Obituary Prof. Dr. Kune Biezeveld
Kune Biezeveld, professor of Female Theological Research at Leiden University and a longstanding member of the European Society of Women in Theological Research (ESWTR), died on 7 September 2008 after battling a long illness. She passed away in her home, surrounded by her family.
Kunegonda Elizabeth Biezeveld was born on 13 April 1948 in The Hague. After completing secondary school in her hometown, she studied theology at Leiden University and, upon finishing her studies, served as a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in the parishes of Zandvoort and Voorthuizen. She later worked as a spiritual counsellor at Blaricum Hospital.
In this period, she came into contact with feminist theology and soon caught the attention of other female theologians such as the pioneer of this movement, Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes, whose work was cut short by her untimely death. During her stint as a spiritual counsellor to the sick, she arrived at the decision to complete a doctoral thesis, which she defended at Leiden University in 1996. Her work Spreken over God als vader. Hoe kan het anders? (Speaking of God as Father: How Could It Be Otherwise?) was released in two editions. That same year, she accepted a post as professor of dogmatism at Leiden University. Several years later (2001), the Dutch Reformed Church appointed her Chair of Feminist Research and she occupied the academic chair created for this purpose at Leiden University. Kune Biezeveld produced many publications on systematic theology, including several books co-authored with other female theologians. Her final work will be released posthumously in a few days and will be presented to the public in the context of a symposium: Als scherven spreken. Over God in het leven van alledag (When Casseroles Speak: About God in Everyday Life).
Eighteen months ago, Kune Biezeveld was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After the operation, Kune soon went back to work, demonstrating her tenacity yet again. When the cancer resurfaced a year later, Kune knew that she had little time left. She dedicated most of her energies to finishing her last book, without neglecting her activity in the interdisciplinary research group “Women in Theological Research” (Dwarsverband Vrouwenstudies Theologie), created within the Netherlands Research School for Theology and Religion Sciences (NOSTER), which she directed with me since 2005. In the last year and a half of her life, Kune had the satisfaction of witnessing the arrival of three grandchildren. Married to the church minister Reinier Beltman for twenty-four years, Kune helped her husband raise his three children from a previous marriage.
The fact that she was able to finish her final book was a source of great personal satisfaction to Kune. She invested years of work in this project, the mature product of an entire lifetime, and we are all looking forward to it with great interest. Those who have read it say that, faced with her imminent death, Kune formulated certain theses with a more open mind. On the morning of Sunday, 7 September, she fell into a peaceful and eternal sleep after having spent the previous months setting her affairs in order down to the smallest detail, including her own funeral mass held on 13 September and attended by a large crowd. Family, friends, (former) students and colleagues, as well as members of the “De Morgenster” parish led by her husband in Hilversum, turned out to pay their last respects.
Referring to her theological work, Kune Biezeveld wrote on one occasion that her interest was focused on the “renitent” relationship between theology viewed from a feminist perspective and the so-called “classic” theology: traditional theology finds itself facing the beneficial challenge of seeing itself through other eyes from the perspective of the female gender. Kune herself addressed this issue, beginning with her doctoral thesis and continuing in later works, in two ways: by studying the word of God in Christian tradition and the confrontation – habitual in the reflections of systematic theology – between the Judaeo-Christian Father God and a pagan Mother Goddess, and by highlighting the value of nature, corporeality and everyday life. Kune insisted time and again that our way of talking about God has nothing to do with the divine essence: there is a healthy distance between what we can say about God and what He really is. The word of God has always stemmed from human experience; it emerges in everyday situations and this continually opens up new perspectives to us, human beings, on who God is and what he is like. Kune took the confrontation with tradition to the limit, and she always skirted this line very closely herself. When she worked as a professor of dogmatism, she had the opportunity to discover that many of the still-commonplace theories and differentiations (for example, sacred – profane, word – reality) are based on an antiquated interpretation of Biblical theology that nevertheless remains highly influential. Our theologian wanted to give her theology more modern points of view – for example, in her analysis of “paganism” and “goddess cults” – and contribute to writing a new version of the divine word, founded on Biblical theology but removed from the metaphysical reflection on God, in order to reach a God that is more present and tangible in everyday life. Kune was convinced that Christian tradition contains prolific traces of this word of God, but we are not always capable of recognising or making use of it.
This search for links between theology and everyday life is also reflected in NOSTER’s interdisciplinary research project, “The Everyday and the Sacred,” for which she provided the original idea. Even on her deathbed, Kune continued to think of this project and of the people working on it. We hope to finish it next year with a compilation volume in English.
Her moderation and serenity in communicating her theological opinions won her great recognition in university circles. Proof of this is her appointment as a member of the important “Accompaniment Committee for Teaching and Research” (Begeleidingscommissie Onderwijs en Onderzoek, BCOO) of the NOSTER Association, to which she belonged until 1 January of this year. Her carefully weighed assessments, extensive knowledge and capacity for encouraging and helping others with her talent for conciliation were also highly valued among feminist circles. From 2000 to 2004 she served as chairwoman of the network of female theologians IWFT Vrouwennetwerk Theologie, which Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes and Catharina Halkes created in 1976. Almost as soon as she stepped down from her position in this network, which has a scant 300 members, she was asked to serve as chairwoman of the Catharina Halkes Fund, a position she occupied until her death. Her leadership style was sober, objective and combined with an ability to make complex issues understandable, without ever losing sight of the people involved. The experience of friendship was an important elixir of life for her. Kune was a serious and responsible woman who also had a wonderful sense of humour, of which she made frequent use. Many now keenly note her absence, above all her husband, children and grandchildren. As fellow theologians and colleagues, we will miss the calm, inspiring and affectionate way she moved among us, her capacity of reflection and her laughter, as well as the familiar words with which she often ended her conversations: “heb het goed!” (“May it go well with you!”).
Prof. Dr. Angela Berlis, All Saints’ Day 2008
