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First Annual Academic Colloquium on Markets & Morality

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Grand Rapids, MI

    What hath Kuyper to do with Keynes? Bavinck to do with Böhm-Bawerk?

    If these are questions that interest you, then look no further than the Acton Institute’s First Annual Academic Colloquium, sponsored by our “Journal of Markets & Morality.” This year’s theme is Neo-Calvinism and Modern Economics.

    Join us for two panels of scholars presenting their cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research on the intersection between Neo-Calvinist social theology and modern economic science.

    The event will conclude with a plenary lecture from Dr. Jordan Ballor, entitled “Is Homo Economicus Sovereign in His Own Sphere? A Challenge from Neo-Calvinism for the Neoclassical Model.” Ballor is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy and series editor of the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology, which concludes this year.

    The conference will be held at the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8. The registration fee is $25, with a reduced student rate of $15.

    For further details, contact Dylan Pahman, executive editor of “Journal of Markets & Morality,” at [email protected].

    Featured Speaker

    Dr. Jordan J. Ballor
    Dr. Jordan Ballor

    Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, an initiative of the First Liberty Institute.

    He has previously held research positions at the Acton Institute and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and has authored multiple books, including a forthcoming introduction to the public theology of Abraham Kuyper. Working with Lexham Press, he served as a general editor for the 12 volume Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series, and his research can be found in publications including Journal of Markets & Morality, Journal of Religion, Scottish Journal of Theology, Reformation & Renaissance Review, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Faith & Economics, and Calvin Theological Journal.

    He is also associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary and the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity & Politics at Calvin University.

    Event Details

    Register Now

    Start Date

    End Date

    Location

    Acton Institute
    98 Fulton St E
    Grand Rapids, MI 49503
    United States

    Schedule

    10:00am     Coffee

    10:30am     Panel 1 - Moderator: Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute

         Presenters:

    • Dylan Pahman, Acton Institute – “Welcome/Opening Remarks”
    • Joost Hengstmengel (via live video), Erasmus Economics & Theology Institute – “The Prehistory of Dutch Calvinist Economics, 1830-1905”
    • Peter Heslam (via live video), University of Cambridge – “A Kuyperian Approach to Business”
    • Marc Andreas, Kuyper College – “Would Kuyper Buy Bitcoin?”

    12:00pm    Lunch

    2:00pm      Panel 2 - Moderator: Dan Churchwell, Acton Institute

         Presenters:

    • James D. Bratt, Calvin University – “The Evolution of Abraham Kuyper’s Thinking on Economics”
    • Steven McMullen, Hope College – “A New Direction for Kuyperian Economics”
    • J. Daryl Charles, Acton Institute – “Reflections on Abraham Kuyper on ‘The Social Question and the Christian Religion’”
    • Sarah Estelle, Hope College – “Sound Theology: A Solution to the ‘Local Knowledge Problem’”

    3:30pm     Coffee Break

    4:00pm     Plenary Lecture - Jordan Ballor, Center for Religion, Culture and Democracy - "Is Homo Economicus Sovereign in His Own Sphere?"

    5:00pm     End of Conference

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