Doctoral Colloquium 2025 – Thursday, September 4th
< Go back to overview page Doctoral Colloquium 2025
| 8:00 – 8:30 | Breakfast |
| 9:00 – 9:30 | Chapel (L. Fabrycky) |
| 09:55 – 10:40 | Student Presentations
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| 10:40 – 11:05 | Coffee Break |
| 11:05 – 11:50 | Student Presentations
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| 12:00 – 13:00 | Faculty Presentations
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| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:15 – 14:30 | Professors to meet (LCCS 0103) |
| 14:30 – 17:30 | Defence Daniel Knoll (chapel) Followed by Reception |
| 17:30 – 18:00 | Possibility for appointments |
| 18:00 – 18:30 | Prayer (chapel) |
| 18:30 – 19:30 | Dinner |
| 19:30 – 21:30 | Possibility for Appointments |
Doctoral Examination (closed meeting)
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| Basement open from 20:00 |
< Go back to Wednesday, September 3th | Go to Friday, September 5th >
Abstracts
Student Presentations
B. van den Heuvel (OT): The Birds of the Flood Story: Comparing the bird-release episode from the Genesis flood story with Gilgamesh XI, Berossus, and RS 94.2953
The Genesis flood story is frequently pointed to as the clearest example of the Biblical authors “borrowing” a story from Mesopotamian literature. Within the flood story, the most eye-catching parallel passage is the bird-release episode, which is often mentioned as the most obvious proof for this “borrowing”.
In this presentation, we will look at both the Biblical and the Mesopotamian bird-release episodes and place them in their own literary and cultural contexts. Then these traditions will be compared and contrasted before evaluating the best way to approach the question of “borrowing” or “shared literary history”.
H. Thamrindinata (HT): Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676) on the Agonia Christi
In the whole of Christ’s humiliation and suffering, there is no other place where the severity of sin and divine wrath, and the immensity of His mercy shine more brilliantly than in the agony and torment of His soul, so that although men may explain these agony and torment in their own language, in the end they will be forced to hide behind the cloak of the sacred silence. In his disputation De agonia et desertione Christi, which is included in the second volume of his Selectae disputationes theologicae, p.164-172, Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676) elaborates and analyzes these agony and torments of Christ’s soul. The thesis he proposed and proved in a scholastic manner, against the Roman Catholic’s view, is Christ’s soul directly and immediately fully endured its own proper torments, not only in the inferior or sensitive part of the soul, but also, firstly and radically, in the superior or rational part. Proving this thesis, (1) he defines the sense in which the passion of Christ’s soul should be understood, (2) analyzes the elements of the passion, and (3) the phases of the passion which were divided into propassionem and passionem. The agony of Christ is one of the important topics of the 17th century’s Christology debated especially by Reformed and Roman Catholic theologians. This presentation will show, not only the real issue and the essential points of the debates, but also the patterns of the 17th century’s scholastic arguments used in the debates, as exemplified by Voetius.
E. Moerdyk (NT): The context of culture for Phillipi as a Roman colony as an aid to interpreting Philippians
Systemic functional linguists advocate for a form of discourse analysis that respects register. Register includes context of culture, context of situation, and context of relationship. As part of the context of culture, the history and mindset of the Roman elites in Philippi illumines much of Paul’s vocabulary choices in Philippians. Philippi was a Roman colony, with a storied history that produced much civic pride among the ruling elites. This produced an unusually strong sense of social identity and attachment to Rome, and to Roman ways of living and thinking. Understanding this identity and expressions in civic life are very valuable for reading Philippians.
H. Molano (OT): Hermeneutics approach to the land in current days, Brueggemann and Wrigth’s views
This presentation explores a hermeneutical approach to applying Old Testament texts on land to contemporary contexts, focusing on the models proposed by Walter Brueggemann and Christopher J.H. Wright. It addresses the challenge of interpreting prophetic critiques from the 8th century BC—particularly those concerning land tenure and justice—in light of modern issues, such as Colombia’s entrenched inequalities stemming from latifundism and armed conflict-induced displacements. The objective is to construct a hermeneutical bridge that extracts timeless ethical principles from biblical theology without anachronistic imposition, thereby informing justice in land management within the Colombian socio-political landscape.
Brueggemann conceptualizes the land as a divine gift, promise, and challenge, characterized by a dialectic of longing and loss. Israel serves as a paradigm for humanity, where possession is conditioned by Torah obedience and prophetic reminders against oppression. This model emphasizes ethical stewardship to prevent self-sufficiency and exile, extending theological patterns universally.
Wright, in contrast, views the land as reflective of God’s glory, with humanity as stewards facilitating creation’s rest. Drawing on laws like the Jubilee, he integrates missional theology, positioning Israel as a “light to the nations” whose socio-economic structures model equity and justice for all peoples. The New Testament universalizes these principles, transforming exclusive covenants into inclusive ethics.
The models complement each other: Brueggemann’s prophetic dialectic aligns with Wright’s missional framework, fostering a holistic ethic that bridges spiritual redemption and material justice. Applications to the Church and society encourage advocacy for agrarian reform in Colombia, interpreting prophecies as calls for restorative equity.
Criticisms, including supersessionism (McDermott), colonial erasure (Raheb), methodological reductionism (Volschenk), and paradigmatic overextension (Wind, Duthie), are addressed by balancing historical context with universal ethics. Ultimately, Israel emerges as a paradigm for humanity, demonstrating covenantal living that transcends religious boundaries to promote global land justice.
C. Tulp (ST): Theology of Hope and Responsibility Ethics: Exploring the Theology of Jürgen Moltmann
This presentation will explore how Moltmann’s book Theologie der Hoffnung contains the hallmarks of an ethics of responsibility. After briefly introducing Moltmann’s insight on the centrality of eschatology for theology and outlining its basic structure, the presentation will move to its main focus. It will be argued that the following elements are constitutive for an ethics of responsibility. Firstly, there is a radical openness to the future, without which any action would be subjected to determinism. The future is not predetermined by history; rather, it is announced by the promise as a radical novelty. Secondly, the Christian hope for this future calls to action, entailing risk. The discomfort with the present situation calls for a creatively reshaping of the present reality. The Christian hope instills a willingness to act and to take the risk of one’s actions, ultimately risking one’s life. Thirdly, God’s future is not limited to merely personal salvation but includes the wholeness of creation. It is a new reality and new life in which God will be all in all. The resurrection of Christ is the source for this believe. The presentation will conclude by indicating how these elements function in a Christian ethics of responsibility.
Faculty presentations
D. Williams III and O. Baban (NT): Discussing Mystery in Ephesians 3 between Marius Victorinus and John Chrysostom
Biblical interpretation is frequently guided by modern concerns, but these approaches frequently bypass the wealth of understanding that can be found in the early church’s interpretation. This paper will consider the understanding of mystery in Ephesians 3:3, 4, 9, where Paul most fully develops the idea. Several have suggested that the term reflects the influence of mystery religions (e.g., Bousset, Bultmann). A greater interest seems to trace the idea from Jewish sources in Scripture and second century literature (e.g., Hoehner, Cohick). Early church teachers such as Marius Victorinus and John Chrysostom both found the word mystery to be important in their writing. Both believe that the mystery Paul speaks about does not emerge from human beings. In his commentary, Victorinus emphasizes that the mystery is Christ’s mystery. He describes it through an interesting balance between reason and revelation, through knowledge, memory, and intellect, and the specific action of the Spirit. From his homilies on Ephesians, Chrysostom sees mystery more dependent upon God’s revelation and interpretation. This lecture will present a summation of Victorinus and Chrysostom with regard to mystery in Eph 3, providing results from fresh translation work. Their understanding of mystery in Eph 3 will be compared with each other and then added to the current approach about mystery from modern scholarship.
T. Kopaleishvili (RM): Religious Freedom at the Crossroads of Post-Soviet Geopolitical Rivalries
This paper examines how geopolitical orientation shapes the quality of religious freedom and other fundamental rights in the post-Soviet space, with particular focus on countries caught in geopolitical crosscurrents. Drawing on Georgia as a primary case study while incorporating comparative analysis with Ukraine and Moldova, we investigate how regionalisation processes affect the extend of religious freedom. We aim to demonstrate it by looking through three lenses: the role of traditional religious institutions in nation-building and impact on the minorities, the recognition policies and state mechanisms for managing religious affairs. By using Georgia as a primary case study, we demonstrate how geopolitical orientation—whether toward Russia or the West—fundamentally shapes religious freedom outcomes. We will conclude, that in countries with stronger Western orientation, religious freedom tends to be balanced with equality and non-discrimination principles, while those in Russia’s orbit often prioritize traditional religious authorities at the expense of religious minorities and other fundamental rights. Most notably, in “in-between” countries with divided geopolitical allegiances, these tensions create uniquely problematic situations where religious freedom becomes instrumentalized in broader cultural and political conflicts. This study contributes to understanding how competing rights claims are reconciled—or left in tension—according to geopolitical factors, demonstrating how constitutional frameworks and policy approaches to religious freedom reflect broader struggles between competing visions of state, society, and individual rights.
M. Theocharous (OT): Applying Herem in the Past and in the Present
The topic of herem or ban in the Old Testament has been a theological puzzle for numerous scholars through time, and an uncomfortable area of discussion for the contemporary church. This paper will trace the afterlife of herem and examine how it was received and perhaps modified in Second Temple Judaism, in the New Testament, and in the Early Church. The aim of this study is to understand how later generations, especially Christians, could perceive the meaning and purpose of herem and find value in the herem command, and hopefully help us reflect on whether the herem command has any room in the life of the Church today and in what forms.