ETTC 2021 to be held online

Due to the ongoing global pandemic and the uncertainty regarding making future plans, the TED and EUD have decided that the 2021 ETTC will be held online. The conference is planned for 24-28 March 2021. Newbold College of Higher Education will be responsible for the academic side of the the conference, and will host the conference digitally.

The call for papers went out a few months ago, and its focus on the consequences of Corona remains current in all of Europe. Suggestions for papers are still very much welcome:

Challenges of the Post-Corona World: Responding to Ethical, Sociological, Ecological and Digital Issues

The global Corona pandemic has impacted daily life of people world-wide. Borders have closed, cities have shut down, economies have stalled, millions have lost their jobs and thousands have died. The 2021 European Theology Teachers Conference asks for reflective contributions on responding to the challenges of COVID-19 and on the changes that the pandemic has brought about. Submissions may be in any discipline of EASTRS, including biblical studies, pastoral studies and practical theology, historical theology and church history, systematics and biblical theology, ethics, and sociology of religion.

The challenges and responses to the pandemic are immeasurable. We are open to any topic that falls within the fields of the theology and religious studies and welcome all perspectives on these topics. We are specifically interested in the following topics, but these are not an exhaustive list:

Ethical issues

What ethical issues has Corona caused or highlighted?
Topics could include: Life-and-death decisions, access to health or pastoral care, inequality, altruism and egotism, and the problem of evil.

Sociological issues

How has Corona affected society and which sociological issues were exacerbated by the pandemic?
Topics could include: Class issues, privilege and the lack thereof, access to health care and education, homelessness, (social) justice, political responses and policies, secular and religious leadership and responsibilities, freedom, social distancing, anxiety and psychology.

Ecological issues

What ecological possibilities and challenges has Corona brought forward?
Topics could include: Environmental impact, reclaiming nature, reduced pollution, stewardship, personal and public health.

Digital issues

How has the necessity of (only) digital communication impacted religious experience and thought?
Topics could include: Digital ecclesiology, online churches, digital liturgy, digital community, government use of technology, and disability.

We welcome 300-word abstracts. These can be sent to Tom de Bruin.

Collonges Theology Teachers actively involved at the “Rendez-vous de la pensée protestante 2020”

The second edition of the “Rendez-vous de la pensée protestante” was held in Paris on June 26th and 27th. The aim of this annual meeting is to encourage and develop Protestant theological thought by bringing together all the theologians who wish to do so, and in particular representatives of the six French Protestant theological faculties (Paris, Montpellier, Vaux-sur-Seine, Aix-en-Provence, Strasbourg and Collonges) as well as faculties from Switzerland and Belgium, whether Lutheran-Reformed, Evangelical or Adventist.

From left to right: Daniela Gelbrich (Old Testament and Hebrew) and Luca Marulli (New Testament and Exegesis), both from Collonges; Chloé Mathys and Sandrine Landeau (Geneva); Olivier Abel, moderator.

The theme discussed this year was the authority of the Scriptures, a subject that doesn’t necessarily create a consensus among the different currents of Protestantism; but there lays precisely the interest in getting to know each other’s thinking better, reflecting together, and exploring theological gaps. The methodology adopted was to bring pairs of theologians into dialogue. Moments of fraternal and spiritual sharing complement the theological debates.

The Adventist theological school of Collonges was well represented: Gabriel Monet (Dean), a member of the organising team, led a debate and presented a synthesis; Jean-Luc Rolland co-animated the spiritual times; Daniela Gelbrich and Luca Marulli prepared and presented a thesis on the subject and then dialogued with the Genevan pair, insisting in particular on the fact that “the authority of Scripture is recognised and unfolds when the Bible becomes the place of the encounter with the God of Jesus Christ”.

The theological reflection took place within the framework of a convivial encounter. The third edition of the meeting is scheduled in June 2021.

European Theology Teachers’ Conference 2021

The European Theology Teachers’ Conference will be held 24-28 March 2021 online. Newbold College of Higher Education will be responsible for the academic side of the the conference. They have produced the following call for papers:

Challenges of the Post-Corona World: Responding to Ethical, Sociological, Ecological and Digital Issues

The global Corona pandemic has impacted daily life of people world-wide. Borders have closed, cities have shut down, economies have stalled, millions have lost their jobs and thousands have died. The 2021 European Theology Teachers Conference asks for reflective contributions on responding to the challenges of COVID-19 and on the changes that the pandemic has brought about. Submissions may be in any discipline of EASTRS, including biblical studies, pastoral studies and practical theology, historical theology and church history, systematics and biblical theology, ethics, and sociology of religion.

The challenges and responses to the pandemic are immeasurable. We are open to any topic that falls within the fields of the theology and religious studies and welcome all perspectives on these topics. We are specifically interested in the following topics, but these are not an exhaustive list:

Ethical issues

What ethical issues has Corona caused or highlighted?
Topics could include: Life-and-death decisions, access to health or pastoral care, inequality, altruism and egotism, and the problem of evil.

Sociological issues

How has Corona affected society and which sociological issues were exacerbated by the pandemic?
Topics could include: Class issues, privilege and the lack thereof, access to health care and education, homelessness, (social) justice, political responses and policies, secular and religious leadership and responsibilities, freedom, social distancing, anxiety and psychology.

Ecological issues

What ecological possibilities and challenges has Corona brought forward?
Topics could include: Environmental impact, reclaiming nature, reduced pollution, stewardship, personal and public health.

Digital issues

How has the necessity of (only) digital communication impacted religious experience and thought?
Topics could include: Digital ecclesiology, online churches, digital liturgy, digital community, government use of technology, and disability.

We welcome 300-word abstracts. These can be sent to Tom de Bruin.