Renato Coletto was born in Padua (Italy) in 1960 and grew up in a Roman Catholic environment. At the age of 16 he became involved with pseudo-evangelical groups of extreme pietist and dualist inclinations and he joined their communes for a few years (which implied severing all ties with family, school and occupation). He joined an evangelical church in 1981, where he was helped adopting a biblical worldview and completing his secondary education. As he continued with informal studies, he came to know the Reformational movement and tried to study and promote its worldview in Padua, especially at the (theological) Istituto di Formazione Evangelica e Documentazione (IFED). In those years he also established contacts with several leading figures of the Reformational movement in different countries, in particular with Prof. JD Dengerink in the Netherlands and Dr S Fowler in Australia. In 1996 he migrated to Potchefstroom, South Africa, where he studied philosophy at the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education under B J van Der Walt, J J (Ponti) Venter and M E Botha. In 2007 he obtained a PhD with a thesis on “The legitimacy crisis of science in late-modern philosophy: towards a reformational response” (promoted by M E Botha). He is currently professor at the School for Philosophy of the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University, South Africa, and since 2007 he is also a research fellow at its Center for Faith and Scholarship (recently renamed Institute for Foundational Studies). The main focus of his research is on philosophy of science and scholarship and its links with religion/ Christianity. He is married to Melina and has one daughter (Giulia).
Bibliography
All the following texts are electronically available from the author, who can be contacted at renato777c<at>gmail.com (replace the <at> by @)
Books
1994. Parole per la scienza: lineamenti per una riflessione sulla scienza in chiave filosofica Cristiana. Padova (unpublished document presented to the Istituto di Formazione Evangelica e Documentazione).
Research articles
2008. The “eclipse” of the object of research in late-modern philosophy of science: causes and possible remedies. Tydskrif vir christelike wetenskap/Journal for christian scholarship, 44(1-2):19-38.
2008 [2007]. Presuppositions and the challenge to objectivity in late-modern philosophy of science: causes and possible remedies. Koers, 72(4):583-602.
2008. When the “paradigms” differ: scientific communication between skepticism and hope in recent philosophy of science. Koers, 73(3):445-467.
2009. The progress of scientific knowledge: evolution, revolution or involution? Tydskrif vir christelike wetenskap/Journal for christian scholarship, 45(1-2):155-174.
2009. Christian scholarship within reformed circles. Acta academica, 41(3):16-41.
2009. Strategies towards a reformation of the theology-based approach to christian scholarship. In die Skriflig, 43(2):291-313.
2009. Theology and philosophy: the controversies concerning their nature and role in the reformational tradition. Tydskrif vir christelike wetenskap/Journal for Christian Scholarship, 45(3):97-115.
2009. Wolterstorff’s critique of the reformational view of scholarship in his essay On Christian Learning. Koers, 74(3):387-407.
2010. Interaction and antithesis in reformational scholarship. Acta academica, 42(1):1-25.
2010. Traces of neo-Calvinism in France and Italy. Koers, (Special Edition: Essays dedicated to Prof. B.J. van der Walt: “Scholarship in the light of the morning star”), 75(1):149-172.
2010. The role of the Bible in reformational philosophy: historical and systematic notes. In die Skriflig. 44(3-4): 545-564.
2011. Towards a theory of presuppositions: kuyperian contributions. Koers, (Special Edition: Festschrift dedicated to Prof. M.E. Botha), 76(1):99-118.
2011. Science and non-science: the search for a demarcation criterion in the 20th century. Tydskrifvir christelike wetenskap/Journal for christian scholarship, 47(1):63-79.
2011. The elaboration of a demarcation criterion in reformational philosophy. Acta Academica, 43(2):41-65.
2012. Christian attitudes in scholarship: the role of worldviews. Koers (Worldview and education edition), 77(1):10 pages.
2012. Encyclopaedic models in the Kuyperian tradition (part 1: the “fathers”). Tydskrif virchristelike wetenskap/Journal for christian scholarship, 48(1): 69-89.
2012. Encyclopaedic models in the Kuyperian tradition (part 2: from the 1970s to the present). Tydskrif vir christelike wetenskap/Journal for Christian Scholarship, 48(2): 279-299.
2012. Encyclopaedic models in the Kuyperian tradition (part 3: towards a network-model). Tydskrif vir christelike wetenskap/Journal for Christian Scholarship, 48(3): 43-63.
2012. Dooyeweerd’s theory of religious ground motives: a few implications for Christian philosophy and scholarship. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Philosophia, 57(3):119-132.
2013. Religion, theology and science: a reformational-Dooyeweerdian approach. Theology and Science 11(2) details here.
2013. The re-appreciation of the humanities in contemporary philosophy of science: from recognition to exaggeration? Koers 78(2).
2013. Transdisciplinarity: two preliminary issues. TD The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 9(1) July: 1-16.
2014 The shift to the subject in 20th century philosophy of science: A liberating move? Koers 79(1)
2014 Two-kingdom worldviews: attempting a translation. Pro Rege (March) XLVII (4): 8-15.
2014. Encyclopaedia in the Kuyperian tradition: the Dooyeweerdian model and other suggestions. Philosophia Reformata 79(2):97-118
2015. With C.J. Cronje. Corporate annual reports: towards a non-reductionist approach. Tydskrif vir Christelike wetenskap/ Journal for Christian Scholarship, 51(2):1-25.
2015. Kuyper’s razor? Re-thinking science-and-religion, trinitarian scholarship and God’s eternity. In die Skriflig, 49(1):10 pp. online. http:// dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids. v49i1.1891
2015. The central principle of Calvinism? Some criteria, proposals and questions. In die Skriflig, 49(1): 8 pp. online. http://dx.doi. org/10.4102/ids.v49i1.1969
2015. Kuyper’s razor? Re-thinking science-and-religion, trinitarian scholarship and God’s eternity. In die Skriflig, 49(1):10 pp. online. http://%20sci-hub.tw/10.4102/ids.%20v49i1.1891
2015. Lydia Jaeger and Herman Dooyeweerd: dialogues on the foundations of Christian scholarship. Koers, 80(2), Art. # 2223, 10 pages
2015. With M.F. Heyns. Reconciling science and faith: dialogues with Anton Van Niekerk. Tydskrif vir Christelike wetenskap/ Journal for Christian scholarship, 51(3):37-61.
2016. Science and religion: an alternative paradigm. Tydskrif vir Christelike wetenskap/ Journal for Christian scholarship, 52(3):1-19.
2017. Moments of agreement: the reformational worldview in dialogue with other Christian worldviews, Tydskrif vir Christelike wetenskap/ Journal for Christian scholarship, 53(1):1-18.
2017. Khosrow Bagheri Noaparast and Islamic scholarship: a Calvinist appraisal. Tydskrif vir Christelike wetenskap/Journal for Christian scholarship, 53(special edition);29-55.
Popular articles2006. A more democratic funeral? [A reply to A. Goodrich on religious pluralism]. Woord en daad/Word and action, 46(1) (Autumn, n. 395): 32-35.
2006. Is creationism unscientific? A call to prudence. Woord en daad /Word and action, 46(3) (Spring, n. 397): 9-13.
2007. Science and belief: a few historical remarks from a reformational point of view. Woord en daad/ Word and action, 47(1) (Autumn, n. 399): 12-16.
2008. Theology? What is it? Looking for a suitable definition of a rather mistreated discipline. Woord en daad/ Word and action, 48(4) (Summer, n. 406): 4-7.
2009. Neo-calvinist organisations for political action. Woord en daad /Word and action, 49(4) (Summer, n. 410): 5-10.
2010. Reformational organisations for labour relations. Woord en daad /Word and action. 50(2) (Winter, n. 412): 24-28.
2011. Reformational institutions for higher education. Woord en daad /Word and action. 50 (Spring, n. 413): 9-14.
2011. Educational associations in the Kuyperian tradition. Woord en daad /Word and action. 50 (Summer, n. 414): 9-12.
2011. Reformational outposts for information and communication. Woord en daad /Word and action 51(Autumn, n. 415): 29-33.
2011. Neo-Calvinist organisations for farming, business, tourism and so forth. Woord en daad /Word and action 51(Winter, n 416): 19-24.
2012. Christian organisations: a few concluding reflections. Woord en daad /Word and action.
allofliferedeemed 