My way into the Reformational tradition that continues to be ICS's intellectual and spiritual lifeblood runs through Dirk H. Th. Vollenhoven. I appreciate the enormous efforts, the perspicacity and Christian integrity of Dooyeweerd's philosophical efforts but find myself more attracted by formulations of Vollenhoven, for better or worse. That is not to say that I really get Vollenhoven all the way down, so to speak. There are people who do, or at least get a whole lot closer to that depth knowing. H. Evan Runner was one, John Kok of Dordt College and Tony Tol of the VU University Amsterdam are others, Cal Seerveld and Jim Olthuis of ICS are still others. What I can say for myself is that there are things that Vollenhoven has written and defended that make a whole lot of sense to me. I find them crucial rather than peripheral and so I do my best to use what I have learned and to give it the importance I think it has.
One of the things Vollenhoven has given me words to speak about is the intuition that process is one of the deep and determining features of creaturely existence. Change (and constancy too of course) is woven into the warp and woof of the creation itself; it expresses something of our creaturely response to the call or invitation to be of our Creator. Of course, if we exist in process, so to speak, corporately as well as individually, why then we cannot avoid the limitations imposed on us by where we are located within the processes we recognize as determinative in our living and being. We must acknowledge such limits for how else to embrace the opportunities such locations open up. The point is that all these processes and all the narratives we construct to tell of them bespeak not only the interweaving of constancy and change or of limit and opportunity, they also comprehend the spiritual ambivalence or struggle we Christians habitually think about in terms of biblical stories surrounding "the Fall". All our thinking and telling participate in that struggle ambiguously, not purely on the side of the angels nor of the opposing powers. And that means that at some point our thinking and telling will find itself divided against itself. We will find it hard to think much less say what we know, in a mysterious way, must be said. Vollenhoven acknowledged all of this. But he also insisted that that fact should not paralyse us. We should speak faithfully from within the limits and opportunities of our situation, expecting that we will be able to discern in the responses our speaking engenders signs of our vulnerability, occasions for that most Christian of all responses, metanoia. Conversion will mark our resistance to the sides of us and our tellings that serve Despite in our world. I find this vision of Christian scholarship quite invigorating. It constitutes a discipline of faithfulness in an ambivalent world, a world in which purity, or at least purity as we most often think of it, is beyond our means. Such a discipline can read the efforts of others with real generosity without sacrificing the imperative to be faithful, because it acknowledges its own weaknesses with humility. This is not, I admit, Vollenhoven's own way of speaking. Still, I think all of this describes the ethos of Vollenhoven's own practice of Christian philosophy quite well. It is an ethos I would cultivate myself, in my own scholarship and teaching and that I would work to promote in the ICS as a whole. My prayer for this month is a very simple one: So may it be, now at the beginning of a new academic year, and going forward, even to the end of the age. I invite you to join me in that prayer.
For the President
Bob Sweetman
Thursday, September 1: 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.
Friday, September 2: We pray for safe travel for all new and returning Junior Members who are coming to study at ICS this fall.
Monday, September 5: We offer prayers of thanks for the addition of six 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. As new and returning students arrive, we ask God to help with energy and flexibility for their back-to-school transition.
Tuesday, September 6: Today is New Junior Member Orientation Day! We take this as an opportunity to thank God especially for our incoming class of Junior Members and to ask God's blessing on their time at ICS.
Wednesday, September 7: Today is Registration Day for all new and returning Junior Members. We thank God for all of our Junior Members and ask God to bless them as they begin another year of studies at ICS.
Thursday, September 8: Today marks the beginning of ICS's Community Fall Retreat at Manresa Spiritual Retreat Centre. The fall retreat has traditionally served as a wonderful kick-off to another year of our life together at ICS and we pray that this year will be no exception.
Friday, September 9: We pray for ICS's Leadership Team as they also enter a new academic year. We pray for wisdom and blessings on their work.
Monday, September 12: The first week of classes begins today! Two new courses start today: "Biblical Foundations" with Senior Member Emeritus Jim Olthuis, and "Paradoxes of Progress: Habermas's Theory of Communicative Action" with Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart. We ask for God's blessing on all the course participants.
Tuesday, September 13: Two new courses begin today: "Liberal Theory and Its Critics" with Senior Member Shannon Hoff, and "Matter, Body and Gender in the Thought of Hildegarde of Bingen, Bernardus Sylvestris, Alan of Lille and Thomas Aquinas" with Senior Member Bob Sweetman. We offer prayers for God's blessing on all the course participants.
Wednesday, September 14: Today is the first class of "Creation in the Biblical Story" offered by Adjunct Professor Sylvia Keesmaat at Trinity College. Please pray for wisdom and insight as students explore the importance of creation and the call of humanity as stewards of the earth.
Thursday, September 15: Today is the first day of two new courses: "Person, Family and Society" with Dr. Shannon Hoff, and "Reconsidering Kant's Aesthetics" with Senior Member Rebekah Smick. We pray for God's blessing on all the course participants.
Friday, September 16: Today is the first day of Senior Member Bob Sweetman's course "Religion, Life & Society: Reformational Philosophy". We ask for God's blessing on all the course participants.
This weekend Senior Member Doug Blomberg will be presenting a paper and representing ICS at the ARIHE Symposium in Idaho. We pray for safe travel and fruitful sessions.
Monday, September 19: Planning continues for the reception and fundraising banquet celebrating the official launch of ICS's Centre for Philosophy, Religion & Social Ethics which will be held on October 24. We pray for continued energy and enthusiasm for all those who are involved in this event.
Tuesday, September 20: 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 value our relationship with you, as we are constantly blessed with your interest and support.
Wednesday, September 21: Today is the first Academic Council meeting of the 2011-2012 academic year. Also, the Executive Committee meets today. We pray for God's wisdom to guide the discussions and decisions at these meetings.
Thursday, September 22: 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 23: Today the new Junior Members will be making a road trip to Hamilton to visit the ICS library collection. We pray for safe travel and an informative experience for all the participants.
Monday, September 26: We pray for energy and enthusiasm for those who are involved in planning the Social Justice and Human Rights Conference scheduled for next spring.
Tuesday, September 27: Junior Member Allyson Carr's sister Kristin was in a car accident and has sustained head injuries that continue to impact the rest of her health. We give prayers of thanks that Allyson Carr's sister Kristin is improving after her accident, and pray for her to be able to continue moving toward a full recovery.
Wednesday, September 28: Today is the first Faculty meeting of the 2011-2012 academic year. We pray for God's wisdom to guide this meeting.
Thursday, September 29: This evening Cal Seerveld will be participating in a performance of his translation of Ecclesiastes. Please pray that it be an edifying evening of discovery and reflection.
Friday, September 30: We offer prayers of praise for the talents of ICS alumna Janet Read whose solo exhibition of her new paintings opened yesterday at Christensen Fine Art in Peterborough.
No comments:
Post a Comment