Koert Verhagen

Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion

I Serve in...

Biblical Studies, Christian Ministries, Intercultural Studies & Philosophy Department

Education

• PhD, University of St Andrews
• MA, Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
• BA, Philosophy, Taylor University

Career Accomplishments

In 2020, my first book was published: Being and Action Coram Deo: Bonhoeffer and the Retrieval of Justification’s Social Import. I have also published articles and books chapters on a variety of topics, including Kierkegaard’s Works of Love, the concept of religion, theological anthropology, and Christology. At the moment, I am in the early stages of writing a book length exploration of gratitude in philosophical and theological perspective.

Featured Publications

Philosophical Engagements with N.T. Wright: History and Epistemology
Authors: Edited by Joshua Cockayne and Mitchell Mallary Chapter “Rescuing Religion from Modernity? Assessing N.T. Wright’s First Century Alternative” written by Koert Verhagen
Publisher: Routledge, 2022

“God, the Middle Term: Bonhoeffer, Kierkegaard, and Christ’s Mediation in Works of Love”
Authors: Koert Verhagen
Publication: Religions 11, no. 2 (2020): article 78

“Justified ex nihilo: Retrieving Creation for Theological Anthropology with Luther and Bonhoeffer"
Authors: Koert Verhagen
Publication: International Journal of Systematic Theology 21, no. 2 (2019): 199–216

About

Originally from Cincinnati, OH (home to many long-suffering professional sports fans; still one of the greatest cities in the USA), I came to Taylor for my undergraduate degree and the hook was set. Upon leaving Taylor, my education and work moved me from Colorado to Boston to Chicago to Dublin, and, eventually, to St. Andrews, Scotland, where I completed my PhD and engaged in post-doctoral research. Then, the road brought me back to Taylor, where relationships are central to the educational task and learning begins with wonder. These are unique attributes, and I am grateful to be a part of the work that takes place here.

Alongside of my abiding academic interests in philosophy, theology, and all things related, students will also become quickly aware of my love for pop culture references that are slightly too old for them, music (The National, Wilco, and Taylor Swift are current favorites), cats, single-origin coffee, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and, of course, my family—my wife, Diana, and our three kids, Everett, Duncan, and Maisie.