AIIAS welcomes Dr. Kenneth Bergland, assistant professor of Old Testament in the Biblical Studies department of the AIIAS Seminary.
Born in Norway, Bergland holds a bachelor’s degree in Religion and History from Newbold College in England, a Cand.phil (MA) in the History of Ideas from the University of Oslo in 2003, and his PhD in Old Testament Studies from Andrews University, Michigan in 2018. He has also done graduate work at the University of Oslo and Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Before joining AIIAS, Bergland served for 12 years as a church pastor, most recently in a rural ministry focusing on missiological work in the far north of Norway where Christianity has been in decline. He has a breadth of interesting experiences, including service as project leader for work among refugees and students, working as a junior high school teacher, being the principal of the Matteson Institute of Evangelism, and working at Langedrag, a wildlife zoo.
Bergland’s key research interests include inner-biblical reuse, the biblical literary milieu, biblical ethics, biblical eschatology, the composition of the Pentateuch, and philosophy of life from the perspective of Bible and Adventism and with the history of ideas as background. While pastoring, he has contributed to academia as the coordinator of the international, interdenominational, and interdisciplinary “Exploring the Composition of the Pentateuch” conferences at Andrews University, resulting in the publication of a first volume by the Bulletin of Biblical Research Supplements (BBRSup)/Eisenbrauns. A second volume is forthcoming. He has also authored three books and co-edited three books.
Kenneth is married to Marianne Bergland, who holds a master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis on speech and language therapy. She has worked as a speech and language therapist for ten years, and before that as a primary school teacher. She will serve as a departmental resource assistant in the AIIAS Seminary. The Berglands are blessed with a daughter, Åsne Rahel Bergland, who just turned 10 years old. The Bergland family enjoys nature and outdoor activities, and Kenneth has been active in animal photography and mountain running.
Welcome to AIIAS, Dr. Kenneth, Marianne, and Asne!
