Van der Merwe, Gerrit-Daan2015-11-262015-11-262015-09-30Van der Merwe, G-D., 2015, 'A.G. van Aarde en historiese Jesus-navorsing', HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 71(3), Art. #3056, 7 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.4102/hts.v71i3.30560259-9422 (print)2072-8050 (online)10.4102/hts.v71i3.3056http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50946This article is an adaptation of parts of a MDiv dissertation, completed under Prof. Ernest van Eck in the Department of New Testament Studies of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria in 2013. The article is meant as a tribute to the 15 year anniversary of the existence of the Reformed Theological College at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Pretoria.A.G. van Aarde’s contribution to historical Jesus research is mainly expressed in his book Fatherless in Galilee: Jesus as Child of God. The book was the result of five years of Jesus research. Van Aarde is an ordained minister of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NRCA). Since the book’s publication in 2001, the NRCA has experienced an immense dispute regarding the book in particular but also regarding the subject of historical Jesus research in general. This dispute has publicly escalated since 2010. It has often centred on Van Aarde’s notion of Jesus’ fatherlessness. This article will focus on said book in order to ascertain what is meant by the concept ‘the fatherless Jesus’. This is done to illustrate that Van Aarde’s research, as it converges in the scrutinised publication, remains of relevance to the NRCA.Afrikaans© 2015. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.A.G. van AardeHistorical Jesus researchHistoriese Jesus-navorsingNetherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NRCA)Fatherless in Galilee : Jesus as child of GodNederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA)Theology articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationTheology articles SDG-05SDG-05: Gender equalityTheology articles SDG-10SDG-10: Reduced inequalitiesTheology articles SDG-16SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsArticle