From the Director
During the academic year, it seems that time speeds by. Now spring is
around the corner! Apart from our usual visits by college classes for
sessions on printing and the Reformation, we have also held a number of
special events to help highlight the work of the Meeter Center around
campus. In October, Paul Fields (the Meeter Center Curator) and I joined
two other colleagues on campus to form a Genevan-psalm-singing group,
which sang at the Psalmfest on campus. At the end of the month, we held
an open house to mark Reformation Day, and in December, the Meeter Center
hosted its first ever re-enactment of the Genevan Escalade of 1602. Over
sixty people, including several families, came to enjoy traditional refreshments
and watch me (in my role as Mère Royaume) heave a cauldron over
a hapless Savoyard soldier (our valiant Program Coordinator, Ryan Noppen).
See p. 3 for more on the Escalade’s significance and for a picture
of the event. In March we held our Spring Colloquium, and a report on
this can be found below. We have also selected our visiting scholars for
2006. Their names and short descriptions of their projects are listed
on p. 2. The presence of these visiting scholars and other users means
we have to continue expanding our collection of materials, so that we
continue to be a place that provides scholars and members of the general
public with a broad assortment of materials on Calvin and Calvinism. We
are delighted, therefore, that we were able to purchase an extensive set
of primary sources on microfiche, dealing with the Calvinist Reformation
in Emden and Friesland. The purchase was made possible thanks to the Basic
Historic Calvinism fund set up by Hugh and Eve Meeter. We are truly grateful
for the existence of this fund and for contributions from Friends of the
Meeter Center, that sustain our work and the Center as a whole.
Karin Y. Maag
The Puritan View of Spiritual Adoption
On March 16th Joel Beeke, President and Professor of Systematic
Theology and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, gave
a lecture entitled “Transforming Power and Comfort: The Puritans
on Adoption.” His lecture emphasized that the Puritan doctrine of
adoption is amply developed in Puritan literature despite claims to the
contrary from modern theologians including J. I. Packer. Dr. Beeke supportd
his claim by showing how the subject of spiritual adoption is dealt with
in Puritan literature. The following main points were discussed: the comparison
with regeneration, justification, and sanctification, and the privilege
and benefits of adoption. Beeke emphasized that if Christians embrace
their identity as adopted sons and daughters, then they will embrace God’s
spiritual power and comfort. Concerning the matter of the relation between
sonship and ordo salutis, Beeke, in a clear and in-depth manner, dealt
with regeneration, justification and sanctification. Beeke reinforced
the notion that adoption is not justification. Justification is our most
basic spiritual foundation for reconciliation with God. Adoption is a
richer blessing, because it brings us from the court room into the family.
He used Gordon Cooke’s statement, “Justification is conceived
of in terms of law, adoption in terms of love. Justification sees God
as a judge, adoption as a father” (Gordon Cooke, The Doctrine of
Adoption and the Preaching of Jeremiah Burroughs, p. 23). Beeke asserted
that for Puritans, the status of adoption, like justification, is an act
rather than a process. The relationship between sanctification and adoption,
Beeke emphasized, can be understood as follows: sanctification is the
process of acting like sons and daughters, and through sanctification,
Christians are brought into a fuller experiential awareness of their adoption.
Beeke concluded that the Puritans used the truth of adoption as a means
of transformation for God’s needy children through powerful comfort.
When believers were enticed by the world or alarmed by fears of death,
the Puritans encouraged them to take refuge in their heavenly Father.
Beeke ended his lecture with Willard’s statement (Willard, The Child’s
Portion, p. 54, 66-70), “Let this joy dispel the mists of every
sorrow, and clear up your souls in the midst of troubles and difficulties
. . . you will dwell at the fountain, and swim forever in those bankless,
and bottomless oceans of Glory”.
Billy (June Won) Yang
Th.M Student at Calvin Theological Seminary
New Acquisitions
Blacketer, Raymond A. “The Moribund Moralist: Ethical Lessons in
Calvin’s Commentary on Joshua.” In Dutch Review of Church
History vol. 85, edited by Wim Janse and Barbara Pitkin, 149-68. Leiden:
Brill, 2006.
Engammare, Max. “D’une philologie l’autre. La muse
classique, maîtresse cachée des Réformateurs.”
In La philologie humaniste et ses représentations dans la théorie
et dans la fiction II, edited by Perrine Galand-Hallyn, Fernand Hallyn,
and Gilbert Tournoy, 409-37. Geneva: Droz, 2005.
Engammare, Max. “La Ponctualité a Genève: La Faute
à Calvin?” Bulletin du Centre Protestant d’Etudes vol.
57, no. 4 (2005): 3-23.
Fatio, Olivier. Understanding the Reformation : an itinerary suggested
by the International Museum of the Reformation. Le Mont-sur-Lausanne :
Jean Genoud, 2005.
Field, David P. Rigide Calvinisme in a Softer Dresse. Edinburgh: Rutherford
House, 2004.
Heckel, Matthew C. “His Spear Through My Side Into Luther: Calvin’s
Relationship to Luther’s Doctrine of the Will.” PhD diss.,
Concordia Seminary, 2005.
Preisig, Florian. Clément Marot et les Métamorphoses de
l’auteur à l’aube de la Renaissance. Geneva: Droz,
2004.
Winiarska, Izabela. Slownictwo religijne polskiego kalwinizmu od XVI
do XVIII wieku. Warsaw: Semper, 2004.
Witte, John Jr. and Robert M. Kingdon. Sex, Marriage, and Family in John
Calvin’s Geneva. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 2005.
2005 Escalade Celebration
On December 13, 2005, the Meeter Center hosted its first celebration
commemorating the Escalade de Genève. The Escalade de Genève
refers to the attempt made by the troops of the Duke of Savoy to secretly
scale the walls of the city of Geneva on the night of December 12-13,
1602. Protestant Geneva had been at war with Catholic Savoy for several
years and this was the Duke’s final major attempt to reclaim the
city. The Genevans were roused in the middle of the invasion by a Genevan
woman, La Mère Royaume, who dropped a cauldron of vegetable soup
upon a Savoyard climbing the wall. Thanks to the alarm being raised, the
Genevans rallied and successfully repulsed the Savoyard attack. This event
highlighted the importance of Genevan independence to the rest of Protestant
Europe and is celebrated to this day in Geneva. The Meeter Center celebrated
the Escalade in true Genevan style. Our talented acting troupe led by
Karin Maag as Mère Royaume, Ryan Noppen as the Savoyard, and Paul
Fields as the Narrator re-enacted the events of the Escalade for our guests.
Traditional Escalade foods including vegetable soup and mulled fruit cordial
were served. Most important however were the miniature chocolate cauldrons
filled with marzipan shaped into vegetables. These confectionery delights
are made in all sizes in Geneva and are smashed apart to symbolize Mère
Royaume’s heroic act. As the crowd chanted, in traditional Genevan
style “thus perish the enemies of the Republic,” we smashed
a large chocolate cauldron of our own. With lots of food and fun for over
seventy guests, we at the Meeter Center had a smashing good time.
A New Collection for the Center
Attention scholars! Thanks to the Basic Historic Calvinism Fund established
by the Meeter family, the Meeter Center recently acquired the second installment
of Sources of the 16th and 17th centuries: East Friesland and North-Western
Germany from IDC Publishers. This fantastic collection contains 385 separate
works by many authors, including Martin Chemnitz, Johannes Cocceius, Tilemann
Heshusius, and Jan Laski, that our collection does not presently possess
in any other form. Dr. Richard Muller, professor of Historical Theology
at Calvin Theological Seminary, recently outlined the significance of
this new addition. East Friesland and North-Western Germany represented
a distinctive and intellectually lively development in Reformed life and
thought.They were one of the few places in the Holy Roman Empire (with
the exception of Heidelberg and East Prussia) where the Reformed faith
made major inroads. Protestants fleeing from the Spanish occupation of
the Netherlands found refuge in these areas during this time. Dr. Muller
also pointed out the importance for the Meeter Center to expand its microfiche
collection. The use of microfiche produced by professional publishers
such as IDC is a cost-effective method to collect titles which are typically
unobtainable in any other form. Longevity is another important consideration
since microfiche has proven to be long-lasting whereas other electronic
methods of conservation have yet to be perfected. Finally, an expanding
collection of primary source titles will continue to attract scholars
to the Center from around the country and abroad.
In Memoriam
The Meeter Center honors the memory of Dr Dick Van Halsema, who died
November 12, 2005. A Calvin College and Seminary graduate, he served as
a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church and as long-time president of
the Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids. In 1987, the Van Halsema family
set up the annually awarded Emo Van Halsema fellowship (honoring Dick
Van Halsema’s father) for pastors in the Reformed tradition to come
to the Meeter Center for a four-week period of research. The Meeter Center
joins with over twenty recipients of the Van Halsema fellowship in expressing
profound sympathy to Dick’s wife Thea Van Halsema, and the entire
Van Halsema family.
The Meeter Center also notes with sadness the death of Dick Oostenink
Jr, a long-time friend and supporter of the Center and its work. An ordained
pastor in the Christian Reformed Church, he served for many years as a
chaplain in the US army, and retained throughout his life a profound enthusiasm
for books and for the history and theology of Calvinism. He died on December
12, 2005 in Grand Rapids.
Fellowships Awarded in 2006
Student Fellowships: Mr. Marcus Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate
from the University of Toronto, Toronto School of Theology, intends to
research the doctrine of union with Christ in the soteriology of John
Calvin.
Ms. Alida Sewell, a Ph.D. candidate from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,
plans to study Calvin’s view of the human body and sexuality.
Emo F. J. Van Halsema Fellowship: Rev. Simon Rachmadi,
another Ph.D. candidate from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, wishes
to examine Calvinist spiritual pedagogy and Javanese spirituality.
Faculty Research Fellowship: Dr. Bin You, a visiting
scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute at Harvard University, will
research Calvin’s interpretation of the Old Testament and his political
thought.
Friends of the Meeter Center Fellowship: Dr. Sun Yi,
a Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the Renmin
University of China, wishes to research Calvin’s Institutes and
what it means to be Reformed today, especially in China.
Non-stipendiary Fellowships: Dr. Yong Kyu Park, Chair
of Church History Department at the Presbyterian General Assembly Theological
Seminary, Chongshin University, will study Calvin and Reformation Geneva
as a revival movement.
Dr. Joo-Jin Seong, President and Professor of Old Testament Studies at
the Graduate School of Christian Studies, Cheonan University, will examine
Calvin’s understanding of the Kingdom of God and the Divine Covenants
in the Old Testament.
Fellowship Applications for 2007 may
be obtained from the Meeter Center upon request and should be returned
by January 1, 2007. Application forms are also available on our Web
site.
Visitors from Geneva
On Thursday March 2, 2006, the Meeter Center hosted two
distinguished guests from Geneva, Switzerland. Madame Isabelle Graessle
is the director of the International Museum of the Reformation that has
recently opened in Geneva and Madame Françoise Demole is the vice-president
of the museum’s foundation. They met with faculty and administrators
from Calvin and other interested people to spread the word about the museum
and to build stronger contacts between Geneva and the North American Protestant
world. They gave a short presentation in the Meeter Center. We are fortunate
that they made Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary one stop
on their North American tour: it was a great opportunity for us to build
stronger links with Genevan colleagues.
Hugh and Eve Meeter Calvinism Awards
to High School Seniors
The 2006 winners are:
1st Place: Libby Veldkamp of Grand Rapids, MI
2nd Place: Erik Bolt of South Bend, IN
Both winners will attend Calvin College
The research paper topic for 2007 is
John Calvin and Prayer
For more details go to
http://www.calvin.edu/meeter/scholarships/highschool_award.htm
Friends of the Meeter Center
We welcome members to the Friends of the Meeter Center.
Friends’ donations help provide funding for special programs,
including the Friends of the Meeter Center Fellowships and the CD Music
of the Genevan Psalter. Checks may be made out to Friends of the Meeter
Center and sent to the Center’s address. Thank you for your support!
Annual membership fees are:
Student $20; Supporter $40; Donor $75;
Associate $100; Partner $200; Benefactor $500
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