Merry Christmas from ICS!

Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

May the spirit of Christmas

fill your hearts

with joy, hope, and peace

this year and always.

With best wishes from

the Institute for Christian Studies.

(re)Discover Social Justice & Human Rights

The session summaries and videos from the Social Justice & Human Rights conference are now available! Conversation on issues dealing with social justice and human rights have continued in the months since the conference on the Centre’s blog Ground Motive, but these summaries and videos offer a look at the more concrete topics spoken on at the conference, and the questions and conversations that opened up there.

The videos and summaries have all been pulled together into the conference blog.  There is also a wonderful documentary video of the conference available.  Altogether there is about 6 hours of viewing, and there is opportunity to interact with others by means of comments on each event.  Click here to begin!

Advent Appeal 2012

We are currently in the third week of our Advent Campaign and want to thank all who have sent in their generous gifts to in response to this appeal. A copy of our appeal letter and a letter from ICS alumnus Steve van de Hoef can be read at www.icscanada.edu/support/advent-appeal.

This is just a sampling of what our alumni are doing. We hope that Steve’s story will give you a first-hand glimpse of how vital your gift is to helping ICS through its programs to bring renewal and hope to our world.


Please donate online at www.icscanada.edu/support, call us at 416-979-2331 ext 223 (Vidya Williams) or ext 221 (Kathy Lynch) to make a credit card donation, or mail your cheque to Institute for Christian Studies, 100-229 College St., Toronto ON M5T 1R4.

Thank you for your partnership.

Responses to the Enlightenment

The book launch for Hendrik Hart and William Sweet’s new book Responses to the Enlightenment: An Exchange on Foundations, Faith and Community was held last month. In this book, the authors approach the relation of faith to reason in different ways: Hart from the perspective of the Calvinian tradition and postmodern philosophy, and Sweet from the Catholic tradition and analytic philosophy.

For more information and to purchase a copy of this book, please visit http://www.rodopi.nl/functions/search.asp?BookId=VIBS+241.

Dec. 7 - Hendrik Hart’s Book Launch

On the evening of Friday December 7, from 7:00-8:30 ICS's Research Centre, the CPRSE, will be hosting a book launch to celebrate Hendrik Hart's and William Sweet's new book Responses to the Enlightenment: An Exchange on Foundations, Faith and Community. The launch will be held in Leonard Hall, just above Crux Books, located at 5 Hoskin Ave (Wycliffe College). There will be a presentation on the book by ICS's own Ron Kuipers, with responses to the presentation by authors Hendrik Hart and William Sweet. Refreshments will follow. For more information, please call 416 979-2331 ext 247. We hope to see you there!

ICS Welcomes New Board Members

We are pleased to welcome four new Board members, approved at the AGM held last month: James Dekker, Chris Pullenayegem, Jonathan Chan and James VanderBerg. In addition, Stewart Worden and John Valk will each continue on the Board. We look forward to working with all of them.

Special thanks go to outgoing Board members Mike den Haan, Vicki Cok and Lucy Van Wyk.

The usual administrative and financial reports were accepted and passed; thank you to all our members who voted.

Doug Blomberg Publishes Article

Senior Member Doug Blomberg recently published "Christian Schooling: Why it is Worth it" in The Christian Teachers Journal, which commemorated the twentieth year of its publication. Having published articles in the first volume, Doug was invited to contribute to this anniversary edition, in which he emphasised the impact of ICS-related publications on his career path.

Jim Olthuis Publishes Article

Senior Member Emeritus Jim Olthuis’s article "A vision of and for love: Towards a Christian post-postmodern worldview" was just published in the South African journal, Koers – Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, vol. 77. No.1 (2012).

Cal Seerveld Publishes Article

Senior Member Emeritus Cal Seerveld is pleased to report that an illustrated article "Why we need to learn to cry in Church: reclaiming the Psalms of Lament” along with several of his psalm versifications, has just appeared in a book titled Forgotten Songs: Reclaiming the Psalms for Christian Worship, edited by C. Richard Wells & Ray Van Neste (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2012).

Clinton Stockwell Publishes Article

Junior Member Clinton Stockwell’s article was recently republished (for the third time): “Fundamentalisms and the Shalom of God: An Analysis of Contemporary Expressions of Fundamentalism in Christianity, Judaism and Islam” in Evangelical Review of Theology, Vol 36: No 3, July 2012: 266-279.

Message from the President

I began academic life as an historian of religion and of religious culture. I specialized in thirteenth century religion and in particular the so-called “begging” orders, the Dominicans chief among them. I have focussed an indefensible amount of time on a particular Dominican Thomas of Cantimpré (1199-c. 1260) and his rollicking practice as storyteller. His works come in two kinds: 1. collections of materials gathered with preaching and penance in mind, and 2. saint’s lives. His preacher-oriented “Book of Bees” (Bonum universale de apibus) has delighted me for nearly thirty years. What a potpourri of tales from what a vast scramble of sources! I doubt it would provide a modern preacher much that he or she could use but summer camps would have ghost stories aplenty to add to their usual repertoires.

The Protestant in me has always been curious about Thomas of Cantimpré’s saint’s lives. They raise questions about sanctity. What is a saint? What is a vita (a life)? What is the writer of a saint’s vita trying to do? How does he or she go about her work? How is the result like and not like a biography or some other modern genre of writing? There is a lot I could write about and have albeit in scholarly locations that are hardly vacation spots for the average curious intellectual traveller. Let me just pick out one chain of features that might be of interest or perhaps even delight.

Hagiographers (writers of saint’s lives) were not writing biographies as we think of the term. O, it is true that in the twelfth-century there were hagiographers of real literary and psychological depth who wrote “humanistic” vitae that presented the saint as at one and the same time a human person such as one might meet on a nearby street or hear tell of in the stories emanating from the courts of society’s high ones, kings and bishops, or from the outlandish and deserted regions separating human communities from each other, hermits or wandering preachers. But this “humanistic” style was a passing fad; most vitae made no pretence of capturing the human individuality of the saint. What hagiographers were interested in were what one can call “saintly situations”: acts and events that were in and of themselves spiritually spectacular. Such acts and events called attention to themselves; they contrasted with ordinary expectations. They bespoke the presence of something amazing, that a heavenly Circus had arrived beyond our most expansive ken, right there, do you see it, just beyond eyesight. They marked a person in ways the community had noticed. They marked a person as discomfiting, bringing one face to face with something both terrible and sublime, the presence of God, active and caring, and ever so other than our ordinary experience and expectations surrounding divinity and its ways in the world. A vita recorded this spectacle-stratum of a saint’s living, reminding or informing the reader that around this woman or man, around these deeds and events, the pungent aroma of the Spirit wafts, a Spirit whose intentions for us humans is ever more than we can fathom, cracking open this world so that we catch a sniff of the next in what is already present unperceived in our ordinary perceptions of what is to be seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched.

And stories like these, over-the-top and disturbing, collected around saints. There were always far to many to be included within a single and coherent vita; a hagiographer had to choose. A Dominican like Thomas of Cantimpré chose in terms of two criteria. Stories were to be divided between two groups: 1. stories that shocked and awed the hearer, leaving her gobsmacked by wonder, and 2. stories that sparked a sense of longing, that put one in touch with what-might-have-been, with what-might-still-be, with an existence more exalted if only one’s living were more thickly graced, if only one worked to be more available, if only one aspired to receive and bless such divine outpouring, if only (and this is really the only thing—the rest just followed) the Spirit would in its wisdom deign to pour out. The wonderful is connected to the resulting desire, but is also distinct. There are things one would harm oneself to long for. Hagiographers often seem to embrace the modern television warning: This is the work of a trained professional; please do not try this at home. In addition, there are wonders one simply must learn to long for, for one’s personal and one’s community’s spiritual good. The hagiographer reflects on all this and writes to help the community of faith learn the difference, learn to live in the active and incarnate presence of God right here and now, and to cope well with the resulting wonder and desire.

And here is the point at last: things of amazing wonder and the desire to live up to the example of such spectacular Presence—they are the stuff of Jesus’ life as well, or so they were to medieval readers of the Gospels. The Gospels too are filled with situations that bespeak the in-breaking of the divine into our daily existence, that bespeak a presence that discomfits and disrupts our expectations, that brings us close enough to the breath of the Spirit that we inhale its wonder and long to be graced by its movement in our lives. The Gospels as medievals like Thomas of Cantimpré read them placed the attentive and devout reader in such a spot that she could not but long to be worthy, to conform herself to the presence of their protagonist, the Christ, in her life. And that applied not just to persons; it applied to communities too. At the advent of Advent 2012, I ask you to consider this prayer: May the ICS and its community be gobsmacked by the presence of the Christ of the Gospels, discomfiting its expectations and inspiring a ever renewable and renewed desire to conform itself in all its works to the intimate presence of the Christ. May ICS incarnate the Incarnate One, embracing his presence with all the trust of a young first-time mother struggling to do right even in the muck of a Bethlehem stable. That will be my prayer this month. I invite you to join me as and if you will.

For the President,

Bob Sweetman

Prayer Letter: December 2012

Monday, December 3: We welcome our new and returning Board members and ask God's grace and blessings on them as they continue to work in helping ICS fulfill its mission.

Tuesday, December 4: Former interim ICS president Morris Greidanus has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of T-cell lymphoma. Please pray for strength and patience for Morris and also his wife Alice.

Wednesday, December 5: The Faculty meets today. We pray that God's wisdom will guide this meeting.

Thursday, December 6: John Hulst, former ICS Board member and Chair, has been hospitalized for tests and treatment. Please pray that the Lord will give John a long time of continued enthusiastic Kingdom service.

Friday, December 7: We ask God to bless Junior Member Jelle Huisman as he defends his MA thesis today.
We offer prayers of praise for the talents of Hendrik Hart who will be launching his book, Responses to the Enlightenment: An Exchange on Foundations, Faith, and Community this evening.

Monday, December 10: The fall semester ends this week, but there is still so much academic work to be done. Please pray for energy and blessings for our Junior Members as they finish their course work and upon Senior Members as they mark and prepare for the upcoming semester.

Tuesday, December 11: We offer prayers of gratitude for the very generous spirit of you, our supporters throughout the Christmas giving season. It is truly a blessing to have the interest and support of so many people.

Wednesday, December 12: Today is the last Academic Council meeting of the 2011 calendar year. We ask that God's guidance and wisdom be in all the discussions and planning.

Thursday, December 13: Tomorrow is the final day of classes for this semester. We can look back with gratitude and offer prayers of thanks for another semester of opportunities to learn.

Friday, December 14: This is a day of celebration: the last day of classes and our Community Christmas party! We thank God for a fruitful semester and look forward to an evening of celebration, reflection, and fun. Remember the ICS community as Junior, Senior, and staff members gather with volunteers, friends and members of the Board and Senate.

Monday, December 17: As we complete the final preparations for our Christmas celebrations with family and friends, we thank God for all he has provided for us. As many members of the ICS community will be traveling far and wide, please pray for their safe travel and a blessed and rejuvenating time with friends and family.

Tuesday, December 18: Our new Presidents Tom and Dawn Wolthuis, are moving to Toronto this week. We pray for a smooth transition between our two countries.

Wednesday, December 19: We pray for God’s guidance and wisdom at today’s Leadership Team meeting.

Thursday, December 20: We ask God to bless Junior Member Daniel Mullin as he defends his PhD today.

Friday, December 21: Today we ask for God's help for those who are struggling with cancer and other illnesses. We pray for strength, patience and for good results from treatment.

Monday, December 24: As Christmas draws near, we remember people who are suffering around the world in areas of conflict and war. We need to hear the angels' call for "Peace on Earth" and so we offer prayers that peace and joy can be realized throughout the world.

Tuesday, December 25: Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We offer prayers of thanks to God for this wonderful gift and we pray that everyone has a peaceful and joyful day with loved ones.

Wednesday, December 26: With the winter weather bringing colds and flu, please pray for the health of staff, faculty and students at ICS.

Thursday, December 27: We pray for strength, energy and enthusiasm for our Senior Members who are preparing to start their new courses in January.

Friday, December 28: We ask God's help and guidance for all those who are doing advancement work for ICS both in Canada and in the US. Please pray that support for the vision and mission of ICS continues to grow.

Monday, December 31: As the year 2012 draws to a close we give thanks for another fruitful year of work at ICS and for all our supporters and friends who made that work possible through their prayers and financial gifts. We ask God's blessings upon all the teaching and learning that will happen in the next year.

Annual General Meeting: Wednesday November 28

All ICS members are invited to attend our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, November 28 at 4:00 pm here at 229 College Street. Materials have been distributed.

Cal Seerveld Publishes Article

Calvin Seerveld has published an article titled "Categories for Art Historical Methodology" in a book honouring Wheaton College art historian, John Walford, who has retired. The book, edited by James Romaine, is titled Art as Spiritual Perception (Crossway, 2012). ICS graduate Henry Luttikhuizen also has an article in this collection. At Seerveld's invitation in 1989, John Walford (Wheaton College), Graham Birtwistle (Free University of Amsterdam), and William Young (Calvin College) taught an interim seminar with Seerveld at ICS, "Problems in Art History: Current Options and a Christian Look." Former ICS Senior Member Adrienne Dengerink-Chaplin has a message on the cover recommending the book.

Hendrik Hart’s Book Launch

On the evening of Friday December 7, from 7:00-8:30 ICS's Research Centre, the CPRSE, will be hosting a book launch to celebrate Hendrik Hart's and William Sweet's new book Responses to the Enlightenment: An Exchange on Foundations, Faith and Community. The launch will be held in Leonard Hall, just above Crux Books, located at 5 Hoskin Ave (Wycliffe College). There will be a presentation on the book by ICS's own Ronald A. Kuipers, with responses to the presentation by authors Hendrik Hart and William Sweet. Refreshments will follow. For more information, please call 416 979-2331 ext 247. We hope to see you there!

Janet Read’s Art Exhibit

ICS alumna Janet Read is exhibiting her new paintings at the Rebecca Gallery from November 22 until December 22. The opening will be held on Saturday, November 24 from 2-5 pm. The Rebecca Gallery is located at 317 Grace Street in Toronto. For information, call 416-537-8213 or visit http://www.rebeccagallery.com/.

Annual General Meeting: Wednesday November 28

All ICS members are invited to attend our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, November 28 at 4:00 pm here at 229 College Street. Materials are being distributed.

Shannon Hoff in Rochester

Senior Member Shannon Hoff will be presenting a paper at the meeting of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy, which takes place in Rochester, NY on November 1-3. Her paper is titled "Hegel and the Politics of Recognition."

Cal Seerveld in Toronto

Cal Seerveld has been invited to speak at the 40th anniversary celebration of IMAGO, hosted by Executive Director John Franklin, to be held at the Glenn Gould Studio on Friday, November 2, at 7:30 pm. A full evening of splendid artistic performances is expected.

For more information visit http://imago-arts.org/imago-presents-a-40th-anniversary-celebration-event/.

Jeffrey Hocking in Chicago

On November 17th Junior Member Jeffrey Hocking will be presenting a paper titled Risking Idolatry: Theopoetics and the Promise of Embodiment in the Theopoetics Working Group at the AAR/SBL annual meeting in Chicago. Further details about the group, this year's theme, and abstracts of the papers can be found at
theopoetics.net/working-group/upcoming-meeting.

Tricia Vandyk in Sioux Center

On November 2, Junior Member Tricia Vandyk will be presenting a paper on “Gender, Young Adult Literature, and Imaginative Normativity” at the conference on "The Christian Evasion of Popular Culture," held by the Andreas Center at Dordt College, in Sioux Center, Iowa.

New Videos: Richard Kearney and Imagination's Truths

Three new videos are available on the ICS Youtube channel. They derive from the event "Imagination's Truths: re-envisioning imagination in philosophy, religion and the arts" which took place on October 13, 2012, and was cosponsored by ICS, Emmanual College, and the Toronto School of Theology.

The first video, recorded before the event began, is Richard Kearney being interviewed by our own Rebekah Smick on the subject of the role that imagination plays in our ability to express truth and deal with trauma.

The other two videos are complete recordings of the lecture by Richard Kearney and the panel discussion that took place at the event itself.

The videos and more information about the event and its participants can be found on the event website at http://www.icscanada.edu/cprse/art-talks

Janet Read’s Art Exhibit

ICS alumna Janet Read is exhibiting her new paintings at the Aurora Cultural Centre until Saturday, November 17. The Centre is located at 22 Church Street in Aurora. For information, call 905-713-1818 or visit http://www.auroraculturalcentre.ca.

Message from the President

Human beings act. They do things. They move and encounter things. Humans change things and are changed by them. But what about communities or institutions? Does it make sense to say that they act? Or are their acts first and foremost the acts of individuals who participate in the community or institution? Maybe the acts of individuals are also and at the same time the act of a community or institution, at any rate if that individual has been invested with the office of acting on behalf of it? How are communities or institutions actors, movers and shakers within our world, how are they difference makers? How are they like individual human actors and how are they not? These are the sorts of questions that have been turning around in my head these days.

You see, I currently serve on a PhD thesis committee at the Centre for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. I was asked to provide a formal response to the PhD candidate’s (John Lorenc’s) presentation of his doctoral seminar. He is working on a late thirteenth-century Dominican John of Freiburg and his magnum opus, the Summa confessorum which title can be translated as A Comprehensive Guide to Confessors. John Lorenc finds the Marxist theories of Antonio Gramsci helpful in coming to terms with his thirteenth-century Dominican’s treatment of issues around usury, the practice of charging interest on loans. Something similar to the notion of interest (something licit) in contrast to usury (something illicit) was starting to emerge by John of Freiburg’s day, but suspicion of greed and other vices still hung heavy over any actual lending of money at interest. Such lending put one at spiritual risk, surely. In John’s day, this ambivalence was palpable; efforts were put into preserving the fact of interest in a form that made interest appear as something else, something that escaped the suspicions naturally attracted to lending at interest when it dared to travel under its own name. John Lorenc understands what is going on in John of Freiburg’s treatment of usury in terms of his societal role as “an organic intellectual.” In Gramsci’s theory, such figures operate in close association with economic classes and serve them by articulating their interests by means of which to form an aggregate of people into a class unity, an historical actor, by identifying for them a corporate economic and political interest and agenda. These classes in turn are the real agents of change in history, or so the story goes. Here again we see communities/institutions/classes as concrete historical actors in association with but also contrasting to individual human actors.

It strikes me that the processes by which individuals deliberate about what to do and then actually act to do one thing or another can help us understand how corporate entities deliberate and act, but only by analogy and only up to a point. One can press the analogy only so far, for a human being, unless he or she is suffering from multiple personality syndrome does not have distinct and irreducible actors together constituting the individual as deliberator and/or actor. Corporate entities like communities, institutions, or classes however have any number of actors who deliberate and act individually and corporately in and with respect to the life of the community, institution or class. The individuals are at one and the same time actors in their own right and part of a community or institution that can also be said to act in its own right.

So how does an institution deliberate and act? How does the institution ICS do that? If one of its actors is the God whom it would serve how does that come to expression in the communal life of the ICS? You can see that my academic obligation within the Centre for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto has sparked a stream of thought about ICS and its present circumstances. It must deliberate and act in the context of a transformed internal community. New leaders are being entrusted as office holders to give leadership to the institution in its life going forward. What will it think about? What will its members talk about? How will it solicit and respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in its deliberative processes of discernment? How do the individual actors form together an effective whole? On the cusp of an important change, in its first stages really, I wonder all these things with a palpable sense of anticipation. Anything can happen. Maybe these sorts of questions can focus my attention to these happenings in helpful ways. Whatever the case, discernment and the forging of a way forward in a new situation is definitely on the agenda. And, really, what fun! That is what I am going to focus the ICS portion of my prayer life on in the coming month. I invite you to join me as you will.

For the President,

Bob Sweetman

Prayer Letter: November 2012

Thursday, November 1: Senior Member Shannon Hoff will be presenting a paper in Rochester. We ask God to bless Shannon and everyone attending this conference.

Friday, November 2: Cal Seerveld will be speaking tonight at the 40th anniversary celebration of IMAGO. We pray for blessings for Cal and for all who attend this event.
Junior Member Tricia Vandyk will be presenting a paper in Sioux Centre today. We ask God to bless Tricia and all who attend this conference.

Monday, November 5: John Underwood, the grandfather of CPRSE's Associate Director Allyson Carr, recently had a bad fall and was hospitalized with considerable complications. He is home now, and Allyson asks for prayers of thanksgiving that he is home again as well as continued prayers for his full recovery.

Tuesday, November 6: We ask for God's blessing on those who are planning the Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday, November 28. We pray for energy and enthusiasm for all who are involved.

Wednesday, November 7: The Faculty meets today. We pray for God's wisdom to guide this meeting.

Thursday, November 8: We offer prayers of gratitude and give thanks to you, our many supporters who have presented ICS with gifts of prayer, money, and expressions of appreciation. We are constantly blessed with your interest and support.

Friday, November 9: On Sunday we observe Remembrance Day in Canada. We are reminded of the wars that continue to rage and the soldiers and civilians who continue to suffer around the world. We pray for peace.

Monday, November 12: We offer prayers of praise for the talents of ICS alumna and artist Janet Read who is exhibiting her new paintings in Aurora this month.

Tuesday, November 13: We ask God to bless Senior Member Ron Kuipers as he continues his work as Director of our Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics.

Wednesday, November 14: The Academic Council meets this afternoon. We ask for God’s wisdom to guide this meeting.

Thursday, November 15: We ask God's help and guidance for all those who are doing advancement work for ICS. Please pray that support for the vision and mission of ICS continues to grow.

Friday, November 16: We offer prayers of praise and gratitude for the talents of Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart, and Junior Members Dr. Allyson Carr, Matthew Klaassen and Ronnie Shuker, as the book they have edited, Truth Matters: Knowledge, Politics, Ethics, Religion, will soon be published.
Junior Member Jeffrey Hocking will be presenting a paper in Chicago tomorrow. We ask God to bless Jeff and all who attend this conference.

Monday, November 19: Today we ask for God's help for those who are struggling with cancer and other illnesses. We pray for strength, patience and for good results from treatment.

Tuesday, November 20: We continue to pray for blessings and energy for ICS President, Chris Gort, as he manages his many responsibilities and provides ICS with such excellent leadership.

Wednesday, November 21: The Leadership Team meets today. We pray for God's blessing and guidance to lead their discussions and decisions.

Thursday, November 22: Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Pray for safe travel for those who are going to join their families and friends for this holiday. On this day, let us reflect on God's grace and give thanks for family and friends.

Friday, November 23: Many of our Junior Members are working on their their Masters and PhD thesis projects. We pray for our Junior Members and ask that they will have time, concentration, and wisdom.

Monday, November 26: We ask God to bless the Rev. Dr. Thomas Wolthuis and Ms. Dawn Wolthuis who have been appointed to the position of President of the Institute for Christian Studies. We pray for energy and a smooth transition.

Tuesday, November 27: As the fall semester draws to a close, we ask God for energy and wisdom for all our Junior Members who are working hard in their courses and for a sense of balance as they deal with families and jobs as well. We pray too that student jobs will be found where they are needed.

Wednesday, November 28: The Interfaculty Colloquium will be held this afternoon. We pray for God's blessing on all participants, and for good and positive insights that will further important academic work.
This afternoon ICS will hold its Annual General Meeting, where members will elect new Board members and conduct the annual required business for ICS. We are extremely grateful for our committed and hard working Board members. Please pray for wisdom and guidance at this meeting.

Thursday, November 29: We offer prayers of thanks for all the hard work done by the outgoing Board members. We ask God for wisdom and energy for the incoming Board members.

Friday, November 30: The season of Advent begins this weekend. We pray for God's blessings as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Jeffrey Hocking in Hamilton

Jeffrey Hocking will serve as a respondent and chair two sessions of the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association's (CETA) New Voices conference to be held at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton on Saturday, October 20th. ICS alumnus J. Richard Middleton serves as the president of CETA and Brian Walsh, Christian Reformed Minister at the University of Toronto and ICS graduate (MPhil), will be the keynote speaker at this conference. For further information please visit www.macdiv.ca/ceta

Art Talks! 2012

This past Saturday, October 13th, the 2012 Art Talks! event “Imagination’s Truths” was held at the Isabel Bader Theatre. A wonderful lecture by renowned professor and public intellectual Richard Kearney opened the day, and the discussion following it was very engaged. It ranged over such topics as how stories can be part of the transformative healing of intergenerational trauma, and the ethics involved in using stories—are they transforming or deforming? The panel discussion with Professor Kearney, Mark Knight of the U of T English department, writer Anne Michaels and ICS’ own Ron Kuipers was equally engaging, covering the ways stories are used in public contexts such as films, and what Dr. Kearney named a “universal ethic of hospitality toward the stranger.” The day concluded with an evening performance of selections from the 66 Books Project and Ins Choi’s Subway Stations of the Cross.

We hope to be able to post the full lecture and panel discussion on YouTube soon, so keep an eye open for details!

New Video: Bob Sweetman "Why We Don’t Join Institutions Anymore"

Bob Sweetman's address to the 2008 ICS Worldview Conference is now available for viewing on YouTube. Links to both the paper and the video can be found in our Research Portal.

http://ics-edu-research.blogspot.ca/2012/08/why-we-dont-join-institutions-anymore.html.

Bob Goudzwaard Videos Available

Bob Goudzwaard's two addresses to the 2007 ICS Worldview Conference are now available on YouTube.

"Daring to Hope" is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpu_7zAa9Vk.

"The Gospel and Global Climate Change" is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIyXhjTx3bQ.

Random Channel 229 Posts

Most of you will remember a couple of off-schedule single-article Channel 229 emails that went out after our move to the new platform. We think we have figured out what was happening and will be implementing a fix after this Channel 229.

We thank you for your patience. We want to assure readers that Channel 229 has not become an irregular or frequent communications channel, what many people might think of as "spam". The fix we are implementing may require a little more patience as there is the odd chance that something new will go wrong, but we don't expect it. It is our earnest intention to keep Channel 229 a twice-monthly news digest, not a constant stream.

ICS Art Talks! 2012

Imagination’s Truths
Re-Envisioning Imagination in Philosophy, Religion, & the Arts

Saturday, October 13, 2012
Isabel Bader Theatre, Victoria University
93 Charles St. West, Toronto

AFTERNOON LECTURE and PANEL DISCUSSION 2:00 – 5:30pm free
Richard Kearney, Charles B. Seelig Chair of Philosophy, Boston College
“Narrative Imagination and Catharsis”
Panel
Richard Kearney, Philosophy, Boston College
Anne Michaels, author of Fugitive Pieces
Ron Kuipers, Philosophy of Religion, ICS
Mark Knight, English, University of Toronto
Moderator: Rebekah Smick, Philosophy of the Arts and Culture, ICS

EVENING PERFORMANCES 7:30 – 9:30pm $10 at the door / $5 students
Three plays drawn from the 66 Books Project, a collective response to the King James Bible, will be performed under the direction of Ins Choi and will feature noted Toronto actor Susan Coyne. Anne Michaels will, for the first time in Canada, give a reading of her poem for that project, “The Crossing”. Choi, author of recent hit Kim’s Convenience, will premiere his new poetry-based solo show, Subway Stations of the Cross.

For more information visit http://www.icscanada.edu/cprse/art-talks.

Perspective Now Available

Topics

• Religious language in the public sphere
• "Imagination's Truths" Art Talks! event
• New president for ICS
• New director of the CPRSE
• Social Justice & Human Rights conference
• 2012 Convocation

Read this issue online at 
perspective.icscanada.edu

Download the printable version at 
www.icscanada.edu/perspective

Shannon Hoff in Ottawa

Senior Member Shannon Hoff will be presenting a paper titled "Rights and Worlds” at the conference of the Canadian Society for Continental Philosophy, which will take place in Ottawa from October 11-13.

Doug Blomberg in Ancaster

Senior Member Doug Blomberg will be presenting a paper, "Teaching Fortress or Learning Headquarters", at the Edifide Christian Educators Convention at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, on October 25.

Lambert Zuidervaart in Langley, BC and St. Louis

Lambert Zuidervaart will give a keynote lecture during the Arts and Ethics conference at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC on October 18. The title for Lambert’s keynote is “Creating a Disturbance: Art, Ethics, and Relational Autonomy.” The lecture elaborates ideas from his recent book Art in Public: Politics, Economics, and a Democratic Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2011). For details about the conference, go to www.twu.ca/academics/samc/interdisciplinary/conferences/.

Lambert Zuidervaart will present a paper in a session on “Art, Religion, and the Sublime” at the annual meeting of the American Society for Aesthetics in St. Louis on October 25. Lambert’s paper discusses Hegel’s understanding of the Old Testament Psalms as “art of the sublime” and explores its relevance for contemporary art, religion, and philosophy. For details about the conference, go to www.aesthetics-online.org/events/index.php?events_id=410.

Truth Matters Volume to be Published

McGill Queen’s University Press, one of Canada’s leading academic publishers, plans to publish a volume of essays that stem from the Truth Matters conference hosted by ICS in 2010. Titled Truth Matters: Knowledge, Politics, Ethics, Religion, the book is edited by Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart and three current and former ICS Junior Members: Dr. Allyson Carr, Matthew Klaassen, and Ronnie Shuker. This is the first book publication to arise from the work of ICS’s new Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics.

ICS Research Portal

ICS-sponsored research informs policy-makers, educators, citizens and leaders.  This sometimes-invisible part of ICS work is becoming more accessible via our new Research Portal, a repository of summaries and citation information for publications by ICS faculty members.

Where possible, citation information will include links to online versions of the publications.  For example, Bob Sweetman's 2008 addresses on the future of the institutional church are available, as is Lambert Zuidervaart's “Art in Public: An Alternative Case for Government Arts Funding.”.

Find out more on the CPRSE home page.

Message from the President

One of the seminars I am teaching for ICS this Fall deals with the form of history keeping, of storytelling, that is culturally prominent today and goes under the name of genealogy and goes back to the caustic pen of Friedrich Nietzsche. I am also forging ahead with a book on Thomas Aquinas. It is hard to imagine a greater contrast in style of writing and thinking than these two.

Nietzsche is ever working to provoke confrontation with his reader, in which the reader will be compelled to have at one and the same time equal and opposite responses. She is to respond with horror/delight in a single contradictory movement of mind, heart and body. His style is avidly sarcastic and crudely vivid. His sentences are filled with images, evocative metaphors, oracular statements that seem to suggest whole universes of meaning just below the literal surface. His texts brood and attack, and do so, again, all at the same time. In its way, a Nietzschean text is like the “Leviathan” rollercoaster at Canada’s Wonderland. If one isn’t scared off by the colossus one is set to challenge (surely recklessly!), why then one undergoes an experience of abject abasement that is at the same time giddily exhilarating. One is left shaking from an extravagant highball of fear and adrenalin-fueled euphoria; one knows for a passing instant the sensation: “ALIVE!”

Thomas Aquinas by contrast rarely raises his writerly voice. His passion is ever understated. There is a reason for this reticence. His texts are to be instruments of a community of scholars. They are designed to support such community and so work to invite the reader’s willing cooperation. In this invitation to cooperation Aquinas trusts his readers in ways that Nietzsche does not. Nietzsche treats his readers as hostile witness to be shoved and cajoled, mocked and unmasked until they get angry and engage. The contrast extends to the writing. Aquinas works coolly using simple logical scaffolding to bring you on board intellectually. His texts work to build a structure and movement of thought expansive enough to include any thought you were likely to have ever had, especially that was available to you from the past in your education and participation in contemporary culture (if you lived in his thirteenth century) so that you would see your thoughts placed within that structure and moving toward the transformative ends the text invited you to consider. Logical fit clearly signalled in prefaces—that is how Thomas worked. Not confrontation but cooperation.

And yet there is a surprising connection between Nietzsche and Aquinas. They both make much of delight. For Nietzsche, successful texts must delight, not just horrify. Delight and the places of delight in human living are key markers in recovering the animality that is part and parcel of being human, of accepting the human condition and its particular opportunities for exaltation. His delights are obviously not going to be Aquinas’s, who is interested in the expansion and divine exaltation of the human condition we are offered when invited to be(come) God’s friends. Nevertheless, for Aquinas too, delight is hermeneutically important. One understands the sort of life led by paying attention to what delights a person. Does he delight in inquiring into and coming into the truth? Does this delight form the centre of his concrete living? Well then he is living a contemplative life. Does she delight in helping others, in working with mind and hand so as to ease burdens, protect the weak, and so on? Does such delight provide her the centre for her concrete living? Why, then, she is living the active life. Does she delight in the terror unleashed by the fury of her anger? Does nurturing that anger, stoking it higher and higher mark out the driving passion of his life (for whatever reason)? Then one lives an angry life; one is an angry person. And so on. Delight can lead to flourishing human living or to disastrous human living. But delight, for Thomas too, is the key to understanding the pattern of our living as persons and groups.

It seems to me that the importance accorded delight in these ever so different thinkers points to something of use when thinking about the vocation of Christian scholar, here too at ICS. Delight should also be an important marker for Christian scholarship. It should be a characteristic of Christian scholarship and of the scholarly communities that Christian communities found and maintain in order to pursue Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship should be a delight for Christian scholars, both as object and as aim. We should be delighted to interact with Christian scholarship from whatever source. We should be delighted just as much to encounter whatever is true and helpful from whatever source, even from Nietzsche, despite his contempt for the sense of the world he identified with Christ and his followers. Delight should accompany the work Christian scholars produce. It should take up its abode deep within their own breasts in gratitude for the privilege of such productions. Delight should also live in the hearts of those whose lives come to be enriched by the work of Christian scholars and Christian scholarly communities. The Psalmist knew a thing or two about delight in the service of Yahweh in the community of Yahweh’s people; quite as much as he knew about lament. It is my prayer this month that ICS in its work, in its service, in the totality of its life, in the lives of all who make up its community, will be marked by the huge delight that beckons all who have been called to think and write and, well, live in every imaginable way in this God’s world. I invite all who care about ICS to join me in that prayer.

For the President,

Bob Sweetman

Prayer Letter: October 2012

Monday, October 1: As the second month of the fall semester begins, we ask God's guidance and wisdom for all our Junior Members who are working hard in their courses and for a sense of balance as they deal with families and jobs as well. We pray too that student jobs will be found where they are needed.

Tuesday, October 2: We offer prayers of praise and gratitude for the talents of Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart, and Junior Members Dr. Allyson Carr, Matthew Klaassen and Ronnie Shuker, as the book they have edited, Truth Matters: Knowledge, Politics, Ethics, Religion, will be published.

Wednesday, October 3: The Leadership Team meets today. We pray for God’s guidance for this meeting.

Thursday, October 4: We continue to pray for blessings and energy for ICS President, Chris Gort, as he manages his many responsibilities and provides ICS with such excellent leadership.

Friday, October 5: Many of our Junior Members are working on their their Masters and PhD thesis projects. We pray for our Junior Members and ask that they will have time, concentration, and wisdom.

Monday, October 8: Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. As we celebrate and give thanks for the bounty of the harvest, may we reflect on the grace of God and the rewards of our labour. May we remember that ICS is sustained by both God's grace and the dedicated work of its support community, administrative staff, and Senior and Junior Members.

Tuesday, October 9: As the Thanksgiving weekend ends, we offer prayers of gratitude for the many people who have given ICS gifts of prayers, money, concern and appreciation. It is truly a blessing to have the interest and support of so many people.

Wednesday, October 10: The Interfaculty Colloquium will be held this afternoon. We pray for God’s blessing on all participants, and for good and positive insights that will further important academic work.

Thursday, October 11: Senior Member Shannon Hoff will be presenting a paper in Ottawa. We ask God to bless everyone attending this conference.

Friday, October 12: The Art Talks! event “Imagination’s Truths” opens tomorrow with a lecture, panel discussion and evening performance. We ask God to bless all who attend this event.

Monday, October 15: We are now fully into our new academic year! Give thanks for the insightful, talented, and hard working ICS faculty and staff, and pray for energy and enthusiasm to sustain with their workloads.

Tuesday, October 16: We ask God to bless the Rev. Dr. Thomas Wolthuis and Ms. Dawn Wolthuis who have been appointed to the position of President of the Institute for Christian Studies. We pray for energy and a smooth transition.

Wednesday, October 17: Today we ask for God's help for those who are struggling with cancer and other illnesses. We pray for strength, patience and for good results from treatment.

Thursday, October 18: Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart will be giving a keynote lecture in Langley BC today. We ask for blessings for all who are attending this event.

Friday, October 19: We ask God's help and guidance for all those who are doing advancement work for ICS. Please pray that support for the vision and mission of ICS continues to grow.

Monday, October 22: Reading Week begins today! Please pray that our Senior and Junior Members will be able to use this break from classes to catch up, get ahead, or use the week for whatever they may need to help them in their studies.

Tuesday, October 23: As Reading Week continues, please pray that it will be a fruitful week for the academic body at ICS as many Senior and Junior Members have projects they are working on beyond normal class work. Whether these are publications, papers for conferences, or other scholarly activities, pray that this week will afford extra time to make progress in these areas.

Wednesday, October 24: The Leadership Team meets today. We pray for God's wisdom to guide their discussions and decisions.

Thursday, October 25: Senior Member Doug Blomberg will be presenting a paper in Cambridge, ON and Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart will be presenting a paper in St. Louis. We pray for blessings on both of these events.

Friday, October 26: The Executive will be meeting tomorrow. We pray for God’s wisdom to guide their discussions.

Monday, October 29: Reading Week is over! We ask God for insight, energy and enthusiasm for everyone who is returning to classes this week.

Tuesday, October 30: We ask for God's blessing on those who are planning the Annual General Meeting to be held next month. We pray for energy and enthusiasm for all who are involved.

Wednesday, October 31: Please pray for the ICS Board recruitment process, that committed and able candidates for Board vacancies will be offered to the ICS membership for approval this fall.

New Journal: Critical Research on Religion

Lambert Zuidervaart, ICS professor of philosophy and previous director of the CPRSE,  is on the advisory board of Critical Research on Religion, a new peer-reviewed, international journal from Sage Publications focusing on the development of a critical theoretical framework and its application to research on religion.  The first issue is scheduled for April 2013.  Articles are being invited now.  Learn more at crr.sagepub.com

Jelle Huisman in Madrid

Junior Member Jelle Huisman is presenting a paper about "translation as/of philosophy" at the International Conference of the Philosophy and Translation Research Project in Madrid on September 26.

Wolterstorff Public Lecture Video Now Online

The video of the public lecture "Must Love and Justice be Forever at Odds?" presented by Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff on April 27, 2012 at the Social Justice and Human Rights Conference sponsored by ICS and Emmanuel College is now available for viewing at youtu.be/MkxToRMjt1A

The text of this lecture remains available at
www.icscanada.edu/repository/2012/Nicholas-Wolterstorff-Lecture-20120427

Prayer Letter: September 2012

Monday, September 3:  We pray for guidance and energy for all those participating in the Registration and Orientation Week and the annual ICS community fall retreat later this week.
 

Tuesday, September 4:  This is Registration Day for our returning Junior Members. We pray for safe travel for all new and returning Junior Members who are coming to study at ICS this fall.  As the students arrive, we ask God to help with energy and flexibility for their back-to-school transition.
 

Wednesday, September 5:  Today is ICS's Community Fall Retreat. This event has traditionally served as a wonderful start to another year of our life together at ICS and we pray that this year will be no exception.
 

Thursday, September 6:  Today is Registration Day for our eight new Junior Members. We offer prayers of thanks for the addition of eight new Junior Members to the ICS community this fall. Please continue to remember them in your prayers as they make the final preparations and transitions this summer in order to begin their program studies here next week.
 

Friday, September 7:  We thank God for all of our Junior Members and ask God to bless them as they begin another year of studies at ICS.
 

Monday, September 10:  The first week of classes begins today! The first course of the new academic year starts today: "Biblical Foundations" with Senior Member Nik Ansell. We ask for God's blessing on all the course participants.
 

Tuesday, September 11:  Two new courses begin today: "Nietzsche, Foucault and the Genealogical Approach to the History of Philosophy" and "Religion, Life & Society: Reformational Philosophy", both with Dr. Bob Sweetman. We offer prayers for God's blessing on all the course participants.
 

Wednesday, September 12:  Today is the first class of two new courses: "Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit" and "Person, Family, and Society", both with with Senior Member Shannon Hoff.
 

Today the new Junior Members will be visiting the Toronto School of Theology and the University of Toronto Library. We pray for an informative experience for all the participants.
 

Also, we remember in prayer Jennifer Constantine-Jackson, a ThD candidate at Regis College under the direction of ICS's Bob Sweetman, who will defend her thesis titled "Redeemed Conversation: Selected Medieval Contributions to a Theology of Discourse" today.
 

Thursday, September 13:  Today is the first day of three new courses: "The Aesthetics of Compassion" and "Art, Religion, & Theology", both with Senior Member Rebekah Smick, and "Community, Faith & Judgement: Hannah Arendt & Religious Critique" with Senior Member Ron Kuipers. We pray for God's blessing on all the course participants.
 

Friday, September 14:  Today is the first class of Senior Member Nik Ansell’s course "The Ground of Be(com)ing/The Horizon of Hope: Creation, Time, Eschatology". We ask for God's blessing on all the course participants.
 

Monday, September 17:  Three distance education courses begin this week: "Ways of Learning" with Senior Member Doug Blomberg, "Art, Religion, and Theology" with Senior Member Rebekah Smick, and "Person, Family and Society" with Senior Member Shannon Hoff. We pray to God to bless all the course participants,
 

Tuesday, September 18:  We offer prayers of gratitude and give thanks to you, the many supporters who have presented ICS with gifts of prayer, money, and expressions of appreciation, especially during the quieter summer months. We truly value our relationship with you, as we are constantly blessed with your interest and support.
 

Wednesday, September 19:  Today is the first Academic Council meeting of the 2012-2013 academic year. We pray for God's wisdom to guide the discussions and decisions at this meeting.
 

Thursday, September 20:  We remember with gratitude the life of Margaret O'Gara, ecumenical theologian extraordinaire, and holder since 2007 of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto Chair in Systematic Theology at the Faculty of Theology of the University of St. Michael's College. She was long a dear friend of our own George Vandervelde and a tireless worker for mutual understanding between the various communions of the Christian Church. She died on 16 August 2012. May we remember her husband Michael Vertin, family and friends as they adjust to life without her gracious presence.
 

Friday, September 21:  Please pray for the ICS Board recruitment process, that committed and able candidates for Board vacancies will be offered to the ICS membership for approval this fall.
 

We offer prayers of praise for the talent of Junior Member Diane Bergsma who will be presenting a paper at Brock University this weekend.
 

Monday, September 24:  Today we pray for God's help for those who are struggling with illnesses. We ask God for strength, patience and for good results from treatment.
 

Tuesday, September 25:  We pray for energy and enthusiasm for those who are involved in planning the upcoming issue of Perspective.
 

Wednesday, September 26:  Today is the first Faculty meeting of the 2012-2013 academic year. We pray for God's wisdom to guide this meeting.
 

Junior Member Jelle Huisman is presenting a paper about "translation as/of philosophy" in Madrid today. We pray for energy and wisdom for the preparation and the presentation itself.
 

Thursday, September 27:  We ask God's help and guidance for all those who are doing advancement work for ICS. Please pray that support for the vision and mission of ICS continues to grow.
 

Friday, September 28:  We ask God to bless the Rev. Dr. Thomas Wolthuis and Ms. Dawn Wolthuis who have been appointed to the position of President of the Institute for Christian Studies. We pray for energy and a smooth transition.
 

Message from the President

The story of the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon areas of the British Isles is recorded in the work of an eighth-century monk, Bede, in his Ecclesiastical Histories. I admit the title does not scream out “Best Seller” and yet the story it tells is a fascinating one. Implicit within its narrative are two ways of addressing the world with the story of Jesus and the triune God he incarnates. The first way is to address oneself to the powerful and to point to Jesus and the God of the Scriptures as the All-powerful One able to grant to his followers the force they need to maintain themselves in the war-soaked world they inhabit. That is: Christ is presented as a war-god powerful enough to conquer death itself.

Bede admits that the stratagem worked more or less. Many of the Anglo-Saxon kinglets converted to the war-god Christ in hopes of gaining an advantage in battle. Of course, military defeat would create a problem. Where was the power of the Christ-followers’ God? I have pledged my troth and yet I am defeated. The story of the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons when viewed from this vantage point is a dizzying story of conversions and apostasies in which the pattern of conversion and apostasy maps rather well onto the military fortunes of the many kinglets struggling against each other for dominance. In Bede’s view, every missionary success of this kind remained achingly fragile. The discovery of a gravesite in the 1920s bears eloquent witness to the state of affairs Bede captures in his Histories. It is a noble burial site, Sutton Hoo. The spaces nearest the “front” of the site and its entranceway are filled not only with symbols of the wealth of the deceased in gold and weapons and conveyances, but also symbols of the Christian religion. Here was a follower of the Christ acknowledging his fealty and his expectation that his fealty would lead him into that rich reward that Christ’s power held in promise. But as one moves into the back recesses of the gravesite one sees other religious symbols recognizably attached to the gods Odin and Woden, the age-old gods of Angle and Saxon warriors. Clearly our Christian noble was hedging his bets, playing both sides of the fence in order to see who emerged the strongest and hence able to bring him into his reward.

This story of presenting Jesus as war-god is a story that Bede wants his readers to learn to look past. There is a second story he wants us to learn to look for. This story focuses on the peoples of the land in their interaction with Christian monastic communities that established themselves on the land. These communities functioned as houses of constant prayer on behalf of the surrounding peoples. They also became sources of emergency labour, medical skill, safe storage for the wealth of the peoples (their grain), centres of poor relief, places of refuge against the blood lust of warriors. Bede insisted that all of these social goods were accompanied with prayer; they marked out the intercessory love of the Christian community in these far flung landscapes. And the peoples of those lands took note. They began to associate with such communities, such oases of peace, to patronize them, to look to them and their God in their need, for their prayer and their care became inextricable in popular imagination. Slowly, the popular sense of the world was reoriented Christ-ward and for good.

Of course, Bede was a monk. He was a member of one of the most successful of all of these early monastic communities. His narrative is self-serving, to be sure. The witness of the monks was itself imperfect. Still, Bede’s second story is also perceptive and says something about societal change that should give small communities like that of ICS and its supporters cause for hope as it moves into its forty-fifth year of operation.

Cultural transformation is an incremental thing. It is not about juxtaposing truth and the lie in one gigantic antithesis such that the lie is exposed and done away with for good and all. There is no kingdom-in-our-generation; the world just isn’t built like that. There is no place where you can say this is an area of the truth pure and simple, or this is a phenomenon of the lie and nothing but the lie. Truth and lie are all mixed up together, like the wheat and the tares of the biblical parable. Just as the lie perverts truth, so the truth transforms a lie. This is what we bear witness to when we search for and seek to express the truth of the world in our living, thinking and speaking. The truth transforms the lie. Of course the situation that emerges is still ambiguous, a mixture of both. But the world can be changed in important ways from these humble beginnings. And when that happens, the bit of the world so affected moves a little closer to its Maker. That is how a world of faith is built, one small and quiet step at a time.

Bede saw that well. The inconstancy of faith in the courts of the kings went on and on, while the quiet work of the monks was invisible from castle walls. But in the end the monks’ witness led to a transformation so powerful that it changed the courts of the kings. A large good from small beginnings. May ICS too contribute to our world’s large goods. May our contribution too be reckoned a part of the long tradition of Christ-following that stretches back to Bede’s monks and beyond, building something wonderful from what might be termed modesty itself. Perhaps this is a prayer we could all endorse and enact at the beginning of a new academic year.

For the President,

Bob Sweetman

The New Fall Semester Begins at ICS!

This month marks the beginning of the new fall semester at ICS. There are nine courses starting next week:  

Biblical Foundations with Dr. Nik Ansell  

Nietzsche, Foucault and the Genealogical Approach to the History of Philosophy with Dr. Bob Sweetman  

Religion, Life & Society: Reformational Philosophy with Dr. Bob Sweetman  

Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit with Dr. Shannon Hoff

 Person, Family, and Society with Dr. Shannon Hoff  

The Aesthetics of Compassion with Dr. Rebekah Smick  

Community, Faith & Judgement: Hannah Arendt & Religious Critique with Dr. Ron Kuipers  

Art, Religion, & Theology with Dr. Rebekah Smick  

The Ground of Be(com)ing/The Horizon of Hope: Creation, Time, Eschatology with Dr. Nik Ansell

Three distance courses are offered this semester:  

Ways of Learning with Dr. Doug Blomberg  

Art, Religion, and Theology with Dr. Rebekah Smick  

Person, Family and Society with Dr. Shannon Hoff

For course descriptions and timetables, please visit www.icscanada.edu/academics.

Diane Bergsma at Brock University

Junior Member Diane Bergsma will be presenting a paper titled “Bataille and Kristeva: a Sacred Sovereignty” at the Brock University Philosophical Society conference on Georges Bataille. This conference will take place on September 20-22 in St. Catharines, Ontario.

ICS announces results of successful presidential search

The Rev. Dr. Thomas Wolthuis and Ms. Dawn Wolthuis have been appointed to the position of President of the Institute for Christian Studies. They will succeed Mr. Chris Gort on January 1, 2013.

 “We went into this search process in a posture of faith and discernment, not really knowing what would happen,” said Bob Sweetman, a faculty representative on the Search Committee. “What happened is rather remarkable. Tom Wolthuis brings to ICS a grounding in the Kuyperian theological and worldview tradition, an entrepreneurial can-do ethic to be seen in a past life as a church planter, an easy manner with people that allows him to communicate effectively across a broad religious and intellectual spectrum, and last but not least, a wide open embrace of the adventure laid before him.

 “Dawn brings an energetic, forthright and systematic mind and imagination, a history of business and marketing experience (and enthusiasm) now focused upon using her academic training in mathematics and computer science in service of academic institution building. Together, they combine a range of abilities one could not reasonably expect to find in a single applicant. The chance to have all that talent and energy in ICS’s corner just had to be an answer to our prayers.”

As Professor of Theology at Dordt College, Iowa for the past ten years, Tom Wolthuis served as department chair and taught a range of courses from Biblical foundations and Christian perspectives to worship, youth ministry and spiritual formation. He previously taught New Testament theology at Northrise University in Ndola, Zambia, and Religion and Theology and Communications Arts and Sciences at Calvin College, Michigan. Tom is also an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church. Tom has a PhD in Religion from Duke University, a Master of Theology and a Master of Divinity from Calvin Theological Seminary.

Dawn Wolthuis is an experienced Information Technology and Higher Education consultant with over 20 years experience; she is a former teacher of Mathematics and Computer Science at Calvin College. She has a Master’s degree in Mathematics from Michigan State University.

 The appointment of the Wolthuises comes as ICS actively explores new institutional collaborations in research and teaching with academic partners in North America and Europe. “Tom and Dawn’s vision and experience in promoting Christian higher education and their excitement about active involvement in the Canadian context will be clear assets as they contribute to the strengthening of institutional partnerships, support the ICS’s teaching and mentoring of students in interdisciplinary philosophy and theology, and engage in public outreach,” said Board of Trustees Chair, Henriette Thompson.

Tom describes his goal as “helping people and organizations grow in the Gospel and ministry in the world by inspiring them to envision possibilities and develop new ways to serve.” Dawn has “a passion for identifying patterns that help anticipate future trends… and to help organizations direct their partnerships and projects toward the future.”

ICS’s appointment of Tom and Dawn Wolthuis to the position of ICS President is the result of an extensive search process that began in August 2011 and was conducted by a search committee of eight. “Committee members had the privilege of talking about the ICS and its educational mission with several people who were interested in the position. Our conversations with them about a strong and vital role for ICS into the future encouraged us to believe in the importance of that mission and the community that supports it,” said Aileen Van Ginkel, search committee chair.

The Wolthuises will begin their orientation to the presidential role on October 1 with current President, Chris Gort. The fall will be an opportunity for them to begin meeting faculty, students, staff, Senate and Board members, supporters and academic partners in Canada in preparation to assuming the presidency role on January 1, 2013.

Tom and Dawn have two grown daughters and two grandchildren residing in the US. Additional information about Tom and Dawn Wolthuis will become available on the ICS web site:

August 2012 Prayer Letter

Wednesday, August 1: Jennie Olthuis, mother of Senior Member Emeritus Jim Olthuis and mother-in-law of ICS President Chris Gort, passed away last month. Please remember the family in your prayers.

Thursday, August 2: The Presidential Search Committee is continuing the process of recruiting a new president for ICS. We ask God to guide their work and we pray that they will find the right person for the position.

Friday, August 3: Kenton Van Pelt, the 15 year old son of Cardus President Michael Van Pelt and Dr. Deani Neven Van Pelt, tragically passed away last week. Please remember the family in your prayers.

Monday, August 6: Today is our Civic Holiday in Canada. We pray that it will be an enjoyable time for rest and relaxation with loved ones.

Tuesday, August 7: Today we pray for God's help for those who are struggling with illnesses. We ask God for strength, patience and for good results from treatment.

Wednesday, August 8: We continue to pray for safe and pleasant journeys and we pray for rest and renewal for the Senior Members and Administrative Staff who are enjoying vacations this month.

Thursday, August 9: Harold Recker, father-in-law of Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart, passed away last month. Please remember the family in your prayers.

Friday, August 10: We offer prayers of gratitude and give thanks to you, the many supporters who have presented ICS with gifts of prayer, money, and expressions of appreciation, particularly through these quieter summer months. We are constantly blessed with your interest and support.

Monday, August 13: Senior Members often spend much of the summer developing course curriculum and giving attention to research projects. We are extremely grateful for the work of our Senior Members and ask for God's blessing on them.

Tuesday, August 14: We ask God to bless Allyson Carr as she begins her work as Associate Director of the CPRSE.

Wednesday, August 15: Summer is here and many people are planning vacations. Many members of the ICS community will be traveling in the summer months to spend time with family and friends. We pray for safe travel and that the time spent with loved ones would be rich and refreshing.

Thursday, August 16: Shawn Stovell and Jeff Hocking are undertaking the work to develop an ICS alumni network to be launched in May 2013. Please pray for a vibrant alumni network.

Friday, August 17: We ask God to bless Jeffrey Hocking as he joins the ICS administrative team as Student Services & Financial Aid Officer.

Monday, August 20: We pray for blessings on Alumnus Daniel Napier as he begins his work as Assistant Professor of Theology at Austin Graduate School of Theology.

Tuesday, August 21: Last month Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart began a sabbatical. We pray for wisdom and energy for him as he works.

Wednesday, August 22: The summer months are often a time when Junior Members can give sustained attention to their Masters and PhD thesis projects. We pray for our Junior Members and ask for God's blessing and guidance on their research and writing.

Thursday, August 23: We ask God's help and guidance for all those who are doing advancement work for ICS. Please pray that support for the vision and mission of ICS continues to grow.

Friday, August 24: We pray for stamina and wisdom for Senior Member Doug Blomberg as he continues in his role as Academic Dean.

Monday, August 27: For all the Senior Members who are busy with the final preparation for their fall classes, we pray for guidance and stamina.

Tuesday, August 28: We celebrate the addition of eight new Junior Members to the ICS community this fall, and we remember them in our prayers as they make the final preparations and transitions over the summer in order to begin their studies in September.

Wednesday, August 29: Work continues to prepare the next edition of Perspective. We ask God's blessing and guidance for those involved.

Thursday, August 30: We pray for safe travel for all new and returning Junior Members who are coming to study at ICS this fall.

Friday, August 31: We pray for guidance and energy for all those participating in the preparations for Registration and Orientation Week and the annual ICS community fall retreat next week.

Message from the President

I have come to the conclusion, after trying my hand at it for a while, that second-guessing God is an exhausting business. It is not that I've changed my mind on the state of the world. I have not decided in the meantime that things always occur in an order that intuitively makes sense; in which it is obvious that all is as it should be, in which it is clear that justice is being served. No, unfairness is everywhere; it is as ubiquitous as is the fairness it detracts from and perverts. In the world you and I inhabit, and for as far back as anyone has ever had it revealed to them, not everyone gets their due. Bad things happen to good people and the wicked prosper. Some are granted advantage because of the shape of their genome, or accidents of social and cultural position, or of the plenty or lack to be found within their environment, both human and natural. Who can figure out how it all ought to go together? In the face of a sorrow accumulated as one tragedy piles upon another it is ever so tempting to look over God's shoulder, to wonder silently or out loud what this or that is all about, why she had to suffer, how he could get away with that. Really, from our point of view the Master of the Universe has an impossible job. How could anyone provide justly in such a complex and ambiguous world: gloriously created but universally marred, if pregnant with re/new/al? It seems to me that the wisdom underlying that creakily Reformed theological summary T.U.L.I.P. is precisely the gut-deep recognition that the Master of the Universe has a humanly impossible job and we in faith and gratitude are happy enough to stop looking over his shoulder second-guessing, that we are quite prepared to let him get on with things, and to live out of the freedom inherent within that preparation. Of course, T.U.L.I.P. was focused upon what obsessed people of the sixteenth-century, the matter of personal salvation and how one was to account for its possibility and presence. One could and should bring it up to date to deal with social and cultural flourishing etc. That too comes under the pedagogy of the Master of the Universe; that too is an impossible thing to sort out and order justly, at least from a human point of view, that providence too we do well to leave in God's hands. O, I love the psalmist's chutzpah, the prophetic cheek that allows one of us mere mortals to call the Master of the Universe to account. I love the profligate expenditure of ethical energy, the moral pluck of it all. I love it because I know what that act costs. If one is to question God, one becomes co-responsible in a way for the ordering and providing. Some are happy to proclaim such co-responsibility; to see it as a glorious opportunity of faith. But, I am grateful not to shoulder that burden, or rather, having tried, to lay it down. No, I would much rather work hard to flourish as person, to live a life of service in this marvellous creation of our Lord, trusting in that Lord to use my life and effort as a small part of his providence. Questions like: Why cancer? Why such a fragile life for ICS? Why not a richer academic witness to God's reign in the world?—I am happy to offer them up in prayer and so hand them over to the One I serve so as to get on with the business of serving—or at least that is true on my better days. I think that in a way a grateful being willing to let things go in order to serve more wholeheartedly has been a hallmark of ICS's internal spirituality at its best. It is certainly something I have noted in the first generation of ICS Senior Members, especially, on their better days. It is something I would offer as a spiritual exercise for those of you who pray for ICS's well-being. Gather up the difficult concerns, those impossible conundrums that find a home in all our lives of faith and hand them over to the Master of the Universe. Let him get on with his job, so that you and ICS can get on with ours . . . in his Providence, of course.

For the President,

Bob Sweetman

Deepest Sympathy for the Van Pelt Family

It is with great sadness that we relay the news of the sudden passing this past weekend of Kenton Van Pelt, the 15 year old son of Cardus President Michael Van Pelt and Dr. Deani Neven Van Pelt, who also serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow. Kenton's death came while swimming with family at a cottage on Saturday afternoon.

The ICS community extends its deepest sympathy to the Van Pelt family, and we ask that you keep Michael, Deani and their two daughters, Andrea and Meghan, in your prayers during this most difficult time.

Allyson Carr new Associate Director of CPRSE

ICS is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Allyson Carr to the position of Associate Director of the CPRSE.

Over the past year, Allyson has served ICS as Coordinator of Events, and also as a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant to the CPRSE. In the latter capacity, she played an integral role in planning the highly successful Social Justice and Human Rights conference, and also managed the CPRSE blog Ground Motive (http://www.groundmotive.net/).

Allyson holds a Ph.D. from ICS, making ICS history as the first doctoral candidate to graduate in our "ICS-only" Ph.D. stream.

Director of Finance and Administration Update

Claire Veenstra, our Director of Finance and Administration, took a leave of absence last November. She has regretfully informed us that she will not be returning to ICS. We will greatly miss her. Since her start in August of 2008 Claire has been an integral part of the Leadership Team at the ICS and has contributed greatly in her capacity of Director of Finance and Administration and often beyond. Her dedication to the ICS was remarkable and exemplary. We wish her well in her future endeavours.

As an interim measure we engaged Ed Hayley to fill the position while Claire was away. Ed started in January of this year. We are happy to announce that, after consultation with the members of the Leadership Team, Ed has agreed to fill the vacancy left by Claire's resignation. We have been delighted with the capable way in which he has filled the temporary opening and are happy that there will be continuity in this position.

Convocation Videos Available

For those of you who missed the addresses and conferrals of honorary doctorates, or who just want to see them again, videos of the addresses and conferrals of Samson Makhado and Fred Reinders are now available at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL04CEF56D269C03A0

ICS Welcomes Jeffrey Hocking

Following four years of capable service in the ICS Junior Member Work/Study campus employment program, we are pleased to announce that Jeffrey Hocking as joined the ICS administrative team as Student Services & Financial Aid Officer. Working with Shawn Stovell, Associate Academic Dean & Registrar, Jeff's part-time portfolio focuses on recruitment and admissions initatives while serving as ICS' point-person for external financial aid granting agencies. Simply put, Jeff is a familiar and very welcome addition to the ICS administrative team.

Channel 229 is Moving

In order to comply with new federal law governing email lists and to keep the workload related to publishing ICS news and other communications managable, we are changing how Channel 229 email is distributed. To keep receiving Channel 229 and find out more about this change please visit www.icscanada.edu/channel229

The last issue of Channel 229 will be issue 205, the mid-August issue. After this Channel 229 will become a periodic email digest of ICS News, which is our news blog; still twice-monthly but not given issue numbers.

Lambert Zuidervaart’s Essay in Philosophia Reformata

The latest issue of the journal Philosophia Reformata includes a new essay by Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart. Titled “How Not To Be an Anti-Realist: Habermas, Truth, and Justification,” it responds to a debate about truth in analytic philosophy, as formulated by Alvin Plantinga. Zuidervaart proposes a new understanding of propositional truth, one that emphasizes the interdependence between “mind” and “object” and their multidimensional character. The essay, which arises from Lambert’s keynote address at ICS’s Truth Matters Conference in 2010, appears in Philosophia Reformata 77 (2012): 1-18.

Doug Blomberg Presenting Paper in Finland

Senior Member Doug Blomberg will be participating in the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values from July 29 to August 3. The theme of this year's conference is "Respecting History and Remembrance in Religious Education Research". Doug will present a paper titled "A Narrational, Multi-dimensional Approach to Religious Education Research". (It so happens that the conference will be held in Turku, Finland, where Doug's great-grandfather hailed from.)

Ron Kuipers New Director of CPRSE

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ron Kuipers as Director of our Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics, and Dr. Allyson Carr as Associate Director. Ron takes over from Dr. Lambert Zuidervaart, who served as Founding Director in 2010–2012.

Ron is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at ICS. Together Ron and Allyson hope to follow up on the strong start the Research Centre has achieved under Lambert Zuidervaart's direction, continuing to promote intellectual dialogue in various contexts at the boundaries of philosophy, religion, and social ethics.

The Centre is dedicated to research at the intersection of interdisciplinary philosophy, inter-religious dialogue and social ethics. It organized the recent conference on Social Justice and Human Rights, and it plans to sponsor major collaborative research projects in the future.

Shannon Hoff in Italy

Senior Member Shannon Hoff is going to Città di Castello in Italy from July 8-29 to attend the Collegium Phaenomenologicum. This is a three-week program called “On the Question of Life in Ancient Greek Philosophy”. This program consists of a series of lectures and seminars.

Convocation on May 12

On Saturday, May 12, 2012, the Institute for Christian Studies will be celebrating the successful program completion of nine Junior Members in a Convocation ceremony held at St. Joseph Chapel in Regis College. At the event, ICS will be conferring the Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) upon Dr. Samson Makhado and Mr. Fred Reinders who will both be giving convocation addresses.

Social Justice and Human Rights Conference a Success

The Social Justice and Human Rights Conference took place on April 27-28 with more than 145 people in attendance during the course of the two days. “It was a very successful event,” Conference Director Lambert Zuidervaart reports, “and it creates room for more conversations in the future. I am very grateful for the support shown by ICS donors, granting agencies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Priscilla and Stanford Reid Trust, and several conference sponsors.” Co-hosted by the ICS Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics (CPRSE) and by Emmanuel College, the conference will give rise to further dialogue on CPRSE’s Ground Motive web log (http://www.groundmotive.net). Highlights will appear in session summaries and a conference documentary video, which are currently being prepared. Stay tuned to CPRSE’s webpage (http://www.icscanada.edu/cprse) for the latest details.

Albert Boerema appointed as Adjunct Faculty

Dr. Albert Boerema has been appointed as an ICS Adjunct Faculty member. Boerema is a former high school principal who is now a professor at Calvin College. He will teach Introduction to Educational Leadership at the 2012 Summer Institute at Redeemer University College, July 3-13. This course is accredited for CSTC. Enrolment deadline: 1 June 2012. Course description and syllabus: http://courses.icscanada.edu/search/label/S12 Registration: http://www.icscanada.edu/academics/course-registration-form

From Commemoration to Strategy

This past February ICS and Citizens for Public Justice together sponsored a two day event to both commemorate the Christian activism of Gerald Vandezande and speak about the future of faith-based advocacy work in light of his example.  The move from commemoration to strategizing for the future was made via a panel of three Vandezande collaborators who had worked with Gerald in three different dimensions of his career.  Linda Tripp spoke of Gerald's long collaboration with evangelical activists pushing for an authentic evangelical concern for social justice.  John Hiemstra spoke as a Reformed Christian social theorist about Gerald's long efforts to entice such theorists to theorize in service of the struggle for economic and social justice.  Javed Akbar spoke of Gerald's enthusiasm for interreligious dialogue and solidarity around a shared religious concern for concrete action on behalf of society's vulnerable and weak in the name of justice.  Together these talks bore witness to the remarkable vocation of Gerald Vandezande, to be sure.  But they did more; they also made a statement about the intersection of theory, religion and social ethics/action.  In so doing they express something important about that intersection that reminds us at ICS of what we are trying to think through in our teaching and scholarship, and especially in our Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics.  That is why we felt it only fitting to make the texts of these talks available to our readers at http://www.icscanada.edu/repository/2012/GeraldVandezandeReflections

Registration Deadline for Social Justice Conference

We have limited space for conference attendees and registrations are now filling quickly. For anyone who is still contemplating attending the conference, we encourage you to register in advance as soon as possible through the conference website http://conference.icscanada.edu. The deadline for advance registration is Wed. April 25, provided that space remains available.

Alternately, for those not able to attend the conference, we hope you will join us for Nicholas Wolterstorff’s public lecture “Must Love and Justice Forever Be at Odds?” on Friday, April 27 at 8:00 pm. To be held at Northrop Frye Hall, 73 Queen’s Park Cres., a reception with refreshments will follow the lecture, providing an opportunity to meet the speaker. Admission to this event is only $10 (in advance). Tickets can be ordered online at http://conference.icscanada.edu/registration or by calling Kathy at ICS reception, 416-979-2331 ext. 221 (or toll-free 1-888-326-5347).

Rabbi Michael Stroh Joins Social Justice Conference

Rabbi Michael Stroh Joins Social Justice Conference

The CPRSE is excited to announce that Rabbi Michael Stroh will now join the plenary panel "Religion and Human Rights in Canada: Judaism, Christianity and Islam" to take place on Friday morning, April 27 at the Social Justice and Human Rights Conference. Rabbi Stroh is Rabbi Emeritus at Temple Har Zion in Thornhill, Ont. and has served as president of the Toronto Board of Rabbis. He was a chair of the Reform Round Table of the Central Conference of American Rabbis which dealt with questions concerning the content of Reform Judaism. He teaches regularly at Kolel: A Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning. Rabbi Stroh replaces Rabbi Roy Tanenbaum who was regrettably unable to continue with his role on this panel due to serious health concerns.

Dr. Balanganani Samson Makhado Speaking in Oakville on May 11

On May 11 at 7:30 pm, the ICS and Edifide will be co-hosting a presentation by Dr. Balanganani Samson Makhado on the topic of “Transformational Education: An African Vision” at King’s Christian Collegiate, located at 528 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Oakville ON. Dr. Makhado has been involved in the Christian education movement for more than twenty years and is currently the Africa Director for the Association of Christian Schools International. He will be receiving an honorary doctorate from the ICS the following day. Come join us for what is sure to be an exciting and transformative evening!

Social Justice and Human Rights Conference Updates

Marie Wilson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) will join the workshop panel "Restoration or Retribution? Tensions in the Adjudication of Justice" scheduled for the morning of April 28. Ms. Wilson is currently serving as a Commissioner with the TRC based in Yellowknife, NWT and comes from a 25-year career as a broadcaster with the CBC in radio and television as a regional and national reporter, television program host, and Regional Director for northern Quebec and the northern Territories.

The public lecture "Must Love and Justice Forever Be at Odds?" by Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff now has separate tickets available on the conference website's registration page. The lecture will take place in Northrop Frye Hall (University of Toronto) at 8:00 pm on Friday April 27. Dr. Wolterstorff is Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology Emeritus at Yale University and author of Justice: Rights and Wrongs.

A networking and discussion session oriented towards practitioners has been added to the schedule at 1:30 pm on Saturday April 28. The session will focus on how to engage and equip constituents on topics of social justice and human rights.

Conference tickets are nearly half sold. More information about the conference can be found on the conference website at http://conference.icscanada.edu.

PERSPECTIVE

We are pleased to have published the February 2012 issue of PERSPECTIVE. Please click on http://www.icscanada.edu/perspective/ to read or download this issue. Enjoy!

Shannon Hoff Presenting Papers

On Thursday, April 5, Senior Member Shannon Hoff will give a paper to the Hegel Society of America at the meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Seattle. The paper is called "Hegel and the Legal Conditions of Action."

On Saturday, April 14, Senior Member Shannon Hoff will give a paper called "From Principle to Feminist Practice" at the annual meeting of Philosophia, at Miami University in Ohio.

Public Outreach Grant

ICS’s Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics (CPRSE) has received a Public Outreach Grant worth nearly $32,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). CPRSE Director Lambert Zuidervaart says the grant will help pay a portion of travel expenses for panelists and speakers at the Social Justice and Human Rights conference on April 27-28. It also supports our making a professional conference video. ICS is very pleased with SSHRC’s endorsement of this important conference.

Nicholas Wolterstorff Lecture in Toronto - April 27

In conjunction with the Social Justice and Human Rights Conference to be presented by the ICS Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics and Emmanuel College in late April, Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff will give a public lecture titled “Must Love and Justice Forever Be at Odds?” Dr. Wolterstorff is the Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology Emeritus from Yale University and he will be one of the keynote speakers at the conference.

For nearly two millennia, discussions in the West about love and justice have emphasized the tension or incompatibility between them. In his lecture, Dr. Wolterstorff will point to the paradoxes this view yields. Then he will present a different understanding of love and justice: Love incorporates justice; they are not in tension, even though love often goes beyond what justice requires.

This event will be held at 8:00 pm on Friday, April 27 at Northrop Frye Hall (University of Toronto) and is open to the general public. A reception with refreshments will follow the lecture, with an opportunity to meet the guest speaker. Admission to this event is only $10 (in advance). Advance tickets can be ordered through the registration section of the conference website http://conference.icscanada.edu/registration or call Kathy at ICS, 416-979-2331 ext 221. The Northrop Frye building is located close to the TTC Museum station and U. of T. pay parking lots are available in the vicinity.

Everyone is invited to attend this engaging lecture!