International Theological Conference

June 20-24, 1994, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands

Extracted from Ordained Servant vol. 3, no. 1, p. 17

“Theology in the tradition of the Reformation not abandoned, but alive and kicking!”

In our day, a theology that seeks to remain faithful to the authority of Scripture appears to be relegated to the fringes of society. Whoever does not share the assumptions of "higher criticism" runs the risk of being dismissed as irrelevant by those doing theology in "mainline" theological circles.

This is highly regrettable. God has given us the biblical message so that mankind, including 20th century man, may receive the wisdom that leads to salvation (see 2 Tim. 3:15). Moreover, theological study of this biblical message today can play an important part in giving support to the body of believers in the world, and the office bearers in their midst.

Thankfully this manner of theological practice still exists in numerous lands. But the institutions where this occurs are mostly small. Consequently the mutual contacts between them on an international level are limited. Thereby the opportunity is missed to support and stimulate each other; in fact it is frequently the case that work done in one place is not even known to others.

Nevertheless confessional theology is a communal task. It is therefore in every way worth the effort to attempt to bring theological scholars who stand in the tradition of the Reformation from all over the world together. For these reasons three scholarly institutions in the Netherlands have taken the initiative to organize an international theological congress to be held d.v. from the 20th to the 24th of June 1994 in Leeuwenhorst, Noordwijkerhout (near Leiden). Speakers from the four corners of the earth will there lecture on subjects related to the theme: the vitality of Reformed theology. There will also be opportunity to exchange experiences from different societies and cultures.

"Reformed" is meant here as a description of a conscious and genuine alignment with Calvin and other reformers in the 16th century and the confessional statements developed in their path.

The speakers will be as follows:

The initiators hope that this congress will lead to an international reflection upon its results and that it will stimulate the development of Reformed theology with an eye to the questions of our time. It should also function as an encouragement for Christians from various nationalities who work in rather isolated areas.

The congress concerns theology. But the subjects are such that also non-theologians interested in theology (at an academic level) may participate. This fact is of importance for reflection upon the service that theology can render to the Christian community. Certainly this congress forms an opportunity that ministers of the Word and students of theology cannot afford to miss. Given that this is an international congress, the common language used will be English.

The three institutions responsible for the organization of the congress are: The Theological University of the Reformed Churches (Lib.) in Kampen; The Theological University of the Christian Reformed Churches in Apeldoorn; The Reformed Scholarly Society (an association of Liberated Reformed people with an academic education for the purpose of Christian reflection upon scholarship). The address of the organizing committee is: Committee IThC 1994, P.O. Box 5026, 8260 GA Kampen, The Netherlands. Applications for registration may be addressed here. Further information is available upon request.

—On behalf of the organizing committee, J. P. de Vries.