Remembering Wentzel van Huyssteen

Academia has long held a belief that the personality of a scholar doesn’t quite matter as long as the content of their idea is sound. But if you knew Emeritus Professor Wentzel van Huyssteen, you knew this belief was flawed. Charming and welcoming, full of life and laughter, van Huyssteen extended a kind hand to theologians and scientists alike, inviting them to come together to leverage the best of each discipline for the benefit of human understanding — and this attitude came across in his many books and other scholarship. “He never claimed to have it all mapped out,” says Professor of Old Testament Chip Dobbs-Allsopp, a close friend of van Huyssteen who co-taught classes with him. “He was genuine and open, and a person of faith who wanted to make this right with the world we knew through science. He invited students to explore this with him and, for that, they loved him.”

Born on April 29, 1942 in Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape, South Africa, van Huyssteen earned baccalaureus degrees in both theology and philosophy, as well as an MA in philosophy, from Stellenbosch University. After earning his doctorate in philosophical theology from the Free University of Amsterdam in 1970, he went on to be ordained in the Dutch Reformed Church in Noorder-Paarl, South Africa. He served as professor and head of the Biblical Studies and Religion department at the University of Port Elizabeth for 19 years before arriving at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1992 as the first occupant of the James I. McCord Chair in Theology and Science.

van Huyssteen’s move to Princeton coincided with the publishing of many books and articles, including the widely acclaimed Essays in Post-Foundationalist Theology, Duet or Duel? Theology and Science in a Postmodern World, The Shaping of Rationality, and The Encyclopedia of Science and Theology (for which he was editor in chief), to name a few. “He was a role model for many,” says Dirk Smit, Rimmer and Ruth De Vries Professor of Reformed Theology and Public Life, “with his intellectual passion, his creativity and curiosity, his willingness to pursue new avenues and to engage difficult questions, his ability to form academic friendships and lasting networks and collaborations, and his pride in the quality of his own scholarship.”

In 2004, van Huyssteen was invited to deliver the prestigious Gifford Lectures and, to this day, has the distinction of being the only member of the Princeton Seminary faculty to deliver these while in active service to the Seminary. Building upon the content of these lectures, van Huyssteen penned Alone in the World?, a book which examines the nature of human uniqueness from the perspectives of both science and theology. Indeed, his work highlights not only that theology must take into account our best scientific knowledge if it is to remain relevant, but he also mapped out why and how theology and science could collaborate based on a deeper understanding of human rationality. “His impact was therefore both inspiring and empowering, as well as self-critical and challenging, and several generations of scholars across a variety of disciplines were deeply affected by his work,” says Smit. “His life was one of many ‘firsts’ and he opened doors for others who will further travel on these paths in their own ways; this was the very nature and intention of his own pursuits and contributions.”

van Huyssteen served on the faculty of Princeton Seminary for 23 years and, after retirement, moved back to his beloved South Africa. He died on February 18, 2022, leaving behind prolific scholarship and a unique theological perspective. “On the personal side, people will remember his warmth, joviality, and congeniality, and it comes across in his writing,” says Dobbs-Allsopp. “He touched a lot of lives. He was beloved. Enthusiastic. You felt loved in his presence. People won’t forget that.”