Calvin and the Book Conference!

Hello to everyone!

   My apologies to everyone for my long absence from posting about the goings on during my pastoral internship.  Life has been incredibly busy and I have been trying to stay on top of about 5 projects.  Sadly, as my already small amount of free time diminished, I had to "disappear" from some of my social networking sites.

  That said, I'm currently on a trip with Pastor Serven and Cody Winton and I have a few moments to write again!  So I'm hoping to leave behind a trail of blog posts with pictures about all my adventures on the East Coast.

To begin with, my trip out to the New England states began with a conference.  Keep in mind that this is not your average conference.  This is an international conference!  I'm sitting in a room with men and women from countries like Scotland, the Netherlands, France, and Canada.

Secondly, this conference is all about John Calvin.  The Calvin Studies Society has organized this conference and has invited several very reputable and respected scholars from the countries I listed above to speak about the various impact and foundations which Calvin contributed to the Western world.  Some of the scholars are from liberal schools and seminaries, but they simply cannot ignore the fact that Calvin is responsible for much of what we have today in the West.

The Booktable...every conference needs one

The first lecture was given by Dr. Pettegree from St. Andrews, Scotland.  He gave a fascinating lecture on how John Calvin and Martin Luther adapted to the new technology of the printing press and used it to advance the message of the Reformation.  I had never even considered this practical aspect of the Reformation.

Cody

Meeting attendees

Scholars of all sorts

The second lecture of the day was given by Dr. Margo Todd, who examined the Book of Discipline by John Knox and the Book of Ordinances by John Calvin.  These books laid out the practical ordering of a church and a Christian society.  They also prescribed the penalties for violations of Christian conduct.  She was definitely liberal and held a modern view of God's Law in society (which can be translated as "how ignorant and oppressive people were in the days of dogmatic Christianity").  However, I did appreciate the way her lecture made me ask myself some questions about theonomy and God's Law in society which I had never considered before.

Princeton Dining Hall

I had an opportunity to meet many different scholars, seminary professors, and pastors during this conference. Lord willing, I'll get to meet many more!  During dinner, I got to have a lengthy discussion with a pastor/adjunct professor about the 5 points of Calvinism.  He specifically disagreed with the doctrine of limited atonement.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to have a good discussion (with lots of Scripture quotes!) about the questions surrounding this controversial doctrine.

Plaque to B.B. Warfield

Miller Chapel

Pipe Organ!!!!

The pulpit

An old Dutch Reformed Psalter

I always wanted to learn to play the pipe organ

The evening concluded with an incredible lecture about the pipe organ in Calvinistic liturgy across Reformed churches in Europe.  The very talented organist demonstrated several impressive Psalm tunes from the 16th and 17th centuries.  We even got to sing along to two of them!  While I don't think churches should incorporate large pipe organs in their worship service, I do love listening to pipe organ music.  The grand, sweeping, majestic, and awe-inspiring music literally carries me away to medieval cathedrals which dominated the European city architecture.

Pastor Serven with his interns...

Stay posted for future pictures and commentary on this unique conference!