Full name | Albert M. Wolters |
---|---|
Born | March 30, 1942 Netherlands |
Region | Theology |
School | Neo-Calvinism · Reformed Theology |
Main interests | Dead Sea Scrolls · Biblical Studies · Christian worldview · |
Influenced by
|
Albert Wolters (born 1942 in the Netherlands) is a professor of Religion & Theology, and Classical Studies at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario (near Hamilton) and has provided expert commentary for the Copper Scroll in the Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls[1] (ISBN 0-19-508450-0), and also in a Nova documentary.
After World War II, his family left the Netherlands for Canada. He studied in the preseminary program at Calvin College, despite being an agnostic at the time of his application. While in the program, he converted to Christianity, citing one of his professors, H. Evan Runner, as a major influence. As part of his conversion, he concluded that his calling was not towards the ministry, but towards philosophy. Consequently he returned to the Netherlands and studied the history of philosophy at the Free University in Amsterdam, where he wrote a dissertation on Plotinus before moving back to Canada.[2]
His first teaching job was in philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. Notes from his lectures there were transformed into Creation Regained (1985), which became heavily influential in reformational philosophy and was successful in South Korea. From there his research moved towards biblical studies, and he was hired by Redeemer College, a university he had previous associations with. There his work has focused on the Dead Sea Scrolls, particularly the Copper Scroll.[3] His current projects include work on the book of Zechariah.
He is fluent in Dutch, Frisian, German, English, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic,and other languages.
Contents |
Creation Regained is the main book that Dr Wolters has released. The book focuses on establishing and developing a Christian worldview based on Reformed theology. The book draws from the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd and Abraham Kuyper, as well as the Bible. It was published by Eerdmans Publishing Corporation, first in 1985, and again in 2005.
The book makes the argument that it is necessary for a Christian to have a Christian worldview. A worldview is the various preconceived notions that all human beings hold. Wolters believes that a Christian worldview needs to stem directly out of the Bible. From this worldview, a Christian philosophy can be developed for the sake of examining the world through a Christian perspective. The worldview that Wolters presents is from a specifically Calvinist angle.[4]