IRT News

The Institute for Reformed Theology will convene its 2007-2009 national colloquy in September 2007.  Led by Dawn DeVries, the John Newton Thomas Professor of Systematic Theology at Union-PSCE, this colloquy, entitled “Prayer,” will address the theology of prayer from a number of different angles by reading many classic texts on the theology of prayer spanning the centuries from the text of scripture and earliest Christianity to the 20th century.  Thought will be given to varieties of practices of prayer and about the purpose of prayer in relation to God, the praying person, and the events or persons that are being prayed about.  There will discussions of recent research about the efficacy of intercessory prayer and about contexts for prayer and the difference that they make, as well as what it might mean for a prayer to be “answered.”  The debate between those who favor free prayer as opposed to set, written prayers will be discussed. Additionally, classic critiques of the practice of prayer by agnostic or atheistic critics of religion will be discussed. Participants will also ponder what sets the “Lord’s Prayer” apart from other kinds of prayers.  In conjunction with this colloquy, the IRT will present a series of public lectures beginning with Samuel E. Balentine, Professor of Old Testament at Union-PSCE on September 13, 2007. More information, as it becomes available, can be found at http://www.reformedtheology.org/SiteFiles/UpcomingEvents.html. 

The colloquy, “The Scandal of Particularity: A Jewish-Christian Conversation,” continued with meetings on March 11-13 and June 3-5 of 2007. This colloquy, a joint project with the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, MD and in conjunction with First Presbyterian Church and the Temple/Hebrew Benevolent Congregation, both in Atlanta, is being led by S. Dean McBride, the Cyrus M. McCormick Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Interpretation and Andreas Scheule, Professor of Old Testament, both at Union-PSCE; Christopher M. Leighton, Executive Director, and Rosann Catalano, Roman Catholic scholar, both of the ICJS; and Randi Rashkover, Assistant Professor of Religious studies at York College of Pennsylvania, York, PA.

Meeting in Richmond, on the Union-PSCE campus, the study for the March session focused on the topic, “The Authority of the Text.” Six overarching questions guided the two-day meeting: (1) What are your tradition’s sacred texts? (2) On what grounds does your tradition consider its texts sacred and authoritative? (3) Within this corpus of sacred texts, does your community consider some texts more authoritative than others? (4) What principal function or functions do these texts have as authority in your tradition, and how is such authority implemented in practice? (5) Which of your sacred texts establishes your community’s particularity? and (6) How do the texts that your community considers sacred and authoritative affect its perception of the other? In a series of ten blocks of study, participants discussed these questions, concluding with four questions: (1) What is your biggest discover? (2) What do you think is your most pressing question or ideas for your profession colleagues? (3) What might be the most effective way to “translate” these ideas in your professional context? and (4) What one idea do you not want to lose?

The theme for the June session, which met at the Pearlstone Conference Center near Baltimore, MD, was “The People of God.”  Participants focused on four questions: (1) How do Jews understand themselves as the “people Israel?” (2) How do Christians understand themselves as the “people of God?” (3) Are these designations mutually exclusive? (4) How does the claim that both Jews and Christians are God’s people relate them to one another? 

The IRT announces, with regret, the retirement of Louis B. Weeks as President of Union-PSCE and from the Governing Board of the Institute at the end of June 2007.  President of Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education for thirteen years, Dr. Weeks is one of the founding members of the IRT.  His leadership will be missed.  In addition to Weeks’ departure, Douglas F. Ottati, also a founding member, will leave Union-PSCE to become the Craig Family Distinguished Professorship in Reformed Theology and Justice Ministry at Davidson College in the Fall of 2007.  There will be more information about these departures in the next issue of The Bulletin.