J. Wentzel van Huyssteen was born on 29 April 1942 in Burgersdorp, South Africa. Ordained in the Dutch Reformed Church, he was known for his groundbreaking work on the compatibility of theology and science. Professor of the Biblical Studies and Religion department at the University of Port Elizabeth for nineteen years, he moved to Princeton Theological Seminary in 1992 as James I. McCord Professor in Theology and Science. He retired after twenty-three years as Professor Emeritus of Theology and Science.
Van Huyssteen was awarded the Andrew Murray Prize and the Venter Prize for Academic Excellence for his 1989 book, Theology and the Justification of Faith, and appointed Chair of the International Committee for the Assessment of Theological Research in The Netherlands by the Dutch Royal Academy for Arts and Sciences in 1992. Member of the editorial board for the American Journal of Theology and Philosophy, he was also co-editor of the Science and Religion series. Notable publications include Essays in Postfoundationalist Theology (1997), Duet or Duel? Theology and Science in a Postmodern World (1998), and The Shaping of Rationality (1999).