Protestant Theological University

About: Protestant Theological University is a education organization based out in Kampen, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Religious education & Protestantism. The organization has 86 authors who have published 188 publications receiving 889 citations.

“Honour thy father and thy mother” – What do grown children owe their aged parents?

Abstract: What do grown children owe their aged parents? This article describes some visions on filial obligation, current in modern ethical theory, and evaluates them from a theological perspective. Why should children help their parents? Is it out of gratitude, friendship, because they are indebted to them, or is it simply because they are their parents? And what kind of assistance may parents justly expect their children to offer them? The article presents and evaluates four theories of filial obligation. biblical texts seem to support the so called debt theory which argues that children are in debt to their parents and that they are repaying them with their care what they owe to them. A variant of the debt theory is the model of gratitude. both theories go astray by supposing that the mutuality in parent-child relationship is marked by reciprocity. The friendship approach argues that there are many things that children ought to do for their parents, but that it is inappropriate and misleading to describe them as things “owed”. Parents’ voluntary sacrifices tend to create love or “friendship”, rather than creating “debts” to be “repaid”. but friendship does not describe sufficiently the filial reality either: one can end friendships, but not parenthood. And parents can never be the equals of their children, as friends can be. Apparently, the most satisfactory theory is the special goods theory, which underlines the special relationship between parent and child. That means also that the goods of parenting are unique in kind. Accordingly, adult children should provide frail and dependent parents with something that they will not get otherwise. This approach can get theological support and a faith inspired horizon by interpreting filial relationships in an eschatological perspective and considering them as a divine mandate.

Transformative Choice, Practical Reasons and Trust

Abstract: In this article I reflect on the question of whether we can have reason to make transformative choices. In attempting to answer it, I do three things. First, I bring forward an internalist account of practical reasons which entails the idea that agents should deliberate to the best of their ability. Second, I discuss L.A. Paul’s views on transformative choice, arguing that, although they present a real problem, the problem is not as profound as she believes it is. Third, I argue that, given the situation in which we face transformative choices (a situation of principled uncertainty though not cluelessness), trust is an appropriate response to transformative choices, and that when one’s trust that one’s current desires will be fulfilled in making a transformative choice is reasonable, one has a reason to make it. Thus, trust turns out to be a crucial response to a profound problem each of us will face during our lives.

The professionalization of chaplaincy A Comparison of 1997 and 2017 Surveys in The Netherlands.

Abstract: Chaplaincy has become increasingly professionalized in response to both the standardization in healthcare and the changing religious landscape. Whereas several studies have paid attention to the professionalization of chaplaincy as a whole, no research has been found that describes the implications for individual chaplains. The present article describes the professionalization of Dutch chaplains in the last two decades. We compared the results of two surveys conducted with chaplains in the Netherlands in 1997 and 2017. We describe professionalization by distinguishing between the changed values, expertise, and positioning of chaplains. We found that chaplains' expertise has been developed by a growing but highly diverse body of knowledge. Furthermore, a pluralization of chaplains' worldviews was observed, including non-religious and non-affiliated positions. Lastly, no major changes were observed in the embedding of chaplains.

Stepped characterisation: a metaphysical defence of qua-propositions in Christology

Abstract: Given Conciliar Christology and a compositionalist metaphysics of the incarnation, I explore whether ‘qua-propositions’ are capable of solving the coherence problem in Christology. I do this by probing the metaphysical aspect of qua-propositions, since ‘semantics presupposes metaphysics’ (McCord Adams). My proposal focuses on the fact that the Word accidentally owns an individual human nature. Due to that individuality, the human properties first characterise the individual human nature and, in a ‘next step’, this individual human nature characterises the Word. I call this ‘stepped characterisation’. Subsequently, I show that stepped characterisation validates the use of qua-propositions in Conciliar Christology. Hence, qua-propositions are not merely ‘muddling the waters of logic’ (Morris).

Deterritorializing Dementia: A Review Essay of John Swinton’s Dementia: Living in the Memories of God

Abstract: One of John Swinton’s objectives in his recent book, Dementia: Living in the Memories of God (2012), is to “deterritorialize” dementia: dementia is not the privileged domain of the neurologist. Following Tom Kitwood (1997), Swinton argues that dementia is as much relational and social as it is neurological. But he does warn against the moral implications of a radical relational approach. The belief that people are kept in the memories of God offers the only adequate description and approach to dementia. This review will present Swinton’s argument and raise critical questions about his understanding of the hegemonic role of theology.