Willem J. de Wit

Willem J. de Wit

Education:

• Bachelor/master in theology (specialization: Biblical Studies): Utrecht University

• Doctor (specialization: systematic theology): VU University Amsterdam

Brief life story:

born in the Netherlands, in the village of Bodegraven, in the heart of the Green Heart of Holland. While the Dutch have the reputation of being very liberal, I rather grew up in a context of Reformed faith and piety, at home, at school, and in the church. Studying theology in Utrecht and working in Amsterdam implied a confrontation with secular culture, which resulted in the book On the Way to the Living God: A Cathartic Reading of Herman Bavinck and an Invitation to Overcome the Plausibility Crisis of Christianity, for which I received the degree of doctor from VU University Amsterdam.

The Netherlands is a small country. Student summer conferences took me to Austria and Hungary. I studied three months at the University of Durham in England, a semester at the University of T?bingen in Germany, and a term at Calvin Theological Seminary in America. I attended theological conferences in Princeton, near Jakarta, and in Seoul. When the Dutch mission agency GZB advertised positions as  lecturers of theology in Zimbabwe and Peru, I called and was told that they had an even better position for me: teaching in the master’s program of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. Thus I came to Egypt summer 2008.

My spirituality is summed up in the words of a hymn: Let then, o Lord, my heart be thine | and let me go and see and hear | all what is thine and every sign | with open eye and open ear. | Then is my earthly so good, | because the heavens me salute. But once I changed the last lines: It’s then in Cairo’s za?ma good | because the heavens me salute. This notwithstanding, I enjoy escaping from the capital to villages in Upper Egypt.

 List of courses I teach

Old Testament (master)

Ancient Middle Eastern Source Texts: Context and Reception of Genesis 1:11

Hebrew Texts for Theologians A: The Book of Psalms and the Problem of Evil

Hebrew Texts for Theologians B: The Book of Isaiah

 New Testament (master)

Greek Texts for Theologians I: Language and Text

Greek Texts for Theologians II: Messiah, Jesus, Christ

 Systematic Theology (undergraduate in Cairo, Alexandria, and Minya)

Introduction to Systematic Theology

Pneumatology

Eschatology

 General (master)

Bible, History, and Theology Research Seminar

Research Principles and Methods