Dr. Timothy Erdel
Dr. Timothy Erdel
Associate Professor of Religion & Philosophy
Archivist & Theological Librarian
Committee on the Humanities
Office: Wiekamp Athletic Complex, Room 123
Phone Number: 574.257.2570
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Timothy Paul Erdel spent his formative years in Ecuador, where three generations of his family have lived. He holds degrees from Fort Wayne Bible College, now Taylor University, Fort Wayne Campus (B.A. magna cum laude in PreSeminary Studies, 1973), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, now part of Trinity International University (M.Div. cum laude from the School of World Mission and Evangelism, 1976; Th.M. in Philosophy of Religion, 1981), The University of Chicago (A.M. from the Graduate Library School, 1978), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (M.A. in Philosophy, 1986; Ph.D. in Philosophy, 2000). Along the way he also studied at St. Francis College in Fort Wayne, now the University of St. Francis (1969-70) and McCormick Theological Seminary (1977).
Mr. Erdel did further work at the Institute for Theological Librarianship at Princeton Theological Seminary (1980 & 1982), the Institute for Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1983), the Summer Seminar for Younger Philosophers at Wheaton College, Illinois (1990), and the CCCU Disciplinary Workshop on Philosophy, Calvin College Seminars in Christian Scholarship (2005), as well as an internship at the Archives of the Mennonite Church, Goshen College (1994).
Mr. Erdel is a licensed minister with (1973-), and the denominational archivist for (1994-) the Missionary Church, Inc. He served as a missionary with World Partners to Jamaica (1987-1993), was formerly an inner city pastor in Chicago (1973-1976, 1976-1977), and has been active in each of his local congregations, currently at St. Mark Missionary Church, Mishawaka, Indiana (1993-). Since 1993 he has also undertaken short-term ministry trips to Puerto Rico, to Trinidad & Tobago, to Jamaica, to immigrant populations in the New York City area, to the Dominican Republic, to Cuba, and to Ecuador.
Before coming to Bethel in 1994, Mr. Erdel served at the Jesuit-Krauss (Lutheran)-McCormick Library and McCormick Theological Seminary, at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and at the Jamaica Theological Seminary and the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology. He has also held special or visiting appointments at more than a dozen other schools.
Mr. Erdel publishes in a variety of scholarly, popular, and religious forums, and has been an editor of Trinity Journal, JLA News, JLA Occasional Papers, Jamaica Library Association Bulletin, Journal of Religious & Theological Information, Reflections, and Philosophia Christi.
Mr. Erdel takes great pleasure in his marriage to Sally Elizabeth Erdel, who teaches in the School of Nursing at Bethel College, and in their three children, Sarah Beth (12 October 1980), Rachel (25 March 1985), and Matthew (1 November 1986). His lifelong passion for basketball finds expression in noontime pickup games at Bethel College.
