Andries van Aarde
Andries Gideon van Aarde (25 April 1951 – 25 November 2024) was a professor of theology and a research fellow at the University of Pretoria.[1][2] He also worked as a researcher-in-residence at the Durban University of Technology.[3] He was an ordained minister in the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa.[2]
Andries Gideon van Aarde | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andries 25 April 1951 |
| Died | 26 November 2024 (aged 73) |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Occupation | theologian |
| Employer | University of Pretoria |
Van Aarde spent his life in academia and largely at the University of Pretoria.[3] He earned a variety of accreditations - a Master's Degree in Semitic languages, a doctorate in theology, a doctorate in ancient cultural studies, and a doctorate in Hellenistic Greek. During his career, he wrote six monographs, more than 50 book chapters, and over 250 scholarly articles. He served as editor-in-chief of the journal HTS Teologiese Studies (HTS Theological Studies) in 1985–2023, where among his editing work, he saw the publication transformed into an open-access journal. His works earned him the Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize for religious and theological books in 2022.[3]
A topic of interest for van Aarde was the "Historical Jesus", scholarly attempts to distinguish which stories of Jesus "really happened", which were exaggerated, and which were later creations and legends.[2] He was a founding member of the Jesus Seminar, a group organized in 1985 to investigate the topic.[4][5]
Van Aarde was also active in attempting to heal the wounds of post-apartheid South Africa, and championed work to aid communities still marginalized and impoverished from the remnants of the apartheid era.[3]
Van Aarde died on 25 November 2024.[3]
Notes
- ^ Prof Andries van Aarde, University of Pretoria
- ^ a b c De Villiers, Gerda (2011). "Andries van Aarde – A sideways glance: His theological and hermeneutical contribution to the South African scene". HTS Teologiese Studies. 67 (1). doi:10.4102/hts.v67i1.1033.
- ^ a b c d e "In Loving Memory of Professor Andries Gideon van Aarde". AOSIS. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- ^ Le Roux, Jurie H. (2011). "Andries van Aarde as historical Jesus scholar". HTS Teologiese Studies. 67 (1). doi:10.4102/hts.v67i1.1000.
- ^ Andries van Aarde Chairperson, Department of New Testament Studies, University of Pretoria, South Africa Archived 9 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine