Edwin Chr. van Driel

Associate Professor of Theology
Year started at PTS: 2009

Contact Info

evandriel@pts.edu
412-924-1425

Education

• Ph.D., Yale University / Religious Studies (theology), 2006
• Diploma, Berkeley Divinity School, Yale University / Anglican Studies, 2006
• M.Phil., Yale University / Religious Studies, 2004
• M.A., Yale University / Religious Studies, 2002
• M.Phil., Utrecht University / Philosophy, 2000
• M.Div., Utrecht University, 1999  
• B.Div., Utrecht University / Theology, 1994 

Bio

The Rev. Dr. Edwin Chr. van Driel joined the faculty at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2009. Previously, he taught for two years at Fordham University. A native of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, he holds master’s degrees in theology and philosophy from Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in religious studies (theology) from Yale University. Van Driel’s current interest is in Christology, eschatology, and ecclesiology. His Incarnation Anyway (OUP 2008) analyzes and defends the idea that the incarnation is not contingent upon human sin, but is rather central to creation’s beginning and eschaton. He recently completed a book on the unity and future of the American mainline church. His next larger project will focus on Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost, and their implications for the church’s preaching, common life, stance in politics and culture, and eschatological expectations. He has also published on Schleiermacher, Barth, and American ecclesiology, and he contributed several essays to Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary. Van Driel is a member of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song which prepares the new songbook for the PC(USA). He is the primary writer of the committee’s “Theological Vision statement” and “A Statement on Language.” Van Driel is an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA). He is married to the Rev. Kimberly Miller van Driel, a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. They have two children, a son and a daughter. 

Church Association

Ordination: PC(USA), 2010 as Minister of Word and Sacrament

Professional Competencies

Areas of Specialty

• Christology
• Eschatology
• Ecclesiology

Professional Service

Leadership for Professional Societies

• Member, Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song

Fellowships/Distinctions

• 2005: John F. Enders Award, Yale University Graduate School
• 2004: John Perry Miller Award, Yale University Graduate School

Additional Resources

The Future of the Church

A couple of years ago I published an article in Theology Today about the unity of the church. As many in our culture think about the church as a voluntary organization, I proposed to think about the church as grounded in God's covenant of baptism. I then applied this to the manifold conflicts in the mainline churches: If our unity is not a voluntary unity based on our common convictions, but we are united because we are called together by God in our baptism, what does this mean for how we deal with disagreements in the church? I further developed my argument in the manuscript below.

Introduction
Chapter 1 - Church and Covenant
Chapter 2 - Outside the (United) Church Is No Salvation
Chapter 3 - Bearing With One Another in Love
Chapter 4 - The Household of God (Rooted in the Future)
Chapter 5 - The Household of God (Living As God's New People)
 

Professional Information

Complete CV
Publications
High res image

Audio

Chapel 1
Chapel 2