, translator; did his doctoral work on the history of missions at the Free University Amsterdam with Johannes Vande Berg who was J. H. Bavinck’s successor
  • Diane Obenchain, professor of religion at Calvin College

View the multimedia recording of this book launch (skip slides 1 and 2 and go directly to 3). The order of speakers on the recording is John Bolt, James Bratt, James De Jong, Diane Obenchain, and John Bolt.

Interview with Willem de Wit on his On the Way to the Living God

Next up in our series of author interviews is Willem J. de Wit, whose proefschrift at VU University Amsterdam under Professors A. van de Beek and C. van der Kooi was recently published as On the Way to the Living God: A Cathartic Reading of Herman Bavinck and an Invitation to Overcome the Plausibility Crisis of Christianity (Amsterdam: VU University Press, 2011). In chapters 2 and 3 Willem presents a “cathartic” reading of Bavinck based primarily upon Bavinck’s personal correspondence with Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje. In the remaining chapters Willem formulates a series of “invitations” as a way to (re)gain perspective on the living God in a post-Christian context.

Continue reading “Interview with Willem de Wit on his On the Way to the Living God”

De Wit obtains doctorate at the VU with a dissertation on Bavinck

Congratulations to Bavinck Society member Willem-Jan de Wit, who received his doctorate from the VU University Amsterdam on December 16, 2011 (see also this Reformed Daily exclusive).

De Wit’s dissertation, under the supervision of Prof. A van de Beek and Prof. C. van der Kooi, is titled, On the Way to the Loving God (VU University Press, 2011). It offers a “cathartic reading” of Herman Bavinck’s faith wrestlings, beginning with his student years at Leiden. The dissertation is available as a free download via his web site as is his related article in TBR 2: “Will I Remain Standing?”: A Cathartic Reading of Herman Bavinck.

Dr. de Wit works in Cairo on behalf of the Reformed Mission Union (Gereformeerde Zendingsbond), teaching at the Evangelical Theological Seminary.