Social Justice and Human Rights Conference—April 2012

Save the date! The CPRSE is planning a two-day interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral conference on Social Justice and Human Rights, co-sponsored by Emmanuel College, to take place on April 27 and 28, 2012 at Victoria University in the University of Toronto.

This major conference will stimulate reflection on the relationship between different conceptions of justice and rights claims, as well as on challenges in current practice and struggles for greater social justice. Keynote speaker Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff will explore the religious and philosophical roots of the concept of justice, based on themes from his book Justice: Rights and Wrongs. The conference will also feature panel discussions and workshops. It will be of interest to the academic community, practitioners engaged in social justice and rights advocacy, and the broader public.

Watch for further details about this important conference through various ICS channels later this fall.

Congratulations Peter Lok!

ICS alumnus Peter Lok has begun work as a lecturer in the Liberal and Cultural Studies Program at Hong Kong Baptist University. Baptist U is a Christian liberal arts university in Hong Kong. This term, Peter will teach Aesthetics, Love and Humanities, and a course on Theme Parks and other themed spaces.

Jelle Huisman in Dallas, Texas

Junior Member Jelle Huisman is travelling to Dallas on October 14 to 18, to present a paper at an international Bible Translation conference. The paper is about the use of information technology in a bible translation context and it is loosely based on a paper which he wrote for the Christianity and the ecological crisis-course earlier this year. The main challenge for Jelle is the translation from philosophy to something programmers and managers can appreciate.

Cal Seerveld in Chicago and Grand Rapids

Senior Member Emeritus Cal Seerveld is scheduled to introduce the choral reading of his translation of Ecclesiastes by the faculty of Trinity Christian College, directed by John Sebestyen, at the college for the Homecoming Alumni of 1971 at 7 pm on October 6 and 8, and in Grace Church at 2:30 pm on October 9. A jazz composer/clarinetist from Chicago is engaged to do the musical interludes. This event was prompted by ICS alumnus, former ICS Senator, and Sociology professor at Trinity, Brad Breems. For more information, visit http://www.trnty.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=968:091011&catid=2:events&Itemid=1204

While he is at Trinity, Cal will to teach a theology (Proverbs as Wisdom Literature) and an aesthetics philosophy class (composing pop songs--requested by Prof. Aron Reppmann).

Also, Cal is scheduled to speak on "The Church and the World of Modern Art" at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids at 10 am on Sunday, October 23, at its adult education session, organized by Henry Vander Goot.

Shannon Hoff in Newfoundland

On Oct 6 to 8, at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland, Senior Member Shannon Hoff will be presenting a paper based on her inaugural address at the Canadian Society for Continental Philosophy meeting.

CPRSE Launch Celebration

Please join us on the evening of Monday, October 24 for the Gala Launch Celebration of the Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics. The festivities will be held at the Faculty Club at the University of Toronto, commencing with a reception at 5:30 p.m. This will be followed by a gala banquet, featuring an inaugural address by the CPRSE's founding Director Lambert Zuidervaart on "Living at the Crossroads: Ethical Scholarship and the Common Good", as well as a performance by internationally acclaimed violinist Barry Shiffman, Associate Dean of the Glenn Gould School at The Royal Conservatory, joined by musicians of the Royal Conservatory's Young Artists Performance Academy.

Tickets for this fundraising event are $125 per person and are available online or by calling Kathy at 416-979-2331 ext. 221 (or toll-free 1-888-326-5347). The deadline for ordering banquet tickets is October 14th.

For further information or to inquire about sponsoring a table for the banquet, please contact Lyle Clark, Assistant Director of the CPRSE at 416-979-2331 ext. 247 or by email to cprse@icscanada.edu.

“God is Dead” and I Don’t Feel So Good Myself—a Christian Response to the New Atheism

Waterloo area readers, please mark your calendars: On the evening of Thurs Nov 3, at Renison University College at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Ron Kuipers, an ICS faculty member and Jon Stanley, one of our graduate students, will be presenting a talk and leading a discussion, about how we, as Christians, can respond to the claim that God is dead, a claim being made by many prominent authors in Europe and North America.

The new atheism challenges Christians. Join us for a presentation and discussion on how faith can lead to dialogue rather than hostility between religious and secular people in our time.

Janet Read: Recent Work

ICS alumna Janet Read is participating in an art show titled “The Language of Abstraction” from Sept 15 to Oct 8 at Coopers Fine Art Gallery, 111 Bathurst St. (upstairs), Toronto.

Janet will also be exhibiting new paintings at Christensen Fine Art in Peterborough from Sept 30 to Oct 22. There will be an opening reception for this solo exhibition on Friday, Sept 30 from 6 to 9 pm. For more information, visit www.christensenfineart.com.

A Pastor's Journey from Faith to Doubt

Former ICS president John Suk has published a new book titled Not Sure: A Pastor's Journey from Faith to Doubt. There is a good article about it at
http://eerdword.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/i-wish-i-could-be-afraid-by-john-suk/ and the book can be purchased at http://www.eerdmans.com/shop/product.asp?p_key=9780802866509.

Job Posting: Senior Development Officer

The Institute for Christian Studies is seeking an energetic, organized and committed individual to fill the role of Senior Development Officer, focusing on a major gift program, on a full-time, short-term contract. For more information about this position, see http://www.icscanada.edu/jobs.

Art in Public Goes Public

Lambert Zuidervaart’s new book Art in Public is featured in two recent publications:

An interview with Lambert has appeared in the newspaper Friesch Dagblad (August 27, 2011), in a two-page spread written by Dutch journalist Tjerk de Reus. The article emphasizes the importance of the arts for a thriving democracy. The article (in Dutch) can be accessed via the home page of CPRSE web site at http://www.icscanada.edu/cprse.

Art in Public is also the topic of a favourable review written by Daniel Taylor. The review appears in Comment magazine published by Cardus, a think tank dedicated to the renewal of North American public life. You can find Daniel Taylor’s review at http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/2886/.

Wed. Sep. 14 - Faith, Film and TIFF

Seeing in the Dark: Faith, Film and TIFF

Public event hosted by Urban Remixed and Imago

Panel discussion of the theme plus a special screening of the award-winning short film "Kavi".

Wednesday September 14, 2011, 7:30 - 9:30 PM
Church of the Redeemer (Avenue Rd. & Bloor St.)

Cal Seerveld at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids

On the evening of Thursday, September 29, at 8 pm, Senior Member Emeritus Cal Seerveld is scheduled to introduce a performance of his translation of Ecclesiastes as a unified chorus of diverse voices, at Cornerstone University, 1001 East Beltline, Grand Rapids, Michigan. This performance will be directed by Randall Burghart, along with Michael Card and others playing musical interludes as commentary. ICS alumnus Professor Matt Bonzo has taken the initiative for this event.

Doug Blomberg at New Saint Andrews College in Idaho

Senior Member Doug Blomberg will present a paper at the Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education (ARIHE) Symposium, "A Pedagogy for Royalty", to be held on September 15-17 at New Saint Andrews College in Idaho. Doug will also represent ICS at the ARIHE Business Meeting on Saturday afternoon. For more information visit http://arihe.org.