Anton Deik

Education

• Bachelor of Information Technology in Computer Systems Engineering, Birzeit University, Palestine
• MA (with Merit) in Transformation: Scripture, Church and World, London School of Theology with Middlesex University, UK
• PhD Candidate in Divinity (New Testament Studies), University of Aberdeen with Trinity College, Bristol, UK

Biographical Information

Anton Deik is a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem, Palestine. He is married to Sara Améstegui, a Bolivian, and they are the proud parents of Nour Sofia. Since he committed himself to Christ in 2010, Anton has ministered in different capacities in East Asia, England, Palestine, and Bolivia. Anton was the Director of Online Education at Bethlehem Bible College and served with Operation Mobilization onboard MV Logos Hope. Previously, he had worked on large-scale computer science research projects with Birzeit University and the Palestinian government.

Courses Taught

• Introduction to the OT (currently online)
• Exegesis and Hermeneutics I (currently online)
• Exegesis and Hermeneutics II (currently online)
• The Book of Acts (previously taught, on-campus)

Publications

(Google Scholar Profile | * = peer reviewed publications)

Biblical Studies and Theology

• * “Justice in Ecclesiastes (3:16–4:3 and 8:10–17): A Missional Reading from and for Palestine,” in Jione Havea and Peter Lau (eds.), Reading Ecclesiastes from Asia and Pasifika, International Voices in Biblical Studies Series, Atlanta: SBL Press, 2020.
• “Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16–34): A Babbler or an Evangelistic Scholar of Religion?” in Martin Accad and Jonathan Andrews (eds.), The Religious Other – A Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur’an and Muhammad, Carlisle: Langham, 2020.
• “Christian Zionism and Mission: How Does our Understanding of Christianity Impact our Witness in the World?” in Martin Accad and Jonathan Andrews (eds.), The Religious Other – A Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur’an and Muhammad, Carlisle: Langham, 2020.

Computer Science

• * “Usability Evaluation of Lexicographic e-Services,” Proceedings of the 16th ACS/IEEE International Conference on Computer Systems and Applications (AICCSA 2019), Abu Dhabi, 2019 [with Diana Alhafi and Mustafa Jarrar].
• * “The Graph Signature: A Scalable Query Optimization Index for RDF Graph Databases Using Bisimulation and Trace Equivalence Summarization,” International Journal on Semantic Web and Information Systems (IJSWIS), 11.2, Pages 36-65, DOI: 10.4018/IJSWIS.2015040102, April-June 2015 [with Mustafa Jarrar].
• * “Ontology-based Data and Process Governance Framework – The Case of e-Government Interoperability in Palestine,” Proceedings of the IFIP International Symposium on Data-Driven Process Discovery and Analysis (SIMPDA’11), Pages 83-98, ISBN 978-88-903120-2-1, Campione, Italy, June 30, 2011 [with Mustafa Jarrar and Bilal Farraj].
• * “Towards Query Optimization for the Data Web – Disk-Based algorithms: Trace Equivalence and Bisimilarity,” Proceedings of the 1^st International Conference on Intelligent Semantic Web – Services and Applications (ISWSA’10), Pages 131-137, ACM, ISBN 978-1-4503-0475-7, Amman, Jordan, June 2010 [with Ala Hawash, Bilal Farraj, and Mustafa Jarrar].
• * “Towards Query Optimization for the Data Web,” Proceedings of the 3rd Palestinian International Conference on Computer and Information Technology (PICCIT’10), Hebron, Palestine, March 2010 [with Bilal Faraj, Ala Hawash, and Mustafa Jarrar].

Blog Posts

• “Mission in the Context of Palestine-Israel: Reflections from the Book of Ecclesiastes,” INFEMIT Blog, November 2020, https://infemit.org/mission-context-palestine-israel/
• “الإرسالية الاجتماعية – السياسية: قراءة في مزمور 82” (Socio-Political Mission: A Reading in Psalm 82), The Academic Blog of Bethlehem Bible College, August 2020, https://bethbc.edu/acblogar/author/tonyedeik/

Key Accomplishments and Awards

• PhD scholarships: [2020-Present]
  • LeaderStudies Scholarship, ScholarLeaders International.
  • The Michael Prior Memorial Scholarship, Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust.
• Provided consultancy work that led to the establishment of the online program of Centro de Capacitación Misionera, La Paz, Bolivia. [2019-2020]
• Established and directed BethBC’s Online Education Program, which involved the development and production of 18 online courses and 200+ high-quality educational videos. [2015-2018]
• Volunteered onboard M/V Logos Hope in the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and Hong Kong. Assigned ministry roles included: teaching and preaching (public ministry) and ICT Support Engineer (support ministry). [2012-2013]
• Co-wrote an EU FP7 Project (SIERA; No. 295006), which won a highly competitive grant that led to the establishment of Sina Institute for Knowledge Engineering and Language Technologies at Birzeit University. [2011]
• Co-developed Zinnar – The Palestinian Interoperability Framework, which set the framework for the Palestinian e-government. [2010-2011]

Memberships and Affiliations

• Networking Team Member, The International Fellowship of Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT) – https://infemit.org/
  • Member of the organizing committee of the Stott-Bediako forum
  • Member of the digital presence committee
• Senior ICETE Academy Fellow – https://icete.academy/
• Member of the Palestinian Engineers Association