Herman Selderhuis Lecture: The Heart of the Matter

The Heart of the Matter: Commemorating 500 Years of the Reformation in Post-Christian Society

October 20, 2014
3:30 pm
Draper 116

Worldwide protestant institutions prepare for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Obviously such a celebration or commemoration is self-evident for hardly anywhere the question is asked why this anniversary should be celebrated? What do we have to do with a monk that lived five centuries ago and caused a fatal split in the Christian church? Besides, the position of Christianity in North- America and Europe has in the last 50 years changed more dramatically than in the almost 450 years between what is seen as the starting point of the Reformation in 1517 and the developments in church and society shortly after World War II. So, is this jubilee really relevant or is it just fun for tourists, an elite group of scholars and a few elderly, fanatical church members? By the way what was this Reformation all about anyway? These are fundamental questions, yet seldom posed, let alone answered. In this lecture, Dr. Selderhuis will deal with these questions, suggest some answers and will raise a discussion that leads up to action.

Dr. Herman J. Selderhuis, (1961, Enschede, The Netherlands) is professor of Church History and Church Polity at the Theological University in Apeldoorn. He is also  Director of Refo500, President of the International Calvin Congress, and Research Curator of the John A Lasco Library ( Emden, Germany). Dr. Selderhuis is the author of many publications on the theology and history of the Reformation.