Our Team

DRS FULCO Y. VAN HULST

PROF. DR FERNANDO ENNS

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

As a research associate for the Chair of Mennonite (Peace) Theology and Ethics I am responsible for the introductory bachelor courses in both Mennonite Theology and Ethics. I represent the Centre by providing support to Mennonite congregations on a national level that want to strengthen their peace commitment, or want to reflect on their identity as a peace church.

I provide practical support to the activities of the Center and of the Mennonite Seminary within the Vrije Universiteit. As the first contact person of the Mennonite Seminary for international students and PhD-candidates I provide them with information about our programs and I function as an intermediate in contacting the right persons to organize studying in Amsterdam.

Apart from these activities I conduct a PhD-research myself about the understanding of the atonement in Western Church history. The Historic Peace Churches’ witness to the nonviolent character of God as God reveals himself in the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But how can God be both nonviolent and reconcile humanity through a violent event as Jesus’ death on the cross? I investigate both the well-known atonement motifs of the western Christian tradition as well as some recent alternative views by theologians who opt for a “nonviolent atonement”.

THOMAS DE BOER

STUDENT ASSISTANT

As the student assistent of the current holder of the Chair for Peace Theology and Ethics, I am tasked with contributing to the further development of the Amsterdam Centre. The basic outlines for this were developed during my internship at the Centre; the challenge is to bring these outlines into practice. This includes internal development (this website, for instance) but also thinking on how to connect to outside parties and actors as well as seeking ways to make our students participate in our activities and points of view.

My background is in religion studies at the VU University. Following my graduation in 2014, I continued my studies at the Radboud University, enrolling the the master programme Religion and Policy (,,Religie en Beleid''). I am now enrolled in the master specialisation programme ,,Peace, Trauma, and Religion,'' and particularly interested in issues related to war, violence, and, taking conflict as a reality of our human condition, how to limit violence.

VERA KOK

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

As a secretary I assist and support the Mennonite Seminary and the Amsterdam Center for Religion and Peace & Justice Studies in the broadest sense: I give secretarial support to the board, staff, students and the Commission for postgraduate education, beside that I assist in activities of the Seminary and the Center.

ORGANISER 'EXPERT MEETINGS'

As a volunteer for the Centre I took up the responsibility for the Expert Meetings. These periodical meetings are organized and hosted by the Centre, and the intent is to gather around with people with knowledge from diverse perspective in order to discuss critically and share knowledge on different themes of peace and justice.

My background is in sociology. I am currently enrolled in the MSc programme International Crimes and Criminology at the Faculty of Law, and the MA programme Peace, Trauma, and Religion at the Faculty of Theology. With this interdisciplinary background, I focus on the approach to religion as a tool for reconciliation.

BRITT BAKKER

DIRECTOR

In my research I focus on peace and justice from a theological and ethical perspective. Being rooted in a peace-church tradition myself and educated as a systematic theologian in the Christian tradition, I try to address the issues of peace and justice in a dialogical manner: in dialogue with other Christian traditions (ecumenical), with other religions (inter-religious) and non-believers as well as with other disciplines (inter-disciplinary).

This creates new wisdom for peace-building and transformative justice in praxis. Along that line of thought, the challenges and opportunities of and for processes of reconciliation become predominant, as well as the search for spiritual roots within the faith traditions to pursue a just peace.

My involvement in international ecumenical settings, like the World Council of Churches, continues to stimulate my research and put it to test in that intercultural and public arena.