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Protestantism has always struggled to understand the church. Protestant churches of course continued to confess the one holy universal and apostolic church of the creeds – but, in reality, mostly failed to understand how their own fragmented, unholy, parochial and often unfaithful churches were related to this church which they confessed. Theologically, Protestant forms of the church often found high-sounding ways of speaking about the true (invisible) church as object of their faith, but, in reality, they often turned a blind eye to the divided, wounded, worldly forms of the real (visible) church in which they worshipped, where they belonged, and where they often found their social, cultural and even political forms of belonging. Particularly since The Theological Declaration of Barmen (1934), this was no longer possible. Barmen once and for all put a challenge to Protestantism to face the deep and troubling discrepancies between the so-called true church which they confessed and the very real church which they embodied. “We reject the false doctrine, as though the church were permitted to abandon the form of its message and order to its own pleasure or to changes in prevailing ideological and political convictions,” Barmen claimed. Now, Protestantism was called to face the tensions between the message of the church and its concrete social forms. Not everything that is called church deserves the name. Not every so-called church leader deserves the title. Not every so-called renewal of the church is necessarily transformation for the better, “according to the Word of God,” in the words of the well-known Reformation motto. For the several past decades, Protestant churches worldwide have been facing this challenge in many forms and moments and places. The struggle for the church in apartheid South Africa was one dramatic illustration, but similar struggles were taking place in many other ways and about all possible social forms of the church – about the integrity of liturgy and worship; about the identity and life of local congregations; about the deeply problematic social sources of denominationalism; about the nature and calling of the ecumenical church in the global world; about the faith and everyday life of believers; about the concrete service and witness of the salt of the earth and light of the world. The lectures, studies, sermons and papers in this volume were all born in conversations like these – about the real church struggling to stay faithful to the message of the true church, in its many diverse social forms. Together, they serve as historical record of struggles for the heart of the church over several decades and in many places. Many originated in South Africa, many in the ecumenical church, some in dialogues, some in worship, some in teaching, some in church meetings. All were concerned with tensions between the message and the concrete forms of the church – often sad and shameful, even tragic and terrible, tensions.
Dirk J. Smit holds an MA (philosophy, Stellenbosch), DTh (Stellenbosch), DPhil (h.c.) (Umeå, Sweden), and PhD (h.c.) (Protestant Theological University, Groningen). His appointments include honorary professor of the Humboldt University, Berlin (Germany), extraordinary professor of Stellenbosch University (South Africa), fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin), and member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). Smit comes to Princeton Seminary from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, where he served as professor of systematic theology. Before his appointment to Stellenbosch, Smit served on the faculty at the University of the Western Cape. He has also served as a pastor.
Over the past three decades, Smit has emerged as one of South Africa’s most significant theologians. He has written extensively, in both English and Afrikaans, on the legacy of the Reformed tradition and its relevance to contemporary theological, social, and political questions. He has been a particularly prominent and influential voice in the church’s repudiation of apartheid. Smit was one of the primary authors of the Belhar Confession. Written in 1982 and adopted by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in 1986, the Belhar Confession boldly declared the sinfulness of apartheid and was a call for justice, reconciliation and unity among all people. It has recently been adopted as part of the PC (USA) Book of Confessions. His teaching, supervision, research and popular writing all draw on experience in ecumenical theology and the church’s public witness in South Africa.
Confessional Theology, Ecumenical Theology, Public Theology
2024 Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8. Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press
2023 Gesprekke oor Geestelike Waardes. Versamelde Opstelle 7 Dirk J. Smit, Stellenbosch: Sun Press, red. Nadia Marais
2023 Gedagtes oor Geestelike Waardes. Versamelde Opstelle 6 Dirk J. Smit, Stellenbosch: Sun Press, red. Robert Vosloo
2019 Confessing Together? Considering the ‘Wittenberg Witness‘ and the Future of the Church, Tainan: Tainan Theological College and Seminary (in Chinese, with English text)
2018 Ons glo in. Gedagtes en motiewe uit wat die kerk bely oor God as Vader, Seun en Heilige Gees, Wellington: BybelMedia
2015 Goeie genade – is dit dan genoeg, Kaapstad: Naledi.
2014 Om te leef asof nie. Meditasies opgedra aan Russel Botman, Wellington: BybelMedia.
2013 Remembering Theologians – Doing Theology. Collected Essays 5, red. R R Vosloo, Stellenbosch: Sun Press.
2013 Opstelle oor Gereformeerd-wees vandag. Versamelde Opstelle 4, red. L D Hansen, Stellenbosch: Sun Press.
2025 Receiving Nicaea Today: Global Voices from Reformed Perspectives,ed. Hanns Lessing & Daniel Rathnakara Sadananda et al, World Communion of Reformed Churches, Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt
2016 H. Lessing, T. Dedering, J. Kampmann, and D. Smit, eds., Contested Relations: Protestantism between Southern Africa and Germany from the 1930s to the Apartheid Era, Chester Publications, Pietermaritzburg. A translation of Umstrittene Beziehungen. Protestantismus zwischen dem südlichen Afrika und Deutschland von den 1930er Jahren bis in die Apartheidzeit, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2015.
2015 Bernard C Lategan and D. Smit (ed.), Hermeneutics and Social Transformation. A Selection from the Essays of Bernard Lategan, Stellenbosch: Sun Media.
2025 “‘Confession will always cause headshaking among serious people’” – On Barmen, Barth and persevering in witness,” Stellenbosch Theological Journal Vol 11, No 1, 1–34, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2025.v11n1.1
2023 ”Confessing church today?,” Acta Theologica 43 (1): 193-210, DOI: https://doi.org/10.38140/at.v43/1.7393
2023 “On dreaming a different world together?,“ Stellenbosch Theological Journal. Mirrors and Windows, Vol 9, No 3, 1-21 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2023.v9n3.a6 Online ISSN 2413-9467/Print 2413-9459
2023 “On Theological Promise,” Stellenbosch Theological Journal Vol 9, No 1, 1–29, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2023.v n1.a3
2022 ”Being Reformed today?,” Acta Theologica 42 42(2): 239-343, DOI: http://dx.doi. Org/10.19920/23099089/actat.v42i2.21
2022 “On Listening? Listening (anew) to an 80-year-Old,“ Stellenbosch Theological Journal Vol 8, No 1, 1-21. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2022.v8n1.a3, a public lecture in honour of Denise Ackermann on the occasion of her 80th birthday
2021 “On Politics of Friendship,“ Stellenbosch Theological Journal, Vol 7/1, 1-39, also as https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2021.v7n1.a13, online lecture in honour of Nico Koopman on his 60th birthday
2021 “Schism – and Reformed Theology?,“ Acta Theologica 41(2), 176-195, access also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/23099089/actat.v41i2.10
2021 “On Thinking,“ Verbum et Ecclesia Vol 42(2) (special edition commemorating Wentzel van Huyssteen’s 80 birthday), 21-31 (a2311, https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v42i2.2311), published online and in book form
2019 “ʽOften Distortions with Horrifying Social Implications’? On How Doctrine Matters for Public Life,” Evang. Theol. 79. Jg., Heft 1, S. 58–73
2018 “‘Hope for Even the Most Wretched‘? On Remembering the Reformation,“ Stellenbosch Theological Journal December Vol 4, No 2, 703–725
2018 “Jesus Today? On Christology in South Africa,“ Verkündiging und Forschung 63. Jg., Heft 2, 139-151
2017 “On the Importance of the Belhar Confession Today,“ Collegium Doctorum. Magyar Református Teológia, 13. Évfolyam, 2017/2, 263-274.
2017 “The Contribution of Religions to the Common Good in Pluralist Societies – A Christian Perspective,” International Journal of Public Theology 2017/11, 290–300.
2016 “On the Reception of Bonhoeffer – A Case Study of South-South Dialogue,” Stellenbosch Theological Journal 2016, Vol 2, No 1, 89–107.
2015 “‘Making History for the Coming Generation’—On the Theological Logic of Russel Botman’s Commitment to Transformation,” Stellenbosch Theological Journal Vol 1/No 2, 607-632.
2015 “‘No Polycarps Among Us’? Questions for Reformed Political Theology Today,” Studies in Christian Ethics, Vol 28 Num 2, 187-200.
2015 “‘(T)his cry activates the freedom given and therefore the obedience required,’ The work of the Spirit from ‘Calvin’ to ‘Barth’?,“Zeitschrift für dialektische Theologie, 51-88.
2015 ”Reading the Bible through the Ages? Historical and Hermeneutical Perspectives,” Stellenbosch Theological Journal Vol 1/No 2, 175–194.
2014 “‘Jesus’ und ‘Politik,’” Evangelische Theologie 74. Jahrgang, 1-2014, 57-70.
2014 “Gegenwart des lebendigen Christus. Calvins Theologie des Abendmahls als ökumenische Herausforderung.” Evangelische Theologie 74. Jahrgang, 6-2014, 423-437.
2025 “Instruction in the Art of Conversation?,“ with Hanna Reichel, in Adam Neder (ed), Teaching Theology: Essays Personal and Theological, Baylor University Press,
2024 “Reformed theology – and schism?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 337-350
2024 “What does Barmen have to say to us today?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 351-354
2024 Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8. Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press.
2024 “The Church of Jesus Christ – and ecclesiological foundations?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 361-372
2024 “From conflict to communion? – remembering the Reformation,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 443-452
2024 “Building trust?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 495-506
2024 “Loving justice?,“ in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 507-516
2024 “Crying for justice?,“ in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 517-526
2024 “Following justice?,“ in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 527-536
2024 “Contributions of religions to the common good in pluralistic societies?,“ in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 537-546
2024 “Geestelikes en magsposisies?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 569-578
2024 “Confessing together? – on the Wittenberg Witness and the future of the church,“ in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 607-639
2024 “With Jesus on the mountain – The church in the Gospel of Matthew,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 43-72
2024 “Gebed in die Gereformeerde tradisie?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 87-116
2024 “Die Woord uit my mond sal nie onverrigter sake terugkeer nie” (Jes 55:11), in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 117-122
2024 “Not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom 1:16-17), in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 123-128
2024 ”Do you not discern that you are dealing with the body of Christ?” (1 Cor 11:29), in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 129-134
2024 ”Laat die kindertjies na My toe kom” (Markus 10:14), in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 135-140
2024 ”Dit is my troos dat ek gedoop is” (Rom 6:1-5, 8, 11), in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 141-144
2024 ”Always give account of the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15), in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 145-150
2024 ”Vrymoedig en sonder verhindering”? (Hand 28:31), in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 151-156
2024 ”Because they saw that the child was beautiful” (Heb 11:23), in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 157-162
2024 ”Lofprysing – waarom en waartoe?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 163-182
2024 “Do we really believe in congregations? Challenges from Scripture and Tradition,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 225-232
2024 “’Only inconsequential matters’? – Reflections on the humanity of the church,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 277-290
2024 ”Being Reformed today?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 291-298
2024 ”Confessing church today?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 299-308
2024 ”Reformed confessions – as ”spirituality of resistance”?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 309-312
2024 “Reformed confessions – and authority?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 313-326
2024 “Reformed confessions – and contextuality?,” in Essays on the Real Church. Collected Essays 8 Dirk J. Smit, Sipho Mahokoto (ed.), Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 327-330
2023 “‘… a holy church,” in We Believe in the Holy Spirit, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, ed. Henco van der Westhuizen, 157-188
2022 “Trinity, History – and Discernment?,“ in Henco van der Westhuizen (ed.), Reader in Trinitarian Theology, Auckland Park: University of Johannesburg Press, 189-210.
2022 “The Trinity in the Reformed Tradition,“ in Henco van der Westhuizen (ed.), Reader in Trinitarian Theology, Auckland Park: University of Johannesburg Press, 241-262.
2022 “On the Witness of the Church,“ Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Peter Bubmann, Hans-Ulrich Dallmann, Helga Kuhlmann, Torsten Meireis (Hrsg.), Kritische öffentliche Theologie. Wolfgang Huber zum 80. Geburtstag, Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 31-46
2021 “On Truth-Telling,“ in Vänskap/Friendship: Festschrift för Arne Rasmusson, eds. Ola Sigurdson & Jayne Svenungsson, Malmö: Spricka Förlag, 223-242
2021 “On Pleasant Company – From Geselligkeit to Ecumenical Spirituality,“ in Hannes Müller, Stefan Dienstbeck & Lisanne Teuchert (Hrsg.), Beziehungsweisen. Theologie aus dialogischer Überzeugung, Festschrift für Bernd Oberdorfer, Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 20-38
2021 “Africa,“ Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies, eds. G Wainwright & P MacPartlan, New York: Oxford University Press, 509-517
2021 “On the Role of Authority in Churches‘ Moral Discernment during Apartheid,“ in Churches and Moral Discernment, Volume 2: Learning from History, eds. Myriam Wijlens, Vladimir Shmaliy & Simone Sinn, Geneva: WCC, Faith and Order Paper No. 229, 105-126
2021 “‘Reimagining Hope with and like Children,“ Marcia Bunge (ed), Child Theology: Diverse Methods and Global Perspectives, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 206-230
2021 “Memories of Conversations,“ foreword in Henco van der Westhuizen, Faith Active in Love. On the Theology of Michael Welker, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 5-13
2019 “Freedom in Community: ‘Surprising Discovery‘ and ‘Paradoxical Connection‘? (with bibliography),“ in Michael Welker (ed), Quests for Freedom. Biblical, Historical, Contemporary. Second Edition, Eugene, Or: Cascade Books, 278-314
2018 “Reading Rightly? On Hermeneutics of Trust, Hope and Commitment,” in Jeremy Punt & Marius Nel (eds), Reading Writing Right, Essays Presented in Honour of Prof AEJ (Elna) Mouton, Stellenbosch: Africa SunMedia, 19-39.
2018 “Justice as/and Compassion? On the Good Samaritan and Political Theology,“ Frits de Lange & L Juliana Claassens (eds), Considering Compassion: Global Ethics, Human Dignity and the Compassionate God, Eugene, OR: Pickwick, Wipf & Stock, 109-128
2018 “Contributions of Religions to the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies from a Christian Perspective? Some Critical Remarks,” in M L Pirner, J Laehnemann, W Haussmannn, S Schwarz (eds), Public Theology, Religious Diversity, and Interreligious Learning: Contributing to the Common Good through Religious Education, New York: Routledge, 11-21
2018 “What makes worship good?” in Liturgy and Ethics. New Contributions from Reformed Perspectives, ed. Pieter Vos, Leiden: Brill/Rodopi, 19-48.
2017 “Barmen and Belhar in Conversation: A South African Perspective,“ in Mary-Anne Plaatjies-van Huffel & Leepo Modise (eds), Belhar Confession. The Embracing Confession of Faith for Church and Society, Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 407-420.
2017 “Could being Reformed have made a difference? On practical theology and ethics in South Africa,“ Imagining a Way: Essays in Reformed Practical Theology and Ethics, ed. Clive Pearson, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 39-52
2017 “Security of Expectations? On Welker’s Theology of Law, “Festschrift for Michael Welker, Guenter Thomas & Heike Springhart (eds), Risiko und Vertrauen/Risk and Trust, Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 195-206.
2017 “Religion and civil society in ‘South Africa’? Searching for grammar for life together, “in Michael Welker, Koos Vorster & Nico Koopman (eds), Church and Civil Society. German and South African Perspectives, Stellenbosch: Sun Media, 63-106.
2017 “Das Belhar Bekenntnis: Kontext, Hermeneutik und Folgen? Belhar im Kontext südafrikanischer Bekenntnisbildung,“ in Neuere reformierte Bekenntnisse im Fokus. Studien zu ihrer Entstehung und Geltung, Maren Bienert, Carsten Jochum-Bortfeld, Marco Hofheinz (Hrsg.), Zürich: TVZ, 203-219
2017 “Living with strangers? On constructing ethical discourses, “Daniel Pedersen & Christopher Liley, eds., Human Origins and the Image of God: Essays in Honor of J. Wentzel van Huyssteen. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 273-313
2017 “Does it Matter? On whether there is Method in the Madness,” Companion to Public Theology, eds. Sebastian Kim & Katie Day, Leiden: Brill, 67-92.
2017 “His Life as Theologian,“ in Russel Botman. A Tribute, Stellenbosch: Sun Media, eds Albert Grundling, Ruda Landman & Nico Koopman, Stellenbosch: African Sun Media, 73-98
2016 “Welcoming Children? – On Building Cultures of Trust,” Welcoming Africa’s Children: Theological and Ministry Perspectives, eds. G Breed & J Grobbelaar (eds), Cape Town: AOSIS, 1-141.
2016 “‘…on earth as it is in heaven?’ On the political potentials of theological metaphors,“ Der Himmel als transkultureller ethischer Raum: Himmelskonstellationen im Spannungsfeld von Literatur und Wissen, Hrsg. H Lesch, S Waldow, B Oberdorfer, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 49-76.
2015 “‘Hermeneutics, what is that then?‘ – An Introduction,“ in B C Lategan, Hermeneutics and Social Transformation, Stellenbosch: Sun Media, 3-12.
2015 “Das Paradigma Öffentliche Theologie. Entstehung und Entwicklung“ in F Höhne & F van Oorschot (Hrsg.), Grundtexte Öffentliche Theologie, Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 127-141.
2015 “Freedom in community – ‘Surprising discovery’ and ‘paradoxical connection’?,” Quests for Freedom. Biblical – Historical – Contemporary, ed. M Welker, Neukirchen: Neukirchener Verlag, 267-298.
2015 “Barths Krisentheologie in Kontexten radikaler Transformation lesen? Eine südafrikanische Reflexion,” in Georg Pfleiderer & Harald Matern (Hrsg.), Theologie im Umbruch. Karl Barths frühe Dialektische Theologie. Christentum und Kultur. Band 15, Zürich: TVZ, 151-168.
2015 “’Whose law?‘ South African struggles with notions of justice,” Religion and Human Rights. Global Challenges from Intercultural Perspectives, eds. W Graeb & L Charbonnier, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 149–174.
2014. ”Resisting ’Lordless Power’ – Boesak on Power,” Prophet from the South. Essays in Honour of Allan Aubrey Boesak, eds. Prince Dibeela, Puleng Lenka-Bula & Vuyani Vellem, Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 2014, 11–35.
2023 “On Election and Hope? Conflicting Stories from Twentieth-Century South Africa,“ in T & T Clark Handbook of Election, ed. Edwin van Driel, Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 518-535
2019 “Africa,“ Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies, eds. G Wainwright & P MacPartlan, New York: Oxford University Press
2015 “Apartheid,” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics, ed. Robert L. Brawley, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 21–29.
2015 “Restitution,” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics, ed. Robert L. Brawley, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 204-207.
Since moving to Princeton Smit’s teaching and writing focused on his chair for Reformed Theology and Public Life. Most of his work and courses dealt with the three inter-related fields of confessional theology, ecumenical theology and public theology. He taught courses on the ecumenical passion of the Reformed faith and its views of the calling of the church; on the ambiguous passion of the Reformed faith for public life; on Reformed faith, worship, and life in the everyday world; on Reformed theologies, Christology and public life; on the Reformed faith and living with strangers; on justification and justice; on the sovereignty of God and political theology; on the Reformed appreciation of law. He contributes to the work of the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the global ecumenical church and often offers adult education in congregations. During this time, he gave public lectures and published papers on themes including election; truth and truth-telling; politics of friendship; worship and prayer; hope and trust; practices of reading, listening and seeing; the witness of the church; the nature of communion; pleasant company and humor; conversation; being like children; theological promise; as well as Calvin, Barth, Bonhoeffer, Barmen, the Wittenberg Witness, Belhar, and taught courses on thinkers like Welker and Wolterstorff, and “Prophets from the South” – inspirational South African spiritual and public figures. His final course, “On Thinking,” will consider Reformed habits of loving God with our mind.
Smit still serves as Honorary Professor of the Humboldt University in Berlin and as Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He received honorary doctorates from Umeå University in Sweden and the Protestant Theological University in the Netherlands. He is a Fellow of the Humboldt Foundation, the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton and the Academy of Science of South Africa. He received a variety of awards for research and teaching over several decades from different institutions and many invitations to deliver lecture series or keynote public lectures in many places and in several synodical meetings. He won prizes for publications and received a medal from the association of chairpersons of Stellenbosch’s representative council.
June 30, 2021
Faculty of Theology at Stellenbosch University
March 19, 2018
Princeton Theological Seminary
