Dr. M.J. Stoutjesdijk
Martijn Stoutjesdijk (1989) studied theology/religious studies, philosophy, history of the Ancient Near East, and international relations in Leiden and Utrecht. After working for a short time at a high school and in a commercial position, he was appointed as a PhD researcher in the project 'Parables and the Partings of the Ways' from 2014 to 2020 (see www.parabelproject.nl). As a PhD candidate, he studied the use of the slavery metaphor in early Christian and early Rabbinic parables, but during his PhD project he also became increasingly interested in the role of Christianity and Judaism in the Dutch colonial slavery past. On the latter subject, he wrote a prize-winning essay in 2020. In the spring of 2021, he received his doctorate for his thesis "Not Like the Rest of the Slaves? Slavery Parables in Early Rabbinic and Early Christian Literature (see here), which was published in 2025 by Brill. From February 2022 Martijn works as a postdoc at the PThU to investigate the theological/exegetical traditions/narratives that were used in the Dutch colonial empire to legitimize or criticize slavery. He is also an advisor on the slavery past of the church to the Protestant Church of the Netherlands and the Dutch National Council of Churches, and was academic advisor and copywriter for the exhibition “Christianity and Slavery. A Dutch Narrative” of the Museum Catharijneconvent.
Next to a number of articles, Martijn has published the following books/volumes:
- M. Stoutjesdijk, “You Are My Slaves.” A Comparative Study of the Slavery Metaphor in Early Rabbinic and Early Christian Parables, Jewish and Christian Perspectives 41 (Leiden: Brill, 2025).
- M. Stoutjesdijk et alii, Christianity and Slavery, Exhibition Catalogue Museum Catharijeconvent, 2024.
- E. Ottenheijm, N. Spoelstra & M. Stoutjesdijk (eds.), Parels van Wijsheid. Parabels, fabels en gelijkenissen in de wereldliteratuur (Leeuwarden: Adveniat, 2024).
- B. De Leede & M. Stoutjesdijk (eds.), Kerk, kolonialisme en slavernij. Verhalen van een vervlochten geschiedenis, Jaarboek voor de geschiedenis van het Nederlands Protestantisme na 1800, Jaargang 31 (Kampen: Kok, 2023).
- A. Oegema, J. Pater and M. Stoutjesdijk (eds.), Overcoming Dichotomies. Parables, Fables, and Similes in the Graeco-Roman World, WUNT I (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022).
- R. Kruizinga, J. Körver, N. Den Toom, M. Walton and M. Stoutjesdijk (eds.), Learning from Case Studies in Chaplaincy. Towards Practice Based Evidence & Professionalism (Utrecht: Eburon, 2020).
- E. Ottenheijm and M. Stoutjesdijk (eds.), Parabels: Onderricht van Jezus en de rabbijnen (Heeswijk Dinther: Berne Media, 2020; German translation in preparation).
For a complete overview of his publications and work experience, see his Pure Account and his personal website.
