Nathan Betz

Biography

Nathan Betz (PhD, Leuven), is Jr. Research Fellow at the Beyond Canon Centre at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where explores the Late Antique reception of the idea of the New Jerusalem from John's Revelation in patristic, apocryphal, and "popular" texts in Greek, Latin, and Syriac, as well as in monumental art.

Nathan holds graduate degrees in theology from Oxford and Leuven as well as a master's degree in philosophy and the liberal arts from St. John's College in Annapolis (Maryland, USA). His studies in Leuven concluded with a doctoral dissertation titled "City of Gods: The New Jerusalem of John's Revelation in Early Christianity (through ca. 313)." This work, conducted under the supervision of Johan Leemans and Anthony Dupont, was supported in full by a doctoral fellowship from the Flemish Research Foundation (FWO-Vlaanderen, Belgium).

His first monograph, a revision of his dissertation, is contracted to be published with Brill (Vigiliae Christianae Supplements, 2024 anticipated). He was also editor, with Anthony Dupont and Johan Leemans, of "Revelation's New Jerusalem in Late Antiquity" (History of Biblical Exegesis 6, Mohr Siebeck, 2024). This second volume grew out of a conference Nathan organized with the co-editors around the same theme.

As an instructor at KU Leuven, he taught masters-level courses in Greek patrology, church history, and late antique martyrdom at KU Leuven, and led led core courses for undergraduate theology students. He has overseen and evaluated more than a dozen independent undergraduate research projects spanning topics such as constructive theology, Byzantine iconography, environmental activism, the charismatic movement, and Anglo-Catholic liturgy.

Nathan's principal research interests include New Testament reception (especially the book of Revelation), patristic biblical exegesis, "Jerusalem" as an idea, the Christian doctrine of deification (theosis), and Christian mystical experience.

Drawing on previously professional experience, Nathan is a user and active promotor of digital technology to solve persistent problems in humanities scholarship. He is the founder of the well-known collaborative digital platform "Early Christian Studies Literature Requests in the Times of Corona" (facebook.com/groups/earlychristianstudies) and a founding member of KU Leuven's Theology Research News (theologyresearchnews.com). Mostly recently, he co-founded the Revelation Reception Network and Seminar, which provides scholars with seminars, collaborations, and opportunities relevant to the long reception of John's Apocalypse.

Prior to re-entering the academy, Nathan pursued a career in advertising, creative direction, and marketing consulting, during which time he provided well-known corporate brands with strategic communications solutions using a combination of digital, social, and traditional media. He continues to provide private consulting services to universities, academic publishers and journals, and other academic interests.

https://www.facebook.com/nathanbetz
https://twitter.com/nathanbetz
https://www.facebook.com/groups/revelationreception
https://www.facebook.com/groups/earlychristianstudies
https://twitter.com/apocalypsesem