Seminars

Lecturer 

Dr. Erik Olsman and several invited lecturers

Content 

Many people have spiritual questions during different phases in life. Frequently, they ask spiritual questions (in this course used interchangeably with existential questions), when facing illness, serving the army or having a criminal record. This seminar welcomes both Christian students and students with other religions or no religion. The objective of this seminar is to stimulate reflection on spiritual care, in the first place among chaplains (in spe), and secondly, among other professionals who (will) provide professional care for others.

During several meetings attention will be paid to the reflection on one’s own spirituality, which fits within the Protestant Theological University that recognizes the importance of one’s own spirituality in providing (multifaith) spiritual care to others and in teaching others on spiritual care. The lesson is based on classes, available evidence (for instance discussed during class), classes, one’s own authentic spirituality, and – if applicable – one’s own work experience.

Lecture day

Wednesday

Venue

PThU Amsterdam

Lecturer 

Prof. Rick Benjamins, professor of liberal theology

Content 

Liberal theology has its roots in the beginning of the nineteenth century. It criticized orthodox supernaturalism and Biblicism but underlined the importance of religion. At the beginning of the twentieth century it was sharply criticized by dialectical theologians, who forced it to redefine itself. In the course of the twentieth century liberal theology was criticized for being bourgeois by liberation theology, and fell victim to sharp critique from the postmodern side. Yet, a liberal theological tradition developed that tries to mediate Christianity and (post)modern culture.

In this course we will ask: what is liberal theology? We will pay attention to its great scholars, Schleiermacher, Troeltsch and Tillich. Next, we will focus on liberal theology – a modern way of doing theology – in a postmodern context. We will draw our attention to the work of Richard Kearney, John Caputo and Catherine Keller, whose theology presupposes a liberal theology, yet incorporates a postmodern point of view, and still upholds a religious perspective. They developed a theology of ‘God after God’ from various backgrounds and in different ways, yet seem to accord in several respects.

Lecture day

Friday

Venue

PThU Amsterdam

Lecturers 

• Dr. Aza Goudriaan, associate professor of church history (coordinator)
• Prof. Annette Merz, professor of new testament studies
• Prof. Klaas Spronk, professor of old testament studies
• Dr. Lieve Teugels, associate professor of Semitics and Jewish studies

Content 

Major crises have occurred throughout history. They have provoked responses that can be studied from different perspectives, including from the side of theology. Applying exegetical, literary, and historical methods, this course studies major crises from Old Testament times until the fifth century AD. For the Old Testament era, attention will be given to the prophet Jeremiah and to Lamentations. From the angle of Jewish Studies, excerpts of the Midrash on Lamentations, which reflects on the destruction of the two Jewish temples, will be analysed. From the early Christian perspective, we will also focus on the destruction of the (Second) temple and its theological interpretations as reflected in the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Finally, with regard to the late Roman Empire, we will read from responses by Augustine and Salvian of Marseilles to the disruptions (including the Sack of Rome in 410) that were caused by barbaric invasions.

By studying these different texts about crises, this course will hopefully also provide a theological repertoire that can be used in contemporary theological responses to current crises.

Lecture day

Friday

Venue

PThU Amsterdam or Groningen

Lecturer 

• Prof. Thijs Tromp, endowed professor of diaconal studies (coordinator)
• Dr. Erica Meijers, assistant professor of diaconal studies

Content 

The seminar is about Christian Social Practice (Diakonia) in Europe i.e., faith-based work for social justice, good care and inclusion, especially for people in the most vulnerable situations in society. In this seminar Christian Social Practice will not be understood as the practical application of Christian faith, but as an essential element of the identity of Christian communities.

This seminar focusses on the identity of Diakonia as a contextual practice. It includes the following topics:

1. theological foundations and perspectives on Diakonia (including key concept like charity, justice, inclusion, relationality and human dignity, the relation between Eucharist, meal sharing and Diakonia, conviviality, and the empty moment,
2. the position of diaconal work in Church and society (including a case study in a diaconal project of a Church or a diaconal organisation), and
3. the ethics of Diakonia with an emphasis on the value of mutuality and the dynamics of power within caring relationships.

Lecture day

Friday

Venue

PThU Amsterdam

Lecturers

• Prof. Annette Merz, professor of new testament studies
• Dr. Erica Meijers, assistant professor of diaconal studies
• Dr. Gert van Klinken, assistant professor of church history

Content

In this seminar, we critically reflect on the history of slavery and its heritage today in church, theology and society. The connection between slavery and racism is central in this Seminar. It focuses on the question how to overcome discourses and practices in church and theology which confirm and prolong slavery and racism. Drawing on biblical, historical, systematic-theological and practical theological scholarship, we will discuss practices and theological justifications of slavery and racism, but also traditions of resistance and renewal.

A first element of the course is slavery in the context of the first and second Testament. A second accent is the example of Jacobus E.J. Capitein, a formally enslaved black minister in the Netherlands during the 18th Century.  Thirdly, we will discuss the 20th Century image of a Black Christ. We will critically read texts, analyse a movie and look for traces of slavery in Groningen and Amsterdam during two field trips. The students will conclude the Seminar with a literature review and a paper on a topic of their own choice, related to the seminar.

Lecture day

Wednesday

Venue

PThU Groningen

Lecturers

Dr. Theo Pleizier, assistant professor of practical theology (coordinator), dr. Klaas Bom, associate professor of dogmatics and dr. Bosco Bangura, postdoctoral researcher (intercultural theology)

Content 

The study of spiritual practices combines two dimensions. Anthropologically, these practices concern human interactions, individual experiences and cultural expressions. Theologically, spiritual practices are about God’s Spirit and the presence of the Spirit in these cultural expressions and human interactions.

In this course we study spiritual practices according to these two dimensions. The first line in the course consists of the reconstruction of the pneumatological dimensions in three recent theologies from different cultural backgrounds in order to understand the relationship between cultures and the presence of the Spirit. The second line concerns the empirical study of spiritual practices according to participative and comparative methods. These practices are selected biographically and culturally.

The course is research based and we aim to discover

1. how recent theologies of the Spirit interact with spiritual practices and
2. how this contributes to further understanding the interface of pneumatology and culture.

During the course, students work towards a scholarly article on the interface of pneumatology and culture, by studying concrete examples of spiritual practices. In the classes we create a setting of a ‘writing workshop’ with methodical contributions on research and writing and theological content on pneumatology and spirituality. 

Lecture day

Wednesday

Venue

PThU Groningen

Lecturer

Dr. Rob Compaijen, postdoctoral researcher (philosophy, ethics)

Content 

Dignity – few concepts are so important and so contested in contemporary ethics. It is seen both as absolutely foundational for moral life and as vague, redundant concept. In this course we will investigate the idea of dignity and explore its meaning in ethics.

In the first part of the course we will focus on several theological and philosophical views on dignity. Is dignity a matter of rank, of living a life of fulfilment, of being an image of God, of having the capacity for autonomy – or something else altogether? Is dignity universal or does it apply to some and not others? Is it inalienable or can it be lost? Is it even a useful concept?

In the second part we will turn to issues in applied contexts in which the concept of dignity is thought to be important. Can the idea of dignity play a role in our relations to animals and perhaps even the natural world at large? How does dignity function in care ethics? What are the ramifications of human enhancement for our ideas about dignity? And what role does dignity play in (the debates on) end-of-life decision-making?

Lecture day

Friday

Venue

PThU Groningen

Lecturers 

• Dr. Marjo Korpel, associate professor of old testament studies (coordinator) 
• Dr. Paul Sanders, assistant professor of old testament studies

Content 

The Bible forms part of the broad literature of the ancient Near East, as is shown by many biblical references to customs, laws, religious concepts, etc., that were common in the context of the Bible. Even in the book of Revelation a lot of imagery has parallels in the ancient Near East. Of course, our growing knowledge of ancient Near Eastern thinking sheds new light on the way the Bible was used through the ages, in Judaism as well as Christianity. Also, it has important consequences for biblical exegesis and the way in which we can use the Bible in systematic theology, preaching, and so on.

In this course, students will develop insight into important theological themes in the Bible (e.g., Creation, Providence, Evil and the Devil, Morals, Covenant, Prayer, Sickness and Healing) that also play an important role in non-biblical texts from the ancient Near East. Both the correspondences and differences will be analysed. Students will write a paper in which they compare a passage or a theme from the Bible with relevant non-biblical texts from the ancient Near East. They will evaluate what the consequences are for the way in which Bible can be used in our own time and context. Knowledge of biblical Hebrew and/or Greek is recommendable.

A basic introduction to Ugaritic is optional. The analysis of non-biblical texts is done on the basis of English translations.

Lecture day

Friday

Venue

PThU Groningen

Lecturers 

• Prof. Benno van den Toren (coordinator) 
• Charles Christian, PhD candidate

Content 

In this course, we will explore recent theological developments in the theology of religions in so far as they as they have a bearing on the possibilities and praxis of intercultural encounter, learning and witness and life together. Specific attention will be given to the question of the finality of the revelation of God in Christ, the role of the Spirit and a spirituality that allows for confidence and openness and ‘prophetic dialogue’.

We will study some of the challenges of interreligious encounter with specific examples in view, particularly, but not exclusively with Islam. We will also discuss the implications of new phenomena such as dual religious belonging and so-called insider movements for interreligious encounter and witness. A final area of attention will relate to the political and social challenges of living together in religiously pluralist societies.

Lecture day

Friday

Venue

PThU Groningen

Lecturer 

Dr. Marten van der Meulen, Assistant professor of sociology of religion

Content 

It is our goal to observe, understand, articulate and critically evaluate the relationship between 'new' and 'old' forms of church, of 'liquid' and 'solid' or 'inherited' forms. Also, we try to observe, understand and critically evaluate the meaning of mission and church within a context of pioneering, church planting, diaconal-missional practices and new ecclesial communities. We study and discuss different views on mission, based on the works of Moynagh and Hoekendijk.

During the first part of the course we will engage in close reading of texts of these theologians, tracing their views on mission, church and the world in their different historical contexts. The second part of our course has a strong empirical component, where we will study new forms of developing church.

Informed by different views on mission, diakonia and ecclesiology, students will visit a new ecclesial community (e.g. a pioneer church, diaconal initiative, church plant) and conduct interviews and do observations. The field work and theoretical perspectives will be evaluated and discussed in class.

Lecture day

Friday

Venue

PThU Groningen

Lecturer 

Prof. Wim Moehn, Endowed professor of the history of reformed protestantism

Content 

Baptism and Lord’s Supper are the oldest and most fundamental practices of the Christian Church. In baptism, the life of the person receiving baptism is connected to the triune God. In reformed Protestantism, baptism is closely linked to the notion of the covenant. Baptism marks the inclusion in the covenant that God bestows. The relationship between God and the believer is therefore asymetric.

From the outset, the covenant has been very important for the foundations of the practice of child baptism. Today, the practice of baptizing children is called into question, because as autonomous individuals they do not have the opportunity to make their own decisions. What does this mean for the perception of baptism and the theology of baptism at a time when autonomy of the subject is paramount and the notion that one is part of a community plays much less of a role? Another question, which is being discussed to this day, is what happens when one is baptized. How is salvation mediated in the ritual? On the basis of central texts, a cross-section of Reformed theology will be offered over the centuries. Important names are Bullinger, Calvin, Olevianus, Menno Simons, Guy de Brès, Johannes Cocceius, and Karl Barth.

Lecture day

Wednesday

Venue

PThU Amsterdam

Lecturer 

Dr. Andreas Wöhle, assistant professor of Lutheran theology, and several invited lecturers

Content

The course aims at a kaleidoscopic and existential theological approach to central concepts of Lutheran theology. Two “windows” of access are chosen: reading of classical texts by Luther (in close reading) and the prism of the interpretation of Lutheran and existential concepts in theological practice of the theologian Dorothee Sölle. Current concepts of theology will also be tested for their contribution to re-thinking Scripture, tradition and the challenges of society.

In addition to close reading of Luther and Sölle, there will be thematic lectures and group discussions. Lutheran theology and spirituality will be analyzed as a critical and innovative paradigm in the light of the challenges of a (post-)postmodern society. Topics include:

• Lutheran concepts of "freedom"
• "faith" (as a relational gift, as freedom from the celebration of life in the relationship between community and una sancta)
• the doctrine of justification (as liberation from the compulsion to constructing a monadic ego)
• the doctrine of the faith and its use, misuse, reuse
• the problem of authority
• music as method for communicating Gospel and so on
• theology as revisionary metaphysics confronting the paradigm of self-aggrandizement

In summary: how to create new theological concepts in a burnout society devoid of grace?

Lecture day

Friday

Venue

PThU Amsterdam