Background

Gijsbert van den Brink was born on May 15, 1963, in Utrecht, Netherlands. He is the son of Tijs van den Brink and Aaltje Esveld.

Education

Gijsbert van den Brink received a Master of Arts degree cum laude at Utrecht University in 1988. He continued his studies and also worked at this university as a research assistant in the philosophy of religion. In 1990 he received a Master of Divinity degree cum laude and in 1993 a Doctor of Philosophy degree in theology cum laude from the same university.

Career

Gijsbert van den Brink began his teaching career in 1992 taking the position of an assistant professor of the philosophy of religion at the University of Groningen. In 1995 he joined Utrecht University as an assistant professor in the philosophy of religion, the position he held till 2001. Then he went to the Protestant Theological University where he was an assistant professor of systematic theology till 2008. From 2007 till 2011 he was a professor by special appointment for the history of reformed Protestantism at Leiden University. In 2008-2015 van den Brink held the position of an associate professor of systematic theology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. From 2012 till 2015 he was a professor by special appointment for the theology of reformed Protestantism at the Protestant Theological University. Currently, he is a professor of theology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His areas of expertise are Christian systematic theology, science and religion, history of reformed theology, and analytic philosophy of religion.

His ministerial activity includes the position of a minister at the Dutch Reformed Church in Lelystad from 1994 till 1999 and in Bilthoven from 1999 till 2001.

In addition to his teaching career, Gijsbert van den Brink wrote or edited numerous books, including Een kerk ging stuk: relaas van de break die optrad binnen de Gerefonneerde Kerken (vrijgemaakt) in de jaren 1967-1974 (1992), Christian Faith and Philosophical Theology: Essays in Honour of Vincent Brümmer, Presented on the Occasion of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of His Professorship (1992), Almighty God: A Study of the Doctrine of Divine Omnipotence (1993), Identity and Change in the Christian Tradition (1999), Understanding the Attributes of God (1999), Op betrouwbare grond: over onstaan en gezag van het Nieuwe Testament (1999), Orientatie in de filosofie: westerse wijsbegeerte in wisselwerking met geloof en théologie (2000), and most recent Reformed Theology and Evolutionary Theory (2020).

Achievements

• Gijsbert van den Brink is an outstanding educator particularly known as a professor of theology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. For his teaching and writing activity, he was awarded numerous honors, including grants from the Templeton World Charity Foundation and European Science Foundation and Thesis Award of the Foundation for the Study of Reformed Protestantism (1987). He was also Houston Witherspoon Fellow of Center of Theological Inquiry.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Understanding the Attributes of God

    (In recent years, God's nature and attributes have been th...)

    1999
  • Identity and Change in the Christian Tradition

    (In at least two respects the position of religion and Chr...)

    1999
  • Reformed Theology and Evolutionary Theory

    (Many books aim to help beginners explore whether or not e...)

    2020
  • Christian Faith and Philosophical Theology: Essays in Honour of Vincent Brümmer, Presented on the Occasion of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of His Professorship 1992
  • Almighty God: A Study of the Doctrine of Divine Omnipotence 1993

Membership

Gijsbert van den Brink is a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry, American Academy of Religion, International Reformed Theological Institute, and Netherlands School for Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion. He is also a member of the editorial board of Theologia Reformata, Journal of Reformed Theology, and Contributions to Philosophical Theology.

Connections

Gijsbert van den Brink married Gerie-Anne Blankensteijn on August 30, 1988. The marriage produced two children. The couple also has a foster-child.

Father:

Tijs van den Brink

Mother:

Aalje Esveld

Wife:

Gerie-Anne Blankensteijn