inspiring - coram deo program€¦ · this is only one example of how inspiring people from the...

INDIVIDUALSINSPIRING

INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS

Two words. Two meanings. Individuals that can

inspire others. And also the ability to inspire

individuals. The Coram Deo Program connects

both meanings.

These two words with their two and connected

meanings represent so much more than what

can be said in two words or even two lines. So the

following pages will explain what the foundations

of the Coram Deo Program are.

We invite you to take part in this challenging and

meaningful initiative.

COLOFONThe Coram Deo Program is an initiative of Refo500.

Text: Prof. Dr. Herman J. Selderhuis

www.coramdeoprogram.com

[email protected]

Layout: Treffend & Co., Alblasserdam

Print: Verloop drukkerij, Alblasserdam

2 CORAM DEO PROGRAM 3

mailto:[email protected]

INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS

Michael King (1899–1984) was

a Baptist pastor in Atlanta. As

an Afro-American every day he

experienced the injustice of racial

segregation. On a tour through

Germany he was so inspired by the

way the reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) stood up

against injustice that, after having returned to Atlanta, he

changed his name. Michael King was now Martin Luther

King. And his son, named Michael after his father, would

now be Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968). This Martin

Luther King Jr. would, just as Martin Luther, speak up

and stand up and positively change the lives of millions.

This is only one example of how inspiring people from

the past can be for people living in later centuries.

Inspiring people who created change and renewal with

their actions and ideas. Ideas that help make this world

a better place. Ideas that remain relevant. Martin Luther

was such an inspiring individual. His views on God, man

and creation contain a lasting and attractive dynamic and

were further developed by fellow reformers. A new and

encompassing worldview arose and the key values of this

worldview proved to positively affect society as a whole.

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Luther himself managed to summarize these views,

values and ideas down to two Latin words: coram Deo,

literally translated as: before God. We live our lives in the

face of and in the presence of God and that awareness

gives life meaning and gives us responsibility. That

awareness and the subsequent values are what the Coram

Deo Program wants to communicate and to share. We

can´t say it as briefly as Luther did so we take the following

pages to explain what coram Deo means.

But let’s start with the man who came up with these

two words.

JUST A SINGLE PERSON

The story is quite easy to tell. One man in a

remote town searched for God, and changed

the world. The man was Martin Luther (1483–

1546). He lived in a monastery and taught at a

young university. There he searched for God, created an

unintended U-turn in religion, turned the church upside

down and accidentally changed the world. The ignition

of this movement of renewal called the Reformation

took place not in Paris, nor in Cambridge, Cologne, Rome

or some other intellectual or political center, but in the


small town of Wittenberg, on the edge of civilization, as

Luther said himself.

Combining the discovery of the individual with

the responsibility for the communal, he opened up

opportunities for the personal development of gifts

and talents, and encouraged individuals and groups to

take social responsibility. He initiated a fundamental

reorganization of education, gave long-lasting

impulses to natural sciences, and laid the foundation for

democratic structures in politics and society. October 31,

1517, the day on which Luther published his new vision,

can thus be called the birthday of a new world, a world in

which life looked different in every context.

Luther´s action and the response by those opposing did

bring about a split in the church and caused for a divided

Europe in which conflicting convictions even led to wars.

Yet, overall the Reformation brought about positive

changes also in the Catholic tradition, as its values were

embraced by everyone longing for renewal. Societies based

on fear of God´s justice changed radically through the

striking message of God´s unconditional grace. Religion

became a gift that motivated people to gratitude. The focus

on death changed into a desire to give meaning to life. And

the supremacy of the church made place for a reevaluation

of politics, science, marriage and family, creating a change

in Europe that would soon have global effects.

Luther provoked others to take responsibility towards

mankind and creation and labelled this as living


coram Deo, which literally means: before God, that is, in

responsibility towards God and to all He created. The idea

that the priest is the mediator between God and man was

replaced by the conviction that every believer is a priest

and stands directly before God. Grace means freedom

from guilt in such a way that no longer the believer needs

someone else to appear before God. This notion created

an enormous self-awareness and a general consciousness

of each man´s calling to serve.

And so the movement of Reformation brought forward a

new and different generation of men and women working

as lawmakers, teachers, business leaders, laborers,

doctors, politicians and scholars, a generation that saw

their work as a godly calling and that life can be fully

enjoyed if we don´t just live for ourselves.

Life can be fully

enjoyed if we don’t

just live for ourselves.

CORAM DEOMEANSBEFORE GOD


The Reformation was started by one person but was not a

one-man-show. Luther’s ideas were picked up by thinkers

in other European countries and from there reached other

continents through trade and mission, through discoveries

and colonialism. The Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531)

developed a program for social justice and political responsibility.

Luther’s colleague in Wittenberg Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560)

presented a new approach to education and academics. French refugee

John Calvin (1509–1564) took Luther’s theology as the basis for a

lifestyle characterized by commitment and service. And many more

could be named including those from Catholic and Baptist perspectives

who were fascinated by Luther’s concept of freedom and responsibility.

Radically new views of humanity, creation, labor, money, rationality,

art, time, law, life and death were created. Traditional values mainly

connected to monastic life were reinvigorated. Hierarchical structures

were challenged by demands for democracy and the humanist focus on

the individual was combined with the biblical notion of stewardship.

The belief that individual humans have the freedom and the capacity

for great accomplishments was both stimulated and directed by the

conviction that profit and progress are entrusted to us and demand

responsible management.

It all resulted in a widespread movement of ethical renewal and

incentives for political freedom and a boost in economics, science

and education which attracted younger generations. In a time

characterized by a longing for an ethical reorientation and for a

personal framework to deal with the multitude of challenges inherent

to a new era, the values of the Reformation came as rain on a dry land.

MARTIN LUTHER

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

THE PILGRIM FATHERS

JOHANN SEBASTIAN

BACH

ELISABETH I OF ENGLAND

REMBRANDT

SOPHIE SCHOLL

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

HULDRYCH ZWINGLI

PHILIPMELANCH-

THON

JOHN CALVIN

These values like freedom, responsibility etc. have proven to be

fruitful ever since and they inspired individuals through the ages

to make a change. Not only people like Martin Luther King Jr., the

Pilgrim Fathers, Johann Sebastian Bach, Elisabeth I of England,

Rembrandt, Sophie Scholl and Dietrich Bonhoeffer but also countless

politicians, scientists, artists, business leaders, men and women from

all continents and from all confessional backgrounds were inspired

by these values. They can have a positive impact on each one of us

today, if only we are open to listen and ready to learn.

INSPIRING OTHERS


CORAM DEO

When we speak about values we do not mean

a set of rules or a list of skills. The Coram

Deo Program refers to a lifestyle, a mind-

set, an attitude in which these values

become natural. Fundamental is the view that every human

being lives 24/7 before the face of God. At home, at work,

at sports, wherever we are and whatever we do. There is no

separation between Sunday and Monday, between living as

a believer and living as a dentist, student, mother etc. This

living before the face of God is not something frightful, as

though God has a big camera documenting all our deeds and

misdeeds, but rather it is living in commitment before the

God who is gracious. Yet, it does imply the notion of guilt,

as the presence of God implies the awareness of our guilt

towards Him and towards our neighbors. So living coram Deo

essentially is the awareness of forgiveness and the renewal

of life. It is to know that God sets us free to a life of service.

Both Luther and Calvin worked this notion out in their self-

developed logo´s. Luther took a rose, Calvin a hand. Central

to both logos is the heart. In Luther´s logo the heart comes

to life through the death of Christ on the cross. Out of that

heart arise the fruits of faith. In Calvin´s logo the heart is

offered to God symbolizing that with giving the heart as our

center we give all we have and are.

Logo Luther Logo Calvin


The values of the

Reformation can support individual men and

women to enrich their

own live.

CONNECTING PAST AND PRESENT

It’s a long stretch of time between the sixteenth

century and today. Much has happened since then.

Wars and discoveries, revolutions and philosophies

have changed the world and its people, and have

left scars as well as fruits. Our time certainly differs

from previous times although there are also many

parallels between today´s issues and those of former

times. Poverty, injustice, ethical disorientation, wars

and refugees were present in the early modern world

just as much as today. However, today there are even

newer and more challenging issues unknown to previous

generations. The suffering of nature, the global size of

issues, the threats of a digital and technical society and

the emotional stress, especially on young people, are

new phenomena that all come on top of those already

mentioned.

The Coram Deo Program rests on the conviction that

for these issues – old and new ones - the values of the

Reformation have a lasting relevance and that they can

support individual men and women to enrich their own

lives and, so that they can positively change the lives of

others and the world around them.


VAL UESNEEDED FOR OUR DAYHaving spoken about these values a few times already, we should now take a closer look at what they are.

1. FREEDOM

A central value of the Reformation is the notion

of freedom. The message of grace freed

from the idea that we need to perform good

works in order to be accepted by God. When

it comes to faith, we have no obligations, for grace means

that we don´t have to perform well to acquire salvation.

We are free from guilt, free from religious pressure, free

from fear of God and death. Yet, this freedom means

that we are happily willing to serve. Grace sets us free to

use our energy for the well-being of others. Being free

does not mean that people are free to do whatever they

want, but that they are set free to serve God and others.

Christian freedom means being delivered from the

pressure to perform to be accepted, as well as from the

addiction to self-centeredness.

Famous, puzzling and challenging is Luther´s

formulation of freedom:

A Christian is free, lord over all things and subject to no one; A Christian is a willing servant of all things and subject to everyone.


From this idea of freedom springs forth in men and women a fruitful

and restless creativity and a longing for progress. Being lord over our

all things makes life into an exciting enterprise. We can make choices

and plans, and we can make free use of the gifts we have. Being at the

same time a servant, leads us to use these possibilities to make the life

of others more exciting too. That is why freedom is not just a personal

thing but is directly related to political and economic freedom. The

Reformation stimulated the right to freedom of speech, the desire for

political rights for ordinary people including a limited government

and laid the foundation for the freedom of trade and commerce. And

the above-mentioned odd phrasing of freedom sees to it that this

political and economic freedom continuously seeks to serve.

The connection with the issues the world is facing today is evident.

On the one side there is a lack of personal, religious and political

freedom in many parts of the world and even a growing danger that

this freedom is threatened in the Western world. On the other side

gained and acclaimed freedom can easily turn into a new kind of

slavery caused by the aggression of commercials, forcing people

into a lifestyle they cannot afford, by political over-regulation that

binds local and individual initiatives, by the idea that work can only

be defined as paid work, devaluating work in the family, work in the

church and the work in society of many volunteers, and the slavery

threatening especially young people that the goal of life consists in

the trinity of money, success and good looks.

2. RIGHTEOUSNESS

Closely related to freedom is the value of

righteousness. The Reformation rediscovered

and brought back to the attention that God

has put us in the right position with Him by

graciously delivering us from the burden of guilt. He set

us free and made us righteous. This notion implies that

righteousness is not a natural given and also that the evil

of unrighteousness is part of this reality. This world is the

arena where the struggle between God and the devil takes

place, where truth battles falsehood, where love fights

hate, where sharing counteracts greed, where life defeats

death. And the daily news today still proves that this

insight was a clear one. But, that evil can also be found

in ourselves. And we know it. The conclusion is that we

are also guilty of the wrongs and miseries in this world.

Our problem is that we are, as Luther says – curved in on

ourselves instead of on God and others. Being freed from

this guilt and being bent towards God and our neighbors,

we are called to strive for righteousness in this world

starting in our own little circle. God’s righteousness

implies social righteousness and a just society.

Huldrych Zwingli stood up against the unrighteousness

of the mercenary system, from which women and

children suffered so much. John Calvin organized a policy

of righteousness in which public reconciliation was a

major element. And it is this view of righteousness that

connects the sixteenth century reformers with people

Freedom is not just a personal thing.


Righteousness simply starts

with you and me.

like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King Jr.,

individuals who saw that righteousness is a verb, not a

noun.

The Coram Deo Program does not suggest that people

should imitate the heroes of virtue, for that would

cost too much energy and would end with frustrating

failure, although heroes like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and

mother Teresa are clear sources of inspiration. Not

becoming someone else, but discovering who you are

yourself and what you are called to do to effect change

is the secret. And when it comes to righteousness, a lot

needs to be changed. The global problem of an unjust

division of resources, a growing gap between rich and

poor, is reflected in situations at your front door, so

to speak. Sharing and re-using goods, investing time

and friendliness, creating possibilities for work and

recreation do not ask for government programs but can

be accomplished by everyone. Reconciliation is not just

a topic for North and South Korea and for the Middle-

East but for everyone being part of a family, living in a

neighborhood, going to work or school, being involved in

sports, church and society.

In short, righteousness in this world does not start with

the United Nations. It simply starts with you and me.

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3. RESPONSIBILITY

A rediscovered value in the Reformation period

was the awareness that every human being

has responsibility. This value relates to all

aspects of daily life and that includes the area

of work. The Reformation broke with the idea that work in

the church stands at a higher level than work on the land,

in school or in the family. The pre-reformation view was

that for spiritual work one has a calling from God, all other

work just needs to be done. And the higher one stood on the

spiritual ladder, the higher was one´s responsibility. The

conviction that there was no split between the spiritual and

the so-called natural world, was the beginning of a new

view of work. All work, whether you are a farmer, a nurse or

a king is a matter of faith. Profession is not something next

to faith but fully part of it. Sunday and Monday match like

a pair of socks. Our profession is our calling, and so is being

a mother, father, son or daughter, neighbor, colleague,

customer and teammate. We do the work that we are called

to and for which we have received the necessary gifts. And

our calling is to do our work well, as it is important for

others. This notion of vocation leads to an active life, where

people see it as a responsibility to make use of possibilities

of growth and progress.

The reformers´s re-valuation of marriage brought into

focus the responsibility of parents towards their children.

Reformation was to a large extent reformation of the

family as the core of society and church. A healthy society


begins with a healthy family life and that´s why parents, pastors and

politicians need to know their responsibilities with respect to family

matters.

Responsibility also relates to nature. The reformers opened up the

notion that all of nature speaks about God and belongs to Him. This

gives us the responsibility to take good care of it. It also means that

working with nature whether as a biologist or as a fisherman is just

as important as the work of the pastor, for the one works with God’s

creation and the other with God´s message but they all deal with God.

That is why John Calvin had such high esteem for farmers, for they

are in a very special way God’s co-workers, as in their work God’s

work is more visible than in that of others.

The same responsibility counts when it comes to money. The

reformers upgraded the view of working with money as not

something inferior or even sinful, but as a God-given means to make

a living and to help one another. Their new views gave an enormous

impulse to economic growth, monetary development and a more

effective use of funds. Money no longer needed for masses, altars

and saints could be used for poor relief and for setting up one´s own

business. The protestant view of economics and work has up until

today proven to have a positive effect on economic development in

poorer parts of the world. Making more money and creating economic

growth is not a goal, but a means and here comes in the value of

responsibility. Calvin had nothing against private possession, if only

we were ready to share with others, for what we possess did not come

to us by chance but was put into our hands. We are not possessors but

distributors. We receive to enjoy and to share. And our focus is not

success but the aspiration for significance.

Our profession

is our calling.


4. KNOWLEDGE

The Reformation did not start in church, but in

school. Luther´s world changing action began

with an academic event when he published

his 95 scholarly theses. The renewal that

transformed Europe was brought about not with cannons,

but with words. Even words in Latin. Transforming

people, transforming a society, transforming structures

starts with the intellectual effort of presenting new

ways of viewing the world. And that is most effectively

done through education. So it is not surprising that the

reformers called upon politicians to take measures for

better education and encouraged parents to send their

kids to school. It is not surprising that Philip Melanchthon

eagerly worked on reforming universities and wrote

numerous new textbooks. It is not surprising that the

majority of the famous French Academy of Sciences were

followers of John Calvin. Ignorance was seen as one of the

essential causes of poverty, the spread of disease, wars

and religious fear, and education was seen as the most

effective weapon against all of this. Nor does it surprise

that the council of Trent as the catholic response to the

Reformation also initiated an educational reform. The re-

valuation of other sciences rather than just theology led to

an impulse of the study of the natural sciences and to new

discoveries changing the lives of millions for the good.

Knowledge combined with the value of freedom inspired

not only an intellectual but also a cultural flourishing, and

that is evidenced both by the protestant Rembrandt and

the catholic Rubens.


The insight that education is essential for good politics,

an orderly society, and human flourishing was picked

up by friend and foe and so countless schools, colleges

and universities popped up in the sixteenth century,

student numbers grew and the printing and sale of

books just exploded. A reading culture grew rapidly and

created enormous learning possibilities for children

and teenagers. Combining the values of freedom

and responsibility with the natural desire to acquire

knowledge can make life better today just as much as it

did in the Reformation era, for it is quite significant that

this world changing movement started at a university.

It cannot be true that now that we have such an easy

access to a nearly endless amount of information, we at

the same time see that knowledge and craftsmanship

are on the decline. Lack of knowledge of for example

historical facts, cultural heritage, international diversity

and of political and economic developments, gives space

to the destructive forces of radicalism and hedonism.

The Coram Deo Program is based on the conviction

that knowledge creates understanding, that knowledge

promotes righteousness, that knowledge inspires

economic growth, academic research and ecological

awareness. Good education, accessible information and

inspiring teachers: not much more is needed to bring

about great change.

5. CHANGE

The reformer´s new views on grace, freedom, knowledge

and gratitude appeared to be the gasoline that set a

motor of changes in motion, turning the Reformation

into a movement of renewal and change that was

largely embraced by younger generations. The Reformation was

not a revolution, although the changes that resulted were often

revolutionary, but a reform in which what traditionally is good

remains, what has grown wrong is removed and new and promising

views are introduced. The change in thinking brought about changes

with global impact.

That was needed then and it is needed now. The daily news confronts

us with changes that we do not want such as the climate change

causing so much misery to nature now already and with much more


to come. Or the changes we see in increasing numbers of

suicides of young people, increasing numbers of divorces,

increasing numbers of money made in criminal activities.

This kind of daily news causes lethargy, melancholy and

pessimism whereas history – and certainly reformation

history - is full of examples that changes can be positive

and that negative developments can be stopped and be

curved into an opposite direction.

And this most often starts not with a

group but with one single person.

It takes some time before you see

that an oil tanker has changed its

direction, but the change is set in by

one person. You can be that person

but you need to take action and get

behind the wheel. Change is not a

matter of where you are but of who

you are and dare to be. Ever since Luther

inspiring women and men stood up, spoke

out and practiced the right and duty we have to

criticize abuses. People can change and can cause change,

and even one single person can do so. Millions of famous

and anonymous all through history and all over the world

have proven this to be true. The conviction that each

single person can bring about change with unexpected

and lasting effects makes the Coram Deo Program such

an energetic and promising initiative.

Just open up to the idea that you also can be an inspiring

individual.

You can be that person

but you need to take action and get behind the wheel.


THE CORAM DEO PROGRAMThe Coram Deo Program was founded to inspire individuals in their personal and professional lives with the central values of the Reformation.

In our vision, the Reformation as a movement of renewal and

change, which started in the sixteenth century, is still relevant.

And still today individuals can be inspired by the values of the

Reformation so as to integrate these into their (professional)

attitudes, their thinking and their practice.

Values and individuals are not just slogans, they are key words. Values

can have a positive impact if individuals are inspired by them. The

Coram Deo Program works with five central values. Not to suggest

that there are no other important values, but to take those five that

can be best be applied to individuals and to present day society. The

Coram Deo Program reaches out to people that can make a difference,

that can influence others, that can take decisions with a wider

effect. Professors and students, politicians and parents, managers

and lawyers, in brief: individuals like you, eager to learn and to

understand, and prepared to change and to be changed.

To sum up, the goals of the Coram Deo Program are:

Raising awareness for the relevance of Reformation values.

Transforming decision-makers and influencers in their personal

and professional attitudes.

Developing tools to connect Reformation values with present day

social, political, and economic issues.

Stimulating program related research in sixteenth century

intellectual history.

37

And this is how we plan to reach our goals:

WE CONSULTWe are happy to help you find you the right place, the right program and the right people.

Valorisation: Creating value and impact

The valorisation sounds so self-evident but to do what it says takes quite some thinking. Thinking about how to show the value of what you do to a broader audience. Or about how to create an impact on individuals, groups or even society? If you want make your knowledge accessible as well as beneficial to others, the Coram Deo Program is eager to join you in doing so. Valuable thinking after all is our calling.

Education: Skills and insights at special places

The effect of teaching and training grows if you teach and train at a unique place like an historic city, a breathtaking spot in nature or the

vibrance of a metropolis. Combine this with highly qualified presenters from our network and you´ll accomplish education that can enrich and change the lives of many. The Coram Deo Program helps you to find the right place, the right program and the right people.

Dissemination: Spread what you do to a wider audience

Semen is Latin for seed. Dissemination therefore is the work of the farmer spreading the seed all over the land and expecting a good crop. If that is what you want for your product, your ideas or your convictions, talk to us, for we´ve been sowing for years and we´ve seen many good crops being harvested.

Cooperation: Unexpected partners are waiting to get connected

Of course we all know that cooperation is helpful, but do you also know that cooperation is possible – and very exciting – with persons and institutions that work in a completely different field? Let us help you to get connected in unexpected partnerships. You won´t regret it.

WE INITIATEWe are full of ideas and eager to develop these – maybe with you as our partner.

Trainings: More expertise, more effect but still with joy

Just as in sports, we all need training. Not only to stay fit for the job, but also to get stronger and better, learn new techniques, develop potential and change perspectives. The Coram Deo Program initiate trainings that contain all these elements since even natural inspirers can use some help.

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Content: Making the future work with

wisdom from the past

We believe that values have a long history. They don´t have to be created but should be communicated. Like impressive and colorful fresco´s that reappear from behind layers of paint, for centuries inspiring men and women have come up with insights that still have a lasting, positive effect on individuals as well as on society as a whole.

Events: We like to make things happen

A tour or an exhibition? A videoclip or a conference? The Coram Deo Program constantly comes up with proposals for unexpected, exciting and meaningful events. But we prefer setting these up with others. And that could be you. The variety and vastness of our network opens up possibilities for exciting events where connections occur.

Ideas: This is where it all begins

Our creative and innovative ideas focus on reaching the heart and making an impact, and these ideas will make a perfect combination with the goals you have. That´s why we take the initiative to share these ideas with individuals and institutions like you.

WE FUNDCreating impact is worth the funding. So let’s see what we can do for you.

Individuals: To get going or to keep moving

The Coram Deo Program wants to encourage especially young scholars and professionals in a career that can have a positive impact on and beyond their environment. Therefore, we want to support you in becoming an inspiring individual.

Institutions: Money should not be the problem

We know that the idea that institutions have lots of money is rather a false one. And even if you do have money, it is not enough to do that one special project. Well, if this project meets the goals of the Coram Deo Program, we are happy to consider funding it. Our conviction is that good projects deserve good money and that creating impact is worth the funding.

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Copyright © 2018 by Herman J. Selderhuis.

All rights reserved. This booklet or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations.

The Coram Deo Program relies on donations. With these donations we are able to initiate new events, to consult others in this respect and to fund projects that meet our goals.

WWW.CORAMDEOPROGRAM.COM

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