Acknowledgements
Doctoral dissertations never see the light of publication without the help of others. Therefore it is appropriate to express here my sincere gratitude to the many people involved.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my esteemed promotors, Prof. Dr. Armin Baum of the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit (
Many thanks are also due to the staff and students of
I would like to thank the
Several other people and organizations have proven to be very helpful in the complex but adventurous process of writing a dissertation. Thanks are due to all staff members of the Maurits Sabbe library of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the
Last but not least, I wish to express deep affection to my family. Their unfailing support has been a constant source of strength for me. Irene, my mother-in-law, patiently assisted in preparing the bibliography, while René, my brother-in-law, beautifully designed the lay-out for the (in-house) print edition. My beloved wife Astrid proofread the entire manuscript and helped prepare some of the appendices. Without her, it would probably have taken me much longer to bring this project to a close. Most of all, I am grateful beyond words to my dear parents, Cees and Henriëtte. From childhood onwards, they have taught me by example the importance of education and to study in the spirit of ora et labora. It is to them that I dedicate my work.
Jermo van Nes
Cambridge, UK
May 2017