Professor Emeritus, Religious Studies.
As a retired professor of Religious Studies, I still very much enjoy academic work. Almost daily, I continue to read, write and nurture my mind to further my intellectual formation.
As already during my professional career, my academic curiosity is – broadly defined – in the intersection of biblical studies, theology and philosophy. It feels wonderful to work academically without any pressure for due dates, meeting deadlines etc. I have no commitments other than the interests of my mind. I may re-write my recent book on Paul (Understanding Paul. The Existential Perspective) in a non-academic language. I am also working away at a book on the Jewish philosopher Jacob Taubes.
The starting point of my educational journey, at least in its formal aspects, started here in Waterloo in Religious Studies, in the early 1980s. Following my BA, I studied theology for three years at the University of Tübingen and completed a PhD on Philo of Alexandria at McMaster University. For may years I was an elected board member of the International Bonhoeffer Society and a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature.
I am deeply convinced that the life of the mind is one of the greatest treasures we human being have. We are bombarded daily with an overload of information, trivial news, deliberate lies and (the greatest danger according to Theodor Adorno) many “half-truths.” Thinking and reflecting on our Dasein is a wonderful privilege that lifts our souls and spirit.
Books
•Understanding Paul. The Existential Perspective. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2023.
•Understanding Bonhoeffer. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017. Also published by Baylor University Press 2018.
•(Editor). Interpretando Bonhoeffer. Ensaios em Métodos e Comprensão. Translated by Carlos R. Caldas. São Paulo: Editora Academia Cristã, 2015. [Portuguese Translation of Bonhoeffer and Interpretive Theory, 2013]
•(Editor). Paul in the Grip of the Philosophers. The Apostle and Contemporary Continental Philosophy. Paul in Critical Contexts Series. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.
•(Editor). Bonhoeffer and Interpretive Theory. Essays on Methods and Understanding. International Bonhoeffer Interpretations 6, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2013.
•(Editor). Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Meditation and Prayer. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2010.
•A Dialogue with Bonhoeffer. Collected Essays. Taipei: Chuan Yung Christian University, 2009.
•(Editor). Bonhoeffer’s Intellectual Formation. Theology and Philosophy in His Thought. Religion in Philosophy and Theology 29. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.
•A Handbook of New Testament Greek Grammar. Montreal: Laodamia Press, 2007.
•Divine Providence in Philo of Alexandria. Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 77. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1999.