Theme: “The Calling of the Church in Times of Polarization,” which is quite timely in our world today.

Dates: July 2-11, 2020

Cost: $1,400  (Participants are responsible for their own travel to and from Amsterdam.)

In many societies all over the world an increasing polarization between various groups can be observed. Tendencies of polarization extend from the political to the economic and from the religious to the social sphere. Polarization is often motivated by prejudices about differences in ethnicity, race, religion, culture, gender, sexuality, economic or social background. Driven by fear about losing what is regarded as valuable, particular groups become to demonize other groups because of imagined or real threats. 

All these instances of polarization affect the church as well. The church worldwide and locally is often deeply divided on highly contested issues, as for instance on how one judges about same-sex relationships, gender or migrants. There is a great gulf between the so-called ‘main-line’ (or ecumenical) and the so-called ‘evangelicals,’ a gulf which can be experienced within one church community. The churches themselves are part of, and internally experiencing, polarization.

Given this increasing (or at least ongoing) polarization of various groups within societies as well as within the churches, what may be the calling of the church?

The 2020 New Brunswick Theological Seminary International Summer School of Theology, working in collaboration with the International Reformed Theological Institute working in cooperation with the Protestant Theological University and VU University Amsterdam, will be exploring these topics by Dutch, American, and Hungarian scholars. Set in the international city of Amsterdam, the school provides a unique opportunity for students to engage in conversation with leading Dutch thinkers, as well as students and scholars from other countries. 

The school will be held in the facilities of the Protestant Theological University housed within VU University Amsterdam and students will stay in residence nearby. The schedule will include time to explore Amsterdam with its varied cultural and historical opportunities. The Dutch Transporation system opens up all of the Netherlands for exploration. 

All lectures will be in English.