Call for Papers ‘Logic of Love’

Call for Papers ‘Logic of Love’

Online (Teams or Zoom), June 10-11 2021

‘God is love’ is a central Biblical notion, but what does this 'love' mean and how does it function? Theological definitions of love have discerned aspects of intentionality, emotion, disposition, relation, vulnerability and suffering. The internal logic of love differs from a logic of power. Power often is a zero-sum game: the powerful wins what the powerless loses. Love, however, evokes more love; while a lack of love results in a loss for all. In a theological sense, love is both based in the beautiful order of creation, and fruit of the Spirit who renews people eschatologically. Meanwhile, the Bible testifies to the asymmetric relation in the game of love between the mighty, living God and his people. All these aspects raise the question anew: what is the logic of love?

The conference of research group Biblical Exegesis and Systematic Theology (BEST) will focus on the following issues:

• The source and character of God's essential love;
• Biblical texts that shed light on the nature and inherent logic of God's love, particularly those texts that intuitively seem at odds with God's love;
• Theological aesthetics as entryway to the logic of God's love;
• Love as interplay between God and humans;
• The role of attraction in love between God and humans;
• The relation between God's love and God's power. 

The conference will be held at the Theological University of Apeldoorn. Three key-note speakers will lecture on the conference subject from their own area of research. The key-note speakers are Paul Nimmo (University of Aberdeen), Manfred Oeming (Ruprecht-Karls Universität Heidelberg) and Ruben Zimmermann (Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz).

If you want to present a paper in a session (20 minutes and 10 minutes Q&A), please send in an abstract of 250 words consisting of the title and a summary of your paper and a concise CV to Arjan van den Os (avandenos@tua.nl) before March 15th 2021. Papers in the disciplines of BEST (OT, NT, ST, Early Modern Christianity) are welcomed. Papers will be selected based on quality and relevance. You will be notified before April 2nd 2021. We intend to publish a selection of papers in a collected volume.

Steering committee

• Prof. dr. H.G.L. Peels
• Prof. dr. A. Huijgen
• Dr. R.T. te Velde
• A. van den Os MA (secretary)