Category Archives: Announcements

JI Spring Colloquium Schedule

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This Spring we have an exciting array of scholars that are scheduled to speak in a variety of venues. We hope you will be able to join us either in person or online. Also, I wanted to take a moment to remind you and encourage you to consider a few things. Through our Colloquium series, since August 2015, we have had opportunity in person and online to present to about 2,500 attendees and viewers globally. That is simultaneously encouraging and daunting. It is tremendously encouraging because, as you may or may not know, the Junius Institute is fueled and funded overwhelmingly and primarily by the ardor, love, and zeal of its volunteers. These selfless volunteers have devoted their gifts, time, and effort to make this possible for the public good of a global audience of students, scholars, pastors, and the interested general public. It is daunting because as our reach has grown, our support has not kept pace. We are asking for your timely assistance. Please donate either by a one time gift or regularly. Your support builds people. Your support builds students, scholars, and pastors, globally. Your support makes the colloquium series into a rich conversation with scholars globally and helps academies, seminaries, and even churches. Your gift of whatever size helps us defray travel costs, meals, lodging, multimedia presentations, and so forth. It also reaches people. It keeps our projects and presentations free. That’s right, free to the public. So if you can give, please do, it helps scholars travel, eat, sleep, and speak. It helps students learn and scholars as well as pastors reflect. We also delight in providing a platform for students, new scholars, and established scholars to speak. I have the pleasure of receiving notes and e-mails from you–our viewers–from time to time thanking us for the content and the conversation. Your encouragement both in word and gift is necessary: it helps us keep going in so many ways.

Without any more adieu it is my pleasure to let you know about the colloquium schedule for the remainder of the Spring. The links below are to our presentations that have either already occurred or soon will.

I look forward to seeing you either here in Grand Rapids or online, and thank you for your support,

Todd Rester, Director

Junius Institute Colloquium
Spring 2016 Schedule

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Early Modern Latin Course at PRTS

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Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary has posted their Winter/Spring 2016 course schedule. Included is a graduate level, 3 credit hour Latin reading course in early modern Latin that runs from January 19, 2016 to May 6, 2016. We will meet on Monday and Thursday from 3:10 – 4:25 PM (EST). The primary focus of the course will center on Latin used in Theology and Philosophy from the early modern period, but matters of civil and canon law are addressed at several key points where relevant. We will be working through terminological and grammatical matters of scholastic Latin. As a secondary focus, we will address matters, as they occur, that intersect with research methodology and beginning paleography (early modern print and manuscripts, as well as diplomatics). Finally, we will discuss matters of transcription and preparation of a critical text. Class assignments will be selected readings in various genres as well as introductions to early modern reference materials and resources. Along the way, we will also discuss digitization of rare book sources as part of a student’s research process in conjunction with projects like PRDL and LEMPT at the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research. For ThM and PhD students, a component of the course is a dossier of translations around a core set of documents that will be determined by the student in conjunction with the professor. This dossier is intended to assist students in their ongoing research or in the development of further research interests for their degree requirements. Space is limited so start planning now. A couple of items for your information:

  • If you want to take the graduate level course for credit in an accredited program, the cost is $750 (+$50 distance/online fee, if you will not be present in Grand Rapids, MI in person). PRTS is accredited by ATS & ARTS. ATS accreditation is accepted in the U.S. and Canada. For other countries, you would need to consult the registrar at your home academic institution.
  • If you want to take the course as an audit, the cost is $180 (+$50 distance/online fee).
  • If you register as a new student at PRTS, you have from Nov. 2 until the first day of class (Jan. 19) to register, although you need to allow for time to submit an entrance exam.
  • If you are a returning student to PRTS, you have from Nov. 2 to Nov. 18 to register.
  • If you have not taken the intensive Latin course at PRTS, applicants will need to successfully complete a timed entrance exam before being admitted to the class. If this exam will be proctored for distance students, please contact the registrar to make arrangements.
  • This course will be streamed live via PRTS/Populi system with audio/video recordings of lectures available to students of the course.

For more information, please direct your inquiries to the registrar at PRTS, Jonathon Beeke, you can e-mail him or call him directly at (616)-432-3408. Stay tuned, the syllabus will be available through PRTS soon.

Junius Institute Colloquium Schedule for Fall 2015

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This semester the Junius Institute is pleased to announce that our monthly colloquium will be hosted at two seminaries in Grand Rapids, MI, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and Calvin Theological Seminary. The event is free to the public. We are also streaming the events live on YouTube. More details to follow, so stay tuned.  Below are our topics this Fall.

This Friday at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Todd Rester will discuss the importance of recovering a body of theological and philosophical terms for the study of intellectual history, theology, and philosophy. We will also introduce the Lexica of Early Modern Philosophy & Theology project, a new tool that is a crowd-sourced project that employs elements of research methodology, historical theology, TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) standards, and Latin paleographical techniques to develop a resource for theologians, philosophers, historians, and graduate students.

Also, if you can’t make it in person to the events but would like to tune in via YouTube, we will stream the events online. You can reach the live stream by the links below:

When: Friday, September 18, 3:30pm
Presenter: Todd M. Rester
Topic: “Reformation of Terms: Mining & Building Lexica of Early Modern Philosophy & Theology”
Location: Room 118a, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

When: Friday, October 9, 3:30pm
Presenter: Michael Lynch
Topic: “Covenant Theology and Hypothetical Universalism? A Look at John Davenant’s Federal Theology”
Location: Auditorium, Calvin Theological Seminary

When: Friday, November 13, 3:30pm
Panelists: Richard A. Muller
Topic: “Calvinist Thomism Revisited: William Ames (1576–1633) and the Divine Ideas”
Location: Room 118a, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

When: Friday, December 4, 3:30pm
Presenter: Adriaan Neele
Topic: “Jonathan Edwards and the Definition of Theology: A Parting of Ways in the Reformed Tradition?”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MjZAfvBlWQ
Location: Auditorium, Calvin Theological Seminary

Now in Print: Junius’ The Mosaic Polity

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Over at Christian’s Library Press, Franciscus Junius’ De Politiae Mosis Observatione is now available for purchase in English translation as The Mosaic Polity. 

If you are familiar with the archetypal and ectypal distinction found in Junius’ prolegomena of theology, De Theologia Vera (in translation as A Treatise on True Theology | RHB: 2014), you may be surprised to learn that this piece on law, jurisprudence, and the Mosaic polity deploys the distinction and predates that work. One of the happy results of having these two translations in print is that a broader audience can begin to see a conception of the relation between theology and law in the early modern period and how for Junius the character of God informs both.

This project is the fruit of the vision of Dr. Jordan Ballor and Dr. Stephen Grabill for early modern treatises on law, economics, and social thought from an array of Christian traditions. These scholars invited me to participate in this project as the translator several years ago, for which I am humbled, honored, and grateful. The first several chapters appeared in the Journal of Markets & Morality and led to conversations in various conference venues in the United States and abroad. The support and encouragement of the Acton Institute by way of Dr. Ballor and Dr. Grabill has been tremendous. After the draft was completed, Dr. Drew McGinnis, my friend and fellow colleague in the doctoral program at Calvin Theological Seminary, enriched the translation with his keen editorial insights over the past year or so as the editor of the work. We co-authored the introductory essay. Both Drew and I appreciated the opportunity to present on various aspects of this translation and Junius’ thought in colloquia sponsored by the Junius Institute and Calvin Theological Seminary in the Fall of 2014 and the Spring of this year. These conversations with other scholars and colleagues have assisted in some measure in spurring our thoughts to consider various lines of approach to this work. The collaboration and camaraderie on this piece has truly been a joy.

It is our hope that this piece penned for the Dutch Republic at the close of the sixteenth century will not only be of use to scholars of the period but also as a point of contact for further reflection on the Christian theological contributions to the natural law tradition that has shaped modern legal and political thought on the nature of justice, law, and human rights.

New Digital Companion: A Treatise on True Theology

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The Junius Institute is pleased to announce the launch of a new project called “Digital Companions.” The idea for this project is to produce open-access digital editions of translations, enhanced with specialized and integrated hyperlinks, paired with the original language text.

A key work by the institute’s namesake, Franciscus Junius, has the honor of being the first such Digital Companion. Partnering with Reformation Heritage Books, who recently published Junius’ A Treatise on True Theology, our JI Companion links the English text on the left hand side with the printed edition of the Latin (1613 edition) on the right. Of course there are some places where the English version has no analog in the original, such as the front matter and other introductory material. But as you scroll through the contents of the source document itself on the left, the Latin page will sync on the right, making reference to the original Latin much easier as you read along.

JI research curator David Sytsma developed the companion, which includes embedded hyperlinks to other sources that are referenced as available, as well as links to author pages on the Post-Reformation Digital Library. So, for instance, when Richard Muller refers to the “friendly correspondence” between Junius and Jacob Arminius in his foreword, there are live links to both the English translation (via the Internet Archive) and the Latin text (via Google Books) embedded in the companion. Dr. Sytsma has also developed pop-ups so that when you hover over certain links you can get an overview of the person and his or her work.

There are a number of other features that you will encounter as you explore the companion, including references to the pagination of the printed text as it appears in both the English and original language publication. And speaking of the published text, be sure to check out the printed version from Reformation Heritage Books for your bookshelf. This is technology that can be used anytime regardless of access to the Internet!

We have plans to develop other digital companions in the future, so stay tuned. And in the meantime, please be sure to explore the JI Digital Companion to Junius’ A Treatise on True Theology and let us know what you think.