Experts & Expertise

• Christianity and Culture
• Death
• James's letter
• Matthew
• Bible (studies)
• Bible as literature
• Bible studies; new testament
• Bible translations
• Jesus
• New testament
• Semantics

 Doctor in theology, Catholic University Nijmegen (Radboud University), Oktober 4,  1979, promotor: prof. dr. B.M.F. van Iersel, title of the dissertation: De broeders van de Mensenzoon,. Mt 25,31-46 als toegang tot de eschatologie van Matteüs, Amsterdam: Ton Bolland, 1979.

Licentiate in theology,  Catholic University Nijmegen (Radboud University), November 1971.

Baccalaurate in theology, Catholic University Nijmegen (Radboud University), June 1971.

 2006- ...: Professor of Biblical Studies (New Testament) at the Faculty of Humanities, Tilburg University.

2007: Chairman of the Department Religious Studies and Theology of the Faculty of Humanities, Tilburg University. 

2006: Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of Tilburg University.

2001-2005: Dean of the Tilburg Faculty of Theology.

1990-1992: Dean of the Tilburg Faculty of Theology.

1984 - 2006: Professor of New Testament Exegesis at Tilburg Faculty of Theology. 

1976-1983: Lecturer of New Testament Exegesis at the Catholic Theological University Amsterdam.

1982-1983: President of the Executive Board of the Catholic Theological University Amsterdam.

1972-1976: Lecturer Religious Anthropology at the Pedagogical Academy Oude Dijk in Tilburg.

1971-1972: Teacher of Religion at the Scholengemeenschap Mencia de Mendoza in Breda.

1969-1971: Student-assistent at Theological Faculty of the Catholic University in Nijmegen.

Semantic and Intertextual Studies Into the Identity of Early Christian Communities

Project leaders: Prof. dr. W. Weren & Dr. H. van de Sandt

General aim
On the basis of examples from the Gospels and the book of Acts, this project studies how early Christian communities gradually constructed their own recognisable identity by associating themselves with groups in their own surroundings with which they felt they were traditionally related, or by distancing themselves from other groups, Jewish and pagan, which they saw as threats to their own faith and life.

Objectives
There are two objectives to be distinguished within this project:

1. Following semantic theories and working from a historical perspective, this project is focused on the meaning of words, phrases and textual units from the Gospels and Acts and on the New Testament in the context of contemporary Jewish and Hellenistic sources.
2. Using intertextual theories and literary-historical methods, this project is directed to obtaining insight into the way in which the authors of the Gospels and Acts have incorporated texts or parts of texts from the Old Testament into their own documents. This research aims at throwing light on the self-image of the Christian communities in which the Gospels and Acts had their origins.

Matthew and James: literary and intertextual studies

Project Leader: prof. dr. W.J.C. Weren

Proceeding from the new proposal regarding the macrostructure of Matthew, a narrative and semantic study is being carried out concerning the role of the disciples in the Gospel according to Matthew. In connection with this, the images of the ideal community that the authors of the Gospel of Matthew, the epistle of James and the Didache construct in their attempt to shape the profile of their own communities are also being studied. This profile is further explored in research into the meaning and function of explicit and implicit Old Testament citations in Matthew and James. What contribution do such citations make to the coherence of these two documents, and what light does that shed on their historical, social and religious setting?

• Participation in the development of the international network Metamorphosen des Todes. Cooperation with researchers from the USA  (Claudia Setzer, Dale Allison, Andrew Overman) and Germany (Tobias Nicklas) in carrying out the Tilburg University project Life beyond Death?
• Together with researchers from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and South-Africa participation in an international research group directed at the study of the theme Coping with Violence in the New Testament.
• Guest researcher at the University of Pretoria.

 Member of the Executive Board of the Netherlands Research School for Theology and Religion Sciences.

Member of the editorial board of Tijdschrift voor Theologie.

Member of the editorial board of Theologie der Gegenwart. 

2008: Knight Commander in the Pontificial Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great.

 Current Ph.D-supervision:

• Ph.D student: drs H.J. Inkelaar; title of the dissertation: Conflicts over wisdom. An intertextual investigation into the influence of textual units from the Septuagint on Paul?s discourse on wisdom and folly in I Cor. 1:10-4:21; co-supervisor: prof. dr. A. van der Kooij (Leiden University); defense of the thesis in 2010;
• Ph.D student: drs N.A. Riemersma; title of the dissertation: Niet aan het wonder voorbij. Een exegetisch-hermeneutische studie naar dodenopwekkingen in het evangelie naar Lucas; to be completed in 2011.

 Succes fully completed Ph.D supervision:

• April 22, 1993: dr J. Bastiaens, Interpretaties van Jesaja 53. Een intertextueel onderzoek naar de lijdende Knecht in Jes 53 (MT/LXX) en in Lk 22:14-38, Hand 3:12-26, Hand 4:23-31 en Hand 8:26-40, Tilburg: Tilburg University Press 1993; co-supervisor: prof. dr. W. Beuken.
• June 19, 1996: dr. V. de Haas, De opgebroken straat. Een intertekstuele analyse van 'De komst van Joachim Stiller' in het licht van Lukas 24, Zoetermeer: Uitgeverij Boekencentrum 1996; co-supervisor: prof. dr. J. Goedegebuure.
• 2002: dr. T. Brouns-Wewerinke, In verhalen krijgt geschiedenis betekenis. Verbeelding van Jezus' lijden en dood in het Johannesevangelie, Zoetermeer: Uitgeverij Boekencentrum, 2002.
• 2004: dr. Y. van den Akker-Savelsbergh, Het onzevader: een meerstemmig gebed? Een tekstsemantisch en redactiekritisch onderzoek naar het onzevader in de versie van Matteüs, Zoetermeer: Uitgeverij Boekencentrum, 2004.

 Papers recently presented at international conferences:

1. Human Body and Life beyond Death in Matthew's Gospel; paper presented by Wim Weren at the symposium The Human Body in Death and Resurrection, organised by the International Society for Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature, December 3-6, 2008, Regensburg University.

2. Matthew's Stories about Jesus' Burial and Resurrection (27:55-28:20) as the Climax of his Gospel; paper presented by Wim Weren at the international conference Life beyond Death in Matthew's Gospel: Religious Metaphor or Bodily Reality?, April 17, 2009, Tilburg University.

3. Matthew's View of Jesus' Resurrection: Transformations of a Current Eschatological Scenario; paper presented by Wim Weren at the Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense LVIII devoted to Matthew's Gospel at the Crossroads, July 29-31, 2009, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.    

W.J.C. Weren teaches the following subjects:

• Bible and Modern Culture (990203) Further information
• (990205) Further information
• Modern Culture and Bible (992122) Further information
• Life and death in the bible (992222) Further information

Member of the Sudiorum Novi Testamenti Societas

Member of the Society for Biblical Literature

Member of the Studiosorum Novi Testamenti Conventus

Member of the European Association of Biblical Studies

Member of the European Society for Catholic Theology

Member of the Bijbels Werkgenootschap St. Hieronymus

Member of the editorial board of Tijdschrift voor Theologie

Member of the editorial board of Theologie der Gegenwart

Senior researcher in the Netherlands School for Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion

Member of the Executive Board of the Netherlands School for Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion

Member of the Comittee of Recommendation of the project 'The Bible in the Dutch Culture', Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam (website: www.bijbelencultuur.nl).

Member of the Committee of Recommendation of the Foundation Parelmoer

Secretary of the Foundation PodiumMuziek