Program International Conference 2017

nternational Conference “Public Theology in Plural Contexts”

une 15-18, 2017, Hong Kong, China

International Reformed Theological Institute

Program

International Conference “Public Theology in Plural Contexts” June 15-18, 2017, Hong Kong, China

Welcome!

A very warm welcome to the 12th biannual IRTI Conference in the lively metropolis of Hong Kong!

I am delighted that the Lutheran Theological Seminary has prepared to host us at this wonderful place. I feel also grateful that theologians from all corners of the world are attending: from Belgium, Canada, China, Ghana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Taiwan and the United States.

I am sure the conference will be a great opportunity to all of us to share our thoughts, contexts and experiences as colleagues and friends.

The theme of this conference concerns the relevance of theology and the Reformed tradition in particular to the contexts in which we live and work, especially when it comes to the presence of theology in the public square. Public theology is a wideranging concept that may immediately arouse questions about how it should be defined or how it is related to other theological disciplines. Yet, our aim is not so much to discuss the concept of public theology. Rather is the broad theme of ‘public theology in plural contexts’ meant as an invitation to all of us to express and share our real concerns in doing theology in each of our particular societal and cultural contexts with their particular challenges and urgencies.

It is my hope that we will learn from each other, from our differences in contexts and convictions, and that we will feel invited to share them faithfully.

On behalf of the IRTI Management Team I wish all of us a fruitful and enriching conference!

Dr Pieter Vos, director

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Index 2 Welcome 3 Index 4 - 5

Keynote Speakers

6 - 7

Overview of paper presentations

8 - 9 -10

Conference program

11

Our host / welcome by the president

12 - 13

Travel information

14

Management team / Advisory board

15

About IRTI

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Keynote Speakers The organizing committee is pleased to announce the following keynote speakers to you.

‘Contextualizing Public Theology: A North American Perspective’ Dr Richard Mouw, professor of Faith and Public Life and Emeritus President of Fuller Theological Seminary, USA. Missiology has contributed much in recent decades to the awareness of how theology must respond to the diversity of cultural contexts. This awareness is necessary also for thinking theologically about public life. A healthy North American public theology requires sensitivity to the unique features of its “public” character—and thereby to its limited relevance for the global Christian community.

‘Christian Encounter with Religious Plurality and Public Life in the Chinese Context: A Contribution of Abraham Kuyper’s Common Grace.’

Dr Zhibin Xie, professor of Christian Philosophy and Ethics at the Department of Philosophy, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

The mainstream of Chinese churches and Christians have paid much attention to spirituality and faith with a focus on evangelism yet without a strong public face.

However, amidst an increasing number of Christian believers in contemporary China, there is a group of urban intellectual Christians following Calvinist teaching and engaging in public issues such as rights defense. By employing Abraham Kuyper’s doctrine of common grace, this lecture addresses the following question: in such a religiously diverse country as China, how do Christians treat and work together with other religious believers and nonbelievers to foster human development of culture and society? Kuyper’s distinction of “common grace” and “special grace” provides a basis for Christian cultural engagement, opens spaces to appraise and elevate civil life as well as human cultural achievement even by non-Christians, and reflection on the purpose of cultural activities. At this point, Kuyper’s vision of public theology, deriving from the doctrine of common grace illuminates Chinese Christians’ public responsibility, including more openness to non-Christians towards common cultural development.

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‘Perpetrator Looking for Healing: Doing Theology with Narratives of Perpetrators of ’65 Anti-Communist Tragedy in West Timor, Indonesia’ Dr Mery Kolimon, lecturer in Contextual Theology at the Theological Faculty of Artha Wacana Christian University, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia Half a century after the Anti-Communist Tragedy in Indonesia, including the East Nusa Tenggara Province, one of the important issues that needs to be coped with theologically is the impact of the Tragedy to the perpetrators. Because of the taboo of talking about theTragedy and its impact among Indonesian society, those perpetrators and the churches tried to forget what happened in the past. The perpetrators hold guilt/sin, shame, and hero feelings at the same time. Their narratives offer us rich theological themes and pastoral challenge. This lecture tries to ponder over the theological themes that arise in the narratives of some perpetrators interviewed

‘Towards a Century of Christian Theologising in Africa: From Colonial to Decolonial Theology’ Dr Tinyiko Maluleke , professor in African Spirituality and Culture at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Building on his highly cited essay titled “Half a Century of African Christian Theology”, which was published in 1995, dr Maluleke will provide a survey of key themes and developments in published and self-consciously African theological work over the past 75 years. Included in the survey will be an assessment of various approaches to Christian theology in Africa such as Inculturation theology, African Independent theology, contextual theology, black theology, post-colonial theology and decolonial theology.

"Freedom and Commitment--A Theological Critique of Market Capitalism in the Global Context" Dr Carver Yu, President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor in Theology at China Graduate School of Theology, Hong Kong, China Multinational conglomerates, exploiting the ideal of freedom in terms of absolute non-intervention, have driven capitalism into what some economists call ‘super-capitalism’, which has threatened to become a menace to liberty, democracy and moral values.

The lecture aims to present a theological critique which points us to a form of covenantal capitalism, bringing freedom and commitment together.

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Overview of paper presentations Overview of paper presentations Names

Institute

Country

Jeofrey M. Almazan

Saint Louis University United Missionary Church of Africa Theological College

Philippines

U.S.A.

Agus Batlajery Eugéne Beukes

Fuller Theological Seminary Universitas Kristen Indonesia Maluku (UKIM) Stellenbosch University

Tjeerd de Boer

Lutheran Theological Seminary

Eddy Van der Borght

Vrije Universiteit

James Bratt

Calvin College

The Netherlands Public theology and Identities Three Models of American Calvinian Public Witness: How Do They Speak to U.S.A. our Fraught Situation?

Gijsbert van den Brink

Vrije Universiteit

The Netherlands Science, atheism, and the future of Christianity in the West

Ad de Bruijne

Theologische Universiteit Kampen

Jaesung Cha

Szilveszter Füsti Molnar

New Brunswick Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary / Vrije Universiteit Fuller Theological Seminary / Vrije Universiteit Sárospatak Reformed Theological Academy University of Edinburgh Sárospatak Reformed Theological Academy Vrije Universiteit Sárospatak Reformed Theological Academy

The Netherlands South Korea / U.S.A. China (Hong Kong) / U.S.A.

Patrick Gnanapragasam Jozef Hehanussa Brad Hickey

Peter Awajobi

Nick Barrett

Agnes Chiu Robert Covolo József Csomós James Eglinton Sándor Enghy Akua Frimpong

Nigeria

Indonesia South Africa China (Hong Kong) / NL

Title of paper Contextualizing the Catholic Eucharist in Ilocano: A Case of Public Theology and Worship Yahweh´s Indictment on Corrupt Shepherds in Jeremiah 23:1-4 and its Reflections in Political and Religious Structure in Nigeria Metaphors of Desire: A Conversation Between the Misty Poets, Herman Bavinck, and Lambert Zuidervaart Harmony based on local wisdom as public theology in multi ethnic, religion and culture in the Moluccas Reformed ministerial formation in a pluralistic context Contributions to the development of public theology

One kingdom or two cities?

U.S.A.

Person and Context: Interaction as a Theological Method Will the Supreme Court justice(s) appointment during the Trump presidency benefit public theology development in the United States?

Whose Theology? Which Public?: Coordinating Calvin at UC Berkley

Hungary U.K.

Reformed Theology in the secular public university

Reaching un-churched people

Hungary

Public theology as formed communication Public Theology as a means for Africa Women´s emancipation The Role of Doctrine in the contemporary (Reformed) Church in Relation to Public Theology

University of Madras Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana Fuller Theological Seminary

India Indonesia U.S.A.

Religious Conversations as Embodied Practice of Religious Plurality in the Civil Sphere: Looking at it from the Indian Context Nawacita as Basic of Doing Public Theology in Indonesia Context A Transnational Public Theology of Online Gaming: From China to the World

Eleonora Hof

Protestantse Theologische Universiteit

Wolter Huttinga Endre Iszlai

Theologische Universiteit Kampen Debrecen Reformed Theological University

The Netherlands Decolonizing public theology, from the margins, vulnerability Towards a ‘theology of education’: a case study of Reformed Schools in the The Netherlands Netherlands

Klaas-Willem de Jong Jessica Joustra

Protestantse Theologische Universiteit Fuller Theological Seminary

Robert Joustra Bertalan Józsa

Redeemer University College Protestant Theological Institute ClujNapoca

Girim Jung

Claremont School of Theology

Young Min Jung Billy Kristanto

Yesuhang Church in Palisades Park Sekolah Tinggi Teologia Reformed Indonesia

Tamás Kodácsy

Károli Gáspár University

Hungary

Kees van der Kooi

Vrije Universiteit

The Netherlands A theological and contextual view on state and society Hungarian and Korean Reformed Responses to the Totalitarian Systems. A critical analysis of how both Reformed related to the use of power in the Hungary public square South Korea The Promises and Dangers of the Public Theology South Africa A historical narrative of Desmond Tutu’s theology of forgiveness

Ábrahám Kovács Seung-Goo Lee Kobe Lerato Jadi S. Lima Peirong Lin

Debrecen Reformed Theological University Hapdong Theological Seminary University of Pretoria / Vrije Universiteit Sekolah Tinggi Teologia Reformed Indonesia

Hungary Nigeria

Hungary

The Reformed Church in Hungary’s role in the society The public witness of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands according to its church order The Netherlands A critical evaluation U.S.A. For Such a Time as This: Herman Bavinck’s Ecclesiology for a Pluralist Century Abraham Kuyper Among the Nations: An Historical Survey of Kuyper's Foreign Canada Policy and the Problem of Pluralism Approaching ‘the other’ and its implications from a biblical perspective.

Romania A case study on Jh 4,1-42 Kenotic Christological Apophaticism: Methodological Considerations for U.S.A. Reformed Theology as Public Theology in Pluralistic Contexts South Korea / Postcolonial Public Theology as an Alternative Korean Minjung Theological U.S.A. Paradigm in Postcolonial Contexts Indonesia

"Public Theology" in Indonesian Context How are Our Churches Responding on Climate Change in Hungary? – Environment Stewardship Today

Indonesia

What has Christian Liberty to do with Common Good in Indonesia?

Introducing the Normative Practice Model as an Analytical Tool that Incorporates Meaning-making of Staff Members in Faith-based Organizations

Belgium

Olo Ndukwe

Evangelische Theologische Faculteit Hugh Goldie Lay/Theological Training Institution Arochukwu

Seungchan Park Binsar Pakpahan

Vrije Universiteit Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Jakarta

South Korea Indonesia

Stephen Pedro

Stellenbosch University Sárospatak Reformed Theological Academy

South Africa

Gabriella Racsók

Nigeria

Hungary

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Public Theology: A Christian Antidote to Religious/ethnic Violence in Nigeria Potential Role of Correlation in the Polemical Climate of Protestant Churches in South Korea Finding a new way of doing public theology in an honor-based society Reformation, baptism and the restoration of dignity in gang-ridden communities in South Africa Possible biblical, theological and contextual resources in formulating an ethics of visual representation

Overview of paper presentations András László Rád

Protestant Theological Institute ClujNapoca

Louis van der Riet

Stellenbosch University / Vrije Universiteit South Africa

Nate Shannon

Fuller Theological Seminary

U.S.A.

Gerrit Singgih

Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana

Indonesia

Joel Agpalo Tejedo

Asia Pacific Theological Seminary

Li Kit Ting Matthew Tuininga Anton Steven Un

Chinese University of Hong Kong Calvin Theological Seminary Sekolah Tinggi Teologia Reformed Indonesia

Philippines China (Hong Kong) U.S.A.

Confession and Community: Sociological Epistemology of Theological Tradition What has Ahok to do with Santa? Contemporary Christian (and Muslim) Public Theology in Indonesia Doing Pentecostal Civic Engagement in the Public Sphere: A Case of Pentecostal Ministry in the Slum Area of Baguio City, Philippines The Road to Reconciliation: Public Theology after the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong The Latent Pluralism of Calvin’s Political Theology

Indonesia

The limit of Public Theology and the Need of a Theology of the Public Sphere

Eva van Urk

Vrije Universiteit

David VanDrunen Danie Veldsman

Westminster Seminary California University of Pretoria

Pieter Verster Nico Vorster

University of the Free State North West University Campus Potchefstroom

Robert Vosloo

Stellenbosch University

Henco van der Westhuizen Wahyu Wibowo

University of the Free State Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana

Yahya Wijaya

Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana North West University Campus Potchefstroom

Amie van Wyk Tanya van Wyk

Romania

Roads to reconciliation in personal narratives between traditional Reformed calling and a professional identity fixed in a pluralized context Truth-Telling as Public Theology: A Reformed Response to South Africa’s Proposed Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill

The Netherlands Public Theology and the Anthropocene: Re-Visiting Human-Animal Relations The Importance of the Noahic Covenant for a Reformed Theology of Pluralism U.S.A. and Public Theology South Africa Discussing publicness on the public square?

Confessing Christ as verily God in a context of abject poverty in informal South Africa settlements in Mangaung, South Africa Human Identity, Social Symbiosis and a Politics of Recognition. A Christian South Africa Informed Approach Justification and Justice? Reflections on the response of some South African South Africa Reformed voices to the ecumenical discussion on justification God in the Polyphony of Life: Michael Welker's Contribution to Public South Africa Theology in Plural Contexts Indonesia Jesus is God: Public Theology in the Context of Muslims in Indonesia Small and Medium Enterprises as a Context of Twenty-first Century Asian Indonesia Public Theology Reflections on the fatal bond between church and ‘volk’. Three examples South Africa reconsidered ‘Can I come into the out now?’ On the (Re)formation of borders and the South Africa inclusivity of Reformed theology

Cobus van Wyngaard

University of Pretoria University of South Africa / Vrije Universiteit

Toby Zhu

Baylor University

China / U.S.A.

Heleen Zorgdrager

Protestantse Theologische Universiteit

The Netherlands Living in Two Kingdoms or Vulnerably Appearing in Public Space

South Africa

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Theological plurality in the theological struggle against apartheid Combining the Prophet and Shepherd Teacher Roles to Combat the Rising Problems in China’s K-12 Public Schools

Conference Program of the 12th Biannual IRTI Conference on ‘Public Theology in Plural Contexts, Lutheran Theological Seminary,

Thursday, 15 June 15:30 – 17:00

Registration and Refreshments

18:00 – 19:00

Dinner

Opening and Lectures (moderator: Dr Pieter Vos) 19:00 – 19:15

Opening of the Conference by the Director of IRTI, Dr Pieter Vos

19:15 – 19.30

Welcome by Vice President of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Dr Nicholas Tai

19:30 – 20:00

Lecture I: Dr Richard Mouw

20:00 – 20:15

Break

20:15 – 20:45

Lecture II: Dr Zhibin Xie

20:45 – 21:15

Discussion on both lectures

21:15 – 21:30

Evening Prayer

Friday, 16 June 08:00 – 8:30 Breakfast 08:40 – 8:55 Morning Prayer

Keynote lectures (moderator: Dr Heleen Zorgdrager) 09:00 – 9:30 Lecture III: Dr Mery Kolimon 09:30 – 10:00

Lecture IV: Dr Tinyiko Maluleke

10:00 – 10:30

Discussion on both lectures

10:30 – 11:00

Break

Paper presentations 1 (parallel sessions) 11:00 – 11:15

Paper 1

11:15 – 11:30

Paper 2

11:30 – 11:45

Paper 3

11:45 – 12:15

Discussion on presentations

12:30 – 14:30

Lunch and break 8

Conference Program of the 12th Biannual IRTI Conference on ‘Public Theology in Plural Contexts, Lutheran Theological Seminary,

Paper presentations 2 (parallel sessions) 14:30 – 14:45

Paper 4

14:45 – 15:00

Paper 5

15:00 – 15:15

Paper 6

15:15 – 15:45

Discussion on presentations

16:00 – 16:15

Break

16:15 – 16:30

Presentation of Journal of Reformed Theology and Studies in

Reformed Theology by Dr Eddy Van der Borght

16:30 – 17:00

Presentation of Lutheran Theological Seminary and Institute of

Sino-Christian Studies 17.00 – 17:45

Guided walking tour at the campus

18:00 – 19:30

Dinner

Paper presentations 3 (parallel sessions) 19:30 – 19:45

Paper 7

19:45 – 20:00

Paper 8

20:00 – 20:15

Paper 9

20:15 – 20:45

Discussion on presentations

21:00 – 21:15

Evening Prayer

21:15 – 22:30

Refreshments

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Saturday, 17 June 08:00 – 08:30

Breakfast

08:40 – 08:55

Morning Prayer

Keynote lectures (moderator: Dr Kees van der Kooi) 09:00 – 09:30

Lecture V: Dr Carver Yu

09:30 – 09.45

Discussion on the lecture

09:45 – 10:15

Break

Paper presentations 4 (parallel sessions) 10:15 – 10:30

Paper 10

10:30 – 10:45

Paper 11

10:45 – 11:00

Discussion on presentations

11:00 – 11.30

Break

11:30 – 11:45

Paper 12

11:45 – 12.00

Paper 13

12.00 – 12.15

Discussion on presentations

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch and Break

Paper presentations 5 (parallel sessions) 13:30 – 13:45

Paper 14

13:45 – 14:00

Paper 15

14:00 – 14:15

Paper 16

14:15 – 14:45 Discussion on the papers 15:00 – 15:45 Meeting of the participants 16:00

Excursion and festive dinner

Sunday, 18 June 08:30 – 09:30

Breakfast

10:00 – 11:30

Sunday Morning Service

11:30 – 13:00

Lunch and Farewell Round

13:30 Departures

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Our host The host of the twelfth international IRTI conference is the Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) in Hong Kong, China.

Founded in 1977 (although its roots date back to 1913), LTS is one of the major theological seminaries of the city, the country and the region, with a strong international profile and staff, attracting students from all over Southeast Asia and beyond. The seminary is beautifully located on a mountain overlooking the city of Hong Kong. A great venue for our forthcoming IRTI Conference!

Welcome by the president Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Honorable Guests,

On behalf of LTS, I would like to welcome you to the LTS campus to join the 12th biannual IRTI conference. It is the privilege of LTS to receive you and to host you here. I am sorry that I cannot meet you in person this time as I am not at home, but I understand that you are from many different countries representing numerous churches, theological institutes and cities in the world. Your presence is a great honour to us.

“Public Theology in the Plural Contexts” is a very important chosen theme. It engages everyone of us because each one of us has our own context. It might be especially relevant to those of us who live in urban cities. In the last two years, the Church in China has been discussing diligently the topic of how to indigenize Christianity in the Chinese Context 「基督教中國化」, and also the question on what sort of theological education is most appropriate in leading the church in the Mainland to meet the challenges in the future. I am so sure that the result of this conference will be of great value to the Chinese context, both Hong Kong and the Mainland. Your success will certainly be beneficial to many. I therefore wish you a great conference and a good stay in LTS. May the gracious Lord bless you all.

Dr. Simon Chow (President, LTS) 11

Travel Information Airport transfer service On 14 and 15 June a shuttle service will be available at Hong Kong International Airport to take you to the seminary or the Cityview hotel.

On 18 June a shuttle service will be available to take you from the seminary or the Cityview hotel to Hong Kong International Airport.

Specific information about the place and times of departure will be sent to the participants by mail, in the weeks before the conference.

Arranging your own local transport (Airport - Seminary) If your dates of arrival and departure are different from the ones mentioned above, you should arrange your own local transport from the airport to the seminary. There are two ways to get to the seminary: 1. Bus and taxi From Hong Kong International Airport, you should take the airport bus no. A41, operated daily, every 20 minutes (00/20/40) from 6:00 am till midnight, and get off at the station Shatin Central – Bus Terminus. This trip takes about 40-45 minutes and the fare is HK$ 22.30. There are several ways to pay for a ride: - Buy a single journey ticket. It can be purchased at Customer Service & Airbus Ticket Office (Airport Ground Transportation Centre).

- Pay by cash. You must pay the exact amount of HK$ for a ride because the bus driver will not give you a change.

- Pay by Octopus Card. It can be purchased at the Arrivals Hall.

Then, from the bus terminal you can take a taxi (about HK$ 45 plus HK$ 5 surcharge for each piece of luggage) up to Tao Fong Shan. The duration of the trip is about 15 minutes.

2. Taxi A taxi (urban taxi, red) from Hong Kong International Airport directly to Tao Fong Shan will cost you approximately HKD$ 290 and takes about 45 minutes. Both Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre (Pilgrim’s Hall guesthouse) and the dormitories of Lutheran Theological Seminary are located at Tao Fong Shan Road, Shatin (New Territories).

Useful indication for the taxi-driver is: Tung Lo Wan Shan Road.

These are the addresses of both locations: Pilgrim’s Hall: 33 Tao Fong Shan Road, Shatin tel. (+852) 2691-2739, fax (+852) 2699-4616, e-mail: pilgrimhall@tfssu.org website: www.tfssu.org Lutheran Theological Seminary: 50, Tao Fong Shan Road, Shatin tel. (+852) 2691-1520, fax (+852) 2691-8458 e-mail: info@lts.edu website: www.lts.edu you have opted for a seminary room, you will stay at either of the two locations. You will be informed about your exact location in the week before the conference.

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Arranging your own local transport (Airport - Cityview hotel) If you stay at the Cityview hotel and you are arriving on another date, you may take the public bus (A21) or a taxi to your accommodation. Cityflyer bus A21, leaves about every 10 minutes for Hung Hom Station. You should get off the bus at stop 9 “Man Ming Lane, Nathan Road “ (about 200-metres from the hotel). The stop is outside Yau Ma Tei Station just past the Nathan Road/Waterloo Road junction and the hotel is a short distance along Waterloo Road. The journey takes about 40 minutes. Cityflyer buses are equipped for passengers travelling with luggage and display route information inside the bus.The price of a ticket from the airport is HK$33.

Information on taxi services from Hong Kong international airport may be found here: https://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/transport/to-from-airport/taxi.html This is the address of the Cityview hotel: 23 Waterloo Rd, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong Website: https://thecityview.com.hk/ Arranging your own local transport (Airport other destinations) If you have arranged your own accommodation, you may prefer to take a taxi from the airport. More information may be found here: https://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/transport/to-from-airport/taxi.html Alternative travel options You may also wish to make use of the Airport Express services and/or the metro system. It has an excellent travel app.

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IRTI Management Team

Advisory board

Pieter Vos, Director phvos@pthu.nl

Allan Janssen, Ph.D., New Brunswick Theological Seminary, USA

Robert Vosloo, Ph.D., Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Eddy van der Borght, Vice - director, e.a.j.g.vander.borght@irti.nl

Wahyu Wibowo, Ph.D., Duta Wacana Christian University, Indonesia

Heleen Zorgdrager hezorgdrager@pthu.nl

Szilveszter Füsti-Molnar, Ph.D., Sárospatak Reformed Theological Academy, Hungary

Kees van der Kooi, member c.vanderkooi@vu.nl

Local member

Albert Nijboer, secretary asnijboer@pthu.nl

organisation committee

Dr.Tjeerd de Boer, Lecturer in Missiology, LTS

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About IRTI Introduction IRTI is an international network of academically involved Reformed scholars, most of them working in the field of systematic theology, church history and ecumenical theology.

Living Reformed Theology The main focus of IRTI is upon ‘Living Reformed Theology’, recognising the historical roots of its own tradition, but with an eye towards the future and the new contexts and questions of today's Reformed world in mind.

World Communcion of Reformed Churches IRTI is an affiliate member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), but has no link with any specific Reformed church.

Management IRTI has a Management Team and an International Board of Advisers that convenes with the director and vice director(s) during the bienniel conferences.

History IRTI was founded in 1995 by a group of Hungarian, South African and Dutch theologians. Representatives of the Reformed world in North America and Australia were also involved in the founding event. The fall of the Iron Curtain between East- and West-Europe and the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa offered new opportunities for academic exchange. From the outset quite a number of Korean and Indonesian scholars were involved as well, later on joined by theologians from all parts of the world.

Living Reformed Theology IRTI’s main focus has always been upon ‘Living Reformed Theology’. This meant that IRTI never neglected the historical roots of its own confessional tradition, but this confessional tradition was always studied with an eye towards the future of Reformed theology and with the new contexts and questions of today's Reformed world in mind. This approach turned out to be attractive for Reformed theologians with either a historical, systematic or contextual interest. It explains why the themes of the IRTI conferences (‘Freedom’, ‘Faith and Ethnicity’, ‘Christian Faith and Violence’, ‘Unity of the Church’, ‘Calvinism and Law’, 'Liturgy and Ethics') had always a historical, systematic and contextual component.

Leadership The Dutch theologian Prof. Abraham van de Beek (VU University) was the director during the first ten years of existence. In 2005 he was followed up by Prof. Martien Brinkman, (former) holder of the chair of intercultural theology at VU University. In 2011 the Protestant Theological University (PThU) became co-owner of IRTI, which made it a joint VU-PThU initiative. Since 2015 Dr. Pieter Vos, assistant professor of ethics at PThU, has been the director of IRTI. Belgian theologian Prof. Eddy van der Borght, holder of the Desmond Tutu chair at VU University, is its vice-director. The management team is completed by Prof. Kees van der Kooi, chairholder of systematic theology at VU University and Prof. Heleen Zorgdrager, chairholder of systematic theology and gender studies at PThU. Albert Nijboer (PThU) is the part time secretary.

Bianniel conferences IRTI has organised biannual international conferences in Visegrad/Hungary 1995, Stellenbosch/South Africa 1997, Doorn/The Netherlands 1999, Princeton/USA 2001, Bogor/Indonesia 2003, Seoul/South Korea 2005, Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca)/Romania 2007, Aix-en-Provence/France 2009, Potchefstroom/South Africa 2011, Sárospatak/Hungary 2013 and New Brunswick/USA 2015.

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Publications The Journal of Reformed Theology (JRT) - a refereed international journal of systematic, historical, and biblical theology - and the Studies in Reformed Theology (SRT) - an international triennial series that offers thematic volumes with articles on current issues and in-depth monographs in the field of Systematic, Historical and Biblical theology - are publications related to IRTI. The latest edition of this series is A Reformed Voice in the Ecumenical Discussion, from the hand of Martien Brinkman, former director of IRTI. Eddy Van der Borght, vice-director of IRTI is editor-in-chief of both the JRT and the SRT. IRTI’s director, Pieter Vos, is member of the editorial board of the SRT, as are the former directors of the Institute, Bram van de Beek and Martien Brinkman.

Whereas the SRT is edited by IRTI, the Journal of Reformed Studies originates from IRTI.