Hugh & Eve Meeter Calvinism Awards for High School Seniors

The topic for 2013 is:

Self-Denial:

The Key to Christian Living According to John Calvin

What are the guiding principles of a Christian life? This vitally important question is one that John Calvin considered in many of his writings, including many of his commentaries and sermons on Jesus' teachings, and in his Institutes, especially Book III, chapters 6-10. Papers should define and discuss the significance of self-denial as the key guiding principle for a genuine Christian life as articulated by Calvin and should compare Calvin's view to today's Christian writers: what guiding principles seem to be more central today, and why might self-denial be out of fashion? Finally, papers should assess to what extent Calvin's perspective on Christian living is still relevant in the 21st century.

Awards are given annually for research papers on a topic dealing with John Calvin or Calvinism. First Prize is $2,500 and Second Prize is $1,250. Awards are payable to student tuition accounts at the following colleges: Calvin, Dordt, King's (Canada), Redeemer (Canada), Kuyper, and Trinity Christian.

Research Paper Format Guidelines

Papers should be 8 to 12 pages long, typed double-spaced, and include footnotes or endnotes as well as a bibliography. Pages must be numbered. Papers must include a cover sheet with the following information:

name
address
telephone number
e-mail address
high school
principal's name
church (include address)
pastor's name
how you learned about the scholarship

No name or other identifying information should appear on any page except the cover. The Meeter Center will assign each entry a code number and write it on the pages of the paper. This assures impartial judging of the papers by the Calvinism Committee and allows for accurate identification.

The Calvinism Committee will judge the papers by the following criteria:

Thoroughness of research, including primary sources and quality secondary sources.
Coherence and originality of the argument.
Quality of writing.
Relatedness to contemporary situation.

Papers must be sent in on or before January 15, 2013. The Calvinism Committee will select winners by March 15, 2013, from applicants who will attend college in the fall of 2013. All participants will be notified of their status by mail.

Finding Sources

Suggested resources include libraries of churches, pastors, teachers, and schools. In addition public and university libraries may offer interlibrary loan service, which one may use to obtain books not available locally. Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the Beveridge translation of Calvin's Institutes can be found online in the Post Reformation Digital Library, accessible from the Meeter Center's homepage. Many of John Calvin’s works can be accessed online through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library at: http://www.ccel.org/index/author-C.html. Via the Center's homepage, the Hekman Library Catalog can be accessed to search for books on the topic. Also, search the Meeter Center’s online database entitled Calvinism Resources Database to find sources. This can be found on the Meeter Center’s homepage at: http://www.calvin.edu/meeter/

Submitting a Research Paper

Please send entries to the following address:

The H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies
Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary
1855 Knollcrest Circle SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402
USA

If you have any questions regarding the Hugh and Eve Meeter Calvinism Awards for High School Seniors, please feel free to contact the Meeter Center at the above address or at the following numbers and e-mail address:

Telephone: 1-616-526-7081
Fax: 1-616-526-7687
meeter@calvin.edu