Every two years, Comenius holds a conference, either in the Netherlands/Belgium or in one of the participating Central/Eastern European countries. The next conference will take place in Spring 2025 (delayed) at the Protestant Theological Institute in Cluj/Koloszvar, Rumania. The theme is ‘Theology and Philosophy between Revelation and Contextual Challenge’.
XIII COMENIUS CONFERENCE – CLUJ/KOLOSZVAR, RUMANIA
2025 (delayed)
In this Thirteenth COMENIUS conference at the Protestant Theological Institute in Cluj/Koloszvar, Rumania, we focus on this specific position of theology (and philosophy of religion) ‘between’ the two dimensions and how theology/philosophy of religion relate these two to each other. What are the models that we find? What are characteristic traits of the conversation?
Theology and Philosophy between Revelation and Contextual Challenges: Sources, Beliefs and Practices
Theology, conceived as an interdisciplinary discipline, finds itself between revelation as it has been articulated in Scripture and Christian traditions on the one hand, and contextual, cultural, societal and ecclesial challenges on the other hand. This position ‘in between’ leads to a number of questions. To what extent and in what manner is theology in its sources, beliefs and practices, determined by revelation and (Scripture and) tradition and to what extent is it and in what manner is it influenced by contexts? To be more specific, how do contextual challenges influence or even transform theological reflection? And the other way around, how has theology responded to cultural and/or societal developments, locally and worldwide, in the present and throughout the ages? And how can (or: could) theology (or theologies) in different geographical contexts, such as North-Western European countries or Central European countries, have a distinct and/or critical, prophetic voice with regard to such developments? As for philosophy of religion, a comparable position ‘between’ transcendence and/or (contextual constructions of or conceptual interpretations) of societal and cultural developments can be posited…
Rapid Changes
Our cultures and societies are changing rapidly:
Consequences of rapid changes
What are the consequences of such often rapid changes – and the concerns that they may raise – for biblical, historical, systematic, ethical, philosophical, and practical theological reflection? And, the other way around, how can theology, conceived in this interdisciplinary way, and philosophy (critically) possibly influence these contextual developments? How have they done so in the past, in different historic constellations or in different geographical contexts? The position ‘in between’ may sometimes lead, or has led in the past, to stimulating, confirming or legitimizing what is going on in a specific context, but theology/philosophy can also provide new interpretations, orientations and critique.
Call for papers
Possible contributions in the COMENIUS-conference are:
Requirements for proposals
Proposals need to consist of 250 words maximum and need to explicitly address the overall conference theme, albeit from the specific disciplinary field.
Please provide us with your name, email-address, affiliation, country, phone-number.
Deadline: cancelled.
Practical Information
We will post practical information about participation, fees and travel plans later. If you are interested in participation and want to receive updates, you can already send a letter to the International Office: international@tukampen.nl .