Gert Kwakkel is from the Netherlands, and spends several months each year at Faculté Jean Calvin teaching Old Testament and Hebrew. Listen to this 15-minute interview with Huguenot Fellowship Trustee and Seminary Board Member Ruth Ann Leduc as Gert shares about the Lord leading him into ministry, the partnership between Dutch churches and Faculté Jean Calvin, and how we can be praying for the seminary.
Rick Conrad Interview
Rick Conrad is in his 3rd year of theological studies at Faculté Jean Calvin. View this 9-minute interview as Huguenot Fellowship Trustee and seminary Board member Ruth Ann Leduc catches up with Rick to talk about God leading him to do studies at FJC, settling into life and their church in France, as a family of 6 and the enormous spiritual needs in the Land of Calvin.
Jean-Philippe Bru Interview
Jean-Philippe Bru is Occupant of the James M. Boice Chair of Practical Theology and Academic Dean at the seminary Faculté Jean Calvin in Aix-en-Provence. At the start of this new academic year, Ruth Ann Leduc, Huguenot Fellowship Trustee and member of the seminary board, sits down with Professor Bru to talk about this year's enrollment, encouragements and prayer needs for the seminary.
Catch up with what God is doing through Faculté Jean Calvin with this 12-minute interview.
Click here to view.
Is France Really Secular? Thoughts on Macron Attending Mass
Notre Dame de la Garde, Marseille
Americans will show surprise, and maybe distain before the French policy known as laïcité, literally “lay-ness”. It is not quite the same as secularization, which is “the process whereby religious thinking, practices and institutions lose social significance.”[1] As in America it is any official or government-sponsored establishment of religion that is prohibited (the First Amendment to the Constitution). Unlike the U.S., the lay-ness doctrine has been interpreted to proscribe extensively any appearance of an official endorsement of a particular religion. In 1962 the U. S. Supreme Court issued a decision which forbade state officials to compose an official school prayer or encourage reciting one in that place of learning. “Composing” and “reciting” are not quite as stringent as in France, which prohibits almost any sign of religion, including Muslim veils and even Roman Catholic earrings, in schools or in any public venue.
President Macron’s decision to attend a mass in Marseille has been met with considerable hostility from those who are most sensitive to lay-ness. But things are not crystal-clear. Macron is trying to raise money to restore church buildings (we all remember the dreadful fire in Notre Dame de Paris). His argument is not that he is establishing a particular religion but that he is respecting France’s “religious heritage”, which includes historic buildings. The state regularly subventions religious entities such as singing groups, pipe organs and Christian conscientious objectors.
We do not know exactly what are Macron’s personal convictions. We do know that he is heavily influenced by France’s leading Protestant philosopher, Paul Ricœur. Macron has taken pains to say he will not be at the mass as a Catholic nor will he be “practicing” religion. Most Americans do not balk at a chaplain to the Congress, a President who regularly attends mass, a Senator who is a practicing Mormon, the occasional Scripture quote on the courtroom wall, or a speech which ends “… may God bless America”. They do not consider this to be a state-establishment of religion.
There are important historical reasons for the development of laïcité. The Huguenots often argued for it, based on their view of Romans 13 which states that government exists to establish justice, not to endorse a particular religion (be it the author Paul’s Jewish heritage or his Christian faith). It should be said that one of their principal intentions was to keep Roman Catholicism at bay. Unfortunately, they went too far, especially by proclaiming government to be neutral. As one (Protestant) sociologist has argued, the claim to neutrality is not neutral! Laïcité is in fact a kind of religion.
It would appear that Macron’s decision fits within a reasonable view of lay-ness. But it would also appear that the pretense of neutrality must be exposed for what it is. Our seminary in Aix-en-Provence will help future ministers navigate these troubled waters. They will do so by careful biblical interpretation and by seeking the promised divine wisdom (James 1:5).
William Edgar
Professeur Associé Faculté Jean Calvin
[1] B. R. Wilson, Religion in Secular Society (1966).
It Seemed Unthinkable
Charles Berger
In a few months, I will have been engaged in pastoral ministry for five years.
Faculté Jean Calvin (FJC) crossed my path 9 years ago, when I was a Political Sciences student in Aix-en-Provence, newly baptized – although born to two Christian parents. My wife and I were gradually returning to the Lord after several years of wandering and doubts.
While I was finishing my studies, we considered moving to Geneva to pursue careers, she as a financial auditor and me as a teacher-researcher. But taking advantage of a slow year during which my wife had to complete her contract, I enrolled at FJC with the aim of deepening my understanding of God and faith. It was there, in the first year of theology, that I received what I believe was a call to a pastoral vocation. This was a shock: it seemed unthinkable to me to dedicate my life to anything else. At the same time, various circumstances destroyed our plans to move to Switzerland. There remained the question of financing, but each year the Lord provided everything that was necessary. “What shall I render to the Lord for all these benefits to me?” (Ps 116:12)
Five years of study at FJC were blessings upon blessings. Among these I can cite the meetings with students from different backgrounds, all rich in experiences with the Lord; the immersion courses with experienced pastors; but also the exemplary faith of the FJC teachers, their availability, their accessibility and the sincere concern they showed in the educational and spiritual support of students. I can also cite the teaching which is alive, solid, rich and profound, truly reformed, faithful to the faith transmitted once and for all to the saints (Jude 1:3). Every time I think about it, I realize the extent to which certain courses, particularly those in New Testament, Systematic Theology, pastoral support and helping relationships, have built my personal faith and my understanding of ministry.
After serving two years as interim pastor in my local church in Aix-en-Provence, I was accepted by the commission of ministries of the Evangelical Reformed Churches of France (Unepref). My first assignment was in a rural environment, in the Cévennes mountains, to be pastor of two parishes – that of Saint Jean de Maruejols and that of Les Vans – 45 minutes apart, straddling the Ardèche and Gard. This is where I continue to serve the Lord. The beginning was far from easy, but I was able to follow the advice given to me by Gilles Boucomont, the pastor with whom I had completed my internship: “For a year, don’t touch anything, don’t change anything. Don't even move a flower pot. Observe everything, preach the heart of the message and rely on the Lord.” Three years later, the collaboration with these two communities is harmonious. Both communities are in strong renewal, recording conversions and returns to the faith, despite a difficult social and demographic context.
In France, spiritual poverty, particularly in rural areas, is immense. But I remain convinced of the Lord’s love for this country and its inhabitants. In five years of service, I can testify to the goodness of our Lord, who is faithful to his Church, which he patiently preserves and establishes among all the families of the earth, as he has promised.
Charles Berger
Religious Diversity
In 2019‐2020, 51% of the population aged 18 to 59 in metropolitan France said they had no religion. This religious disaffiliation has been increasing over the past ten years and concerns 58% of people with no migration background, 19% of immigrants who arrived after the age of 16 and 26% of the descendants of two immigrant parents.
While Catholicism remains the dominant religion (29% of the population declare themselves to be Catholic), Islam confirms its place as the second religion in France (10%). The number of people claiming another Christian religion is also increasing, reaching 9%. The frequency and intensity of religious practice varies by religious affiliation: only 8% of Catholics regularly attend a place of worship, compared to just over 20% of other Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, and 34% of Jews.
Processes of religious transmission between generations shape the religious landscape over the long term: 91% of people raised in a Muslim family follow the religion of their parents. This transmission is also very strong among Jews (84%), but less so among Catholics (67%) and other Christians (69%). All else being equal, growing up in a family of mixed religious or Catholic ancestry is a key factor in the secularization process among the descendants of immigrants.
Can't Make It June 1st? Livestream It!
Livestream is available for those unable to attend in person.
Tickets at edgarchairconcert.eventbrite.com or at the door.
June 1st
Be sure not to miss this extraordinary evening of music in support of the William Edgar Chair of Apologetics at Faculté Jean Calvin.
Tickets may be purchased at edgarchairconcert.eventbrite.com.