Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Anton Hein
Anton Hein is the founder of Apologetics Index (Apologeticsindex.org), which he co-publishes together with his wife, Janet, and the Apologetics Index Team.
They also publish Religion News Blog, Cult Definition, and a number of related websites. These websites provide information about anything from Christian apologetics to dealing with (the aftermath of) spiritual abuse, and from cult experts to religious issues.
Anton Hein founded Apologetics Index in 1996, initially to help a friend easily share links with fellow researchers.
Earlier he was the ‘co-sysop’ of Christian BBS ABBA II (an online news-, information-, and discussion ‘Bulletin Board System‘ that was popular long before the World Wide Web came into existence).
He has also actively shared apologetics- and countercult information on such ‘ancient’, pre-web online services as Compuserve, GEnie, Prodigy, and AOL.
Nowadays in addition to religion- and cult related websites, Anton and Janet also publish several commercial sites on various topics — some by way of a hobby, and some to help pay the bills. In addition they host a number of third-party websites.
Janet Hein
Janet Hein was born in England and raised in Ireland (and truly is Irish in heart and nature). She has lived and worked in Amsterdam for 35+ years.
Janet is a licensed social worker and counselor. She works with an organization that provides shelter and other practical help to male and female victims of domestic violence and other forms of spousal abuse. She is an expert on the topic.
Anton Hein, was born and raised in Amsterdam.
Says Anton:
We married in September, 2012, and are still very much in love with each other.
Much to the bemusement of friends and neighbors we speak Denglish — a mixture of Dutch and English. Nowadays with a few Spanish and Catalan words and phrases thrown in.
We are followers of Jesus Christ, trying to put into practice the two greatest commandments. Many Christians only seem prepared to love those who meet their own standard of moral excellence, but we believe that is not in line with what Jesus teaches us to do. Therefore we try to love people regardless of their background, religion or lifestyle.
Our ministry is to help Christians and non-Christians alike move from a life of legalism to a life of grace and mercy. That is why we focus on helping people leave abusive churches and recover from spiritual abuse.
Among other things we love life, good friends, excellent coffee, great music, and spicy food (including home-made Mexican salsas). We’re lovers of Spanish tapas and dishes, as well as the cuisines of India, Indonesia, Mexico and Suriname. As for drinks: quality wine, good beer, Glenfiddich, and Baileys help us deal with the Dutch (wet) climate. We’re really into high-quality coffee.
We believe in, and promote, religious freedom. At the same time we denounce extremism — including the countless excesses found in various expressions of what passes for Christianity — and instead promote balance.
Both of us are dealing with long-time health issues: I, Anton have CFIDS — Chronic Fatigue and Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and Janet has Fibromyalgia (which feels like the same thing, but with pain).That is why we’re not as active nowadays as we used to be.
Church
Janet and Anton attend Hoop Voor Noord, a multicultural church in Amsterdam Noord.
Visiting Amsterdam?
Janet and Anton Hein live and work in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Over the years they have enjoyed meeting up with many Apologetics Index readers who have visited Amsterdam.
If you’re coming to Amsterdam, let them know, because they may be able to meet with you as well.
Contact Janet and Anton Hein
You can contact Janet and Anton Hein via this form.
Article details
Related topic(s): Anton Hein, Janet Hein
First published (or major update) on Wednesday, August 1, 2018.
Last updated on November 11, 2021. Original content is © Copyright Apologetics Index. All Rights Reserved. For usage guidelines see link at the bottom.