VIENNA, Va. — Reformed Theological Seminary, Washington has received a grant from the Abraham Kuyper Christian Leadership Fund for a new Initiative on Neo-Calvinist Scholarship.
The Initiative on Neo-Calvinist Scholarship advances a particular disciplinary excellence that will further the overall work of RTS Washington, allowing the campus to host lectures by global scholars of neo-Calvinism and sponsor book events for new English translations of neo-Calvinist theologians’ original Dutch publications. RTS Washington will also offer elective courses for advanced readings in the tradition and add library resources, including Dutch originals and emerging scholarship on neo-Calvinism.
“The spirit of current neo-Calvinist scholarship encourages us to develop and apply the historic Reformed tradition for contemporary challenges,” said Dr. Scott Redd, President of RTS Washington. “We want to draw on the best of that scholarship as we prepare leaders whose biblical rootedness and confessional faithfulness addresses the needs of the church and the world today.”
Neo-Calvinism is a theological movement largely initiated by Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck. A renewed interest in figures such as Bavinck has led to deeper investigation of neo-Calvinist theology in the academy and the global Reformed community.
A generous family gift completes the funding that will underwrite the initiative at RTS Washington. The initiative will launch with a book event on campus March 3, featuring Neo-Calvinism: A Theological Introduction with co-authors Dr. Gray Sutanto, RTS Washington Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, and Dr. Cory Brock, minister of St. Columba’s Free Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.
“This will be the first of several exciting endeavors promoting scholarship in an important tradition within the Reformed family,” said Dr. Redd.