Augustines city of god and christian doctrine philip schaff classic npnf103. Bavinck begins his book by saying mystery is the vital element of dogmatics. Dutch theologian herman bavinck 18541921 is widely celebrated as a leading divine in the reformed tradition, and through the ongoing labor of translation teams, editors, and publishers, his vast writings are reaching english readers. Regarding his cultural moment, bavinck noticed in his era an aversion to the common, christian faith. The goal of this thesis is to explore herman bavinck s doctrine of divine simplicity. Bavinck on divine simplicity now christian theology has always been more or less conscious of this calling. Herman bavinck december 1854, hoogeveen, drenthe 29 july 1921, amsterdam was a dutch reformed theologian and churchman. Herman bavinck s the wonderful works of god is one of the finest compendiums of christian doctrine produced in the twentieth century. Yet, despite this, few books expound the biblical teaching on the being and character of god himself, or encourage that glorifying of his name for which man is made and redeemed. Though the concept of inerrancy entails a number of related issues, i will focus on three main ones highlighted by mcgowan in his argument. A survey of christian doctrine by herman bavinck, translated by henry zylstra. Note at the end how bavinck alludes to the heidelberg catechisms great summary of providence in lords day 10.
Herman bavincks doctrine of god is like no other the. Herman bavinck call to the unconverted to turn and live. It has served well as a synopsis of bavinck s larger, fourvolume dogmatics, for it presents in clear perspective all the fundamental doctrines of the bible. Herman bavincks doctrine of god is like no other credo. The key to the doctrine of the trinity is the combination of transcendence and personality in the biblical portrayal of god. John bolt shows clearly why the study of bavinck is growing. Herman bavinck succeeded abraham kuyper as professor of systematic theology at the free university of amsterdam in you are commenting using your facebook account.
This is the first english translation of the second volume of herman bavinck s complete reformed dogmatics. This course is the study of christian doctrine from a perspective of being less technical, less exclusively professional, and more popular than the herman bavinck s dogmatics it presents the fundamental doctrines of biblical teaching, but it does this with the feeling and perspective of a world. Selected shorter works of herman bavinck ebook monergism. He was a significant scholar in the calvinist tradition, alongside abraham kuyper and b. Specifically, i want to recommend the dutch reformed theologian herman bavinck s doctrine of god. Few theologians have plumbed the depths, probed the richness, and proclaimed the scope of scripture, of history and redemption, of christ and his reign, as has herman bavinck 18541921. The future of calvinism, the presbyterian and reformed. This masterwork will appeal to scholars, students, pastors, and laity interested in reformed theology and to research and theological libraries. Doctrine of god students reformed theological library. God is independent, allsufficient in himself, and the only source. Herman selderhuis, professor of church history, theological. Good pastors are wise about human nature, especially about how human beings respond to god. Who was herman bavinck, and why is this work of theology so important.
However, ritschlian dogmaticians, such as herrmann. Bavinck sees the creation of man in the image of god as the single most important event in all of creation. Herman bavinck 18541921, a dutch reformed theologian, was a contemporary of abraham kuyper and b. This masterwork revormed appeal to scholars and students of theology, research and theological libraries, and pastors and laity who read serious works of reformed theology. This comprehensive treatment of christian doctrine was first issued in 1909 under the title the wonderful works of god. Pdf the doctrine of god download full pdf book download. The confession that a man, named jesus, is the christ, the onlybegotten of the father, is in such direct conflict with our experience and with all of our thinking, and especially with all the.
All works in format pdf christian classics ethereal. Herman bavinck explained this comfort well in the closing statements of his discussion on god s providence. And this doctrine, when properly understood, is a most comforting and reassuring one. Buy a cheap copy of the doctrine of god book by herman bavinck. The following excerpts are taken from the third volume of herman bavinck s reformed dogmatics, wherein bavinck elaborates on the reformed view of sin and salvation in christ. The rejection of the classical doctrine of god and what it says about the state of the evangelical movement. Scott oliphint t he deep and long benefit, for the church, of the recent translation of herman bavinck s fourvolume gereformeerde dogmatiek can hardly be overestimated.
Yet, despite this, few books expound the biblical teaching on the. Christian theology maintained the doctrine of holy scripture. Having read the first volume i am anxious to continue on into bavicnks reformed dogmatics, for he deeply understands god s word and he dearly loves god s people. Bavinck s doctrine of god is richly informative, very detailed, and difficult to read. The wonderful works of god westminster theological. In this consoling fashion scripture deals with the providence of god. Free bible study program from tyndale house, cambridge. Magnalia dei has long been prized as a faithful onevolume summary of systematic theology. The testimony which, according to scripture, christ has given of himself is developed and confirmed by the preaching of the apostles. This idea is traced through old testament, new testament, the church fathers, medieval scholasticism, the reformation and early modern theology, and three 20th century theologians barth, pannenberg, and macquarrie. Herman bavinck, a dutch reformed theologian, believed that the creation was a historical story because it laid the foundation for christian religion.
King then labors toward a definition of god s beauty in relation to his glory. This new publication of herman bavinck s magnalia dei, helpfully retitled as the wonderful works of god, testifies to the relevance and value of great theology. Originally published in 1908, herman bavinck s book the christian family was only just translated into english in 2012. Essentially the teaching of augustine and thomas aquinas in regard to predestination was accepted by the reformers. Denying the fact of humanitys subordination to god, of our standing as creatures before the. In partnership with the dutch reformed translation society, baker academic is proud to offer the second volume of herman bavinck s complete reformed dogmatics in english for the very first time. Who would not prefer to have his affairs in the hands of a god of infinite. God s incommunicable attributes by herman bavinck scripture itself reveals the general attributes of god s nature before, and more clearly than, it reveals his trinitarian existence. For this reason, he suggested that before all else, what strikes us in the modern age is the internal discord that consumes the self. No one has fully explored bavinck s doctrine of divine simplicity before, those who have engaged it in past scholarship have pigeonholed it as strictly thomistic.
Pdf reformed dogmatics download full pdf book download. Religion and the knowledge of god can have their origin only in revelation. It makes free actions free in relation to their agents, and contingent events contingent in relation. Yet, despite this, few books expound the biblical teaching on. Doctrine of god students reformed theological library herman bavinck on. The catholicity of christianity and the church 1888, translated into english by john bolt in 1992 and published in ctj 27, 22051. Topics covered in this volume include to doctrine of god, the trinity, creation, heaven and earth, and the doctrine of humanity. Herman bavinck s doctrine of god compiled by charles r.
The first thing scripture teaches us concerning god is that he has a free. This english translation by henry zylstra was originally published in. Description sys 500 christian doctrine bavinck free course offer course description. I really appreciate bavinck s method of stating the basic doctrine, showing the doctrine from the categories found in scripture, briefly showing the historical development of the doctrine in and outside christendom, and then presenting the christian theology hisreformed view with great clarity and insight. Biggs introduction what does bavinck mean by mystery. The wonderful works of god, an english translation of herman bavinck s magnalia dei, is now widely available. Although the sovereignty of god is universal and absolute, it is not the sovereignty of blind power. Which influence hath thomas aquinas for the reformed. The divine and human nature of christ herman bavinck. This reasoning suggests that god may not be free to create image bearers. Pdf herman bavinck on the image of god and original sin ijst. The great iam of god in biblical covenant relationship with his people in the old testament world. Herman bavinck s reformed dogmatics is a sound and model systematic theology. Herman bavinck on men and women the calvinist international.
Haering, and kaftan follow, at least formally, the usual order. Herman bavinck uncluttered collection of writings from. For example, herman bavinck says the doctrine of god. He graduated magna cum laude in 1880 from leiden with a double major in systematic theology and old testament. Herman bavinck s magnum opus the gereformeerde dogmatiek in english. Never before have i read such a fine and stimulating overview of herman bavinck s life and theology. Throughout the book, bavinck lays out a christian theology of the family, and he gives practical advice on how families can withstand modern challenges and temptations. Why pastors should engage bavincks reformed dogmatics.
In these two excerpts, bavinck makes the case that the historic reformed position on concupiscence is that the impure thoughts and desires concupiscence that arose in us prior. On the whole, its teaching has been that god is simple, that is, sublimely free from all composition, and that therefore one cannot make any real i. Uncluttered by technical jargon and extraneous historical detail, it unfolds the main elements of reformed teaching with biblical fluency and doxological tenor. This is a preprint copy of my article, herman bavinck on the image of god and. The doctrine of god is the foundation of christian theology and the prerequisite of all true faith. The masterwork will appeal to scholars, students, pastors, and laity interested in reformed theology and to research and theological libraries. I give it 4 stars because bavinck is both thorough in his handling of the material, wellorganized the material is laid out within an outline format and of course thoroughly scriptural. Under the title of magnalia dei, the wonderful works of god, i wish to give a simple explanation of the christian faith in a book of modest scope, as confessed by the reformed churches herman bavinck, from his foreword 110 years after its original publication, the wonderful works of god remains one of the finest singlevolume systematic theologies ever written. At the foremost of christianity is the idea of a relationship between the god head and man. The doctrine of god garcia, american theological inquiry. It is coupled with infinite wisdom, holiness, and love. There are innumerable reasons why bavinck 18541921, who lived and wrote at the turn of the 20 th century, is worth reading on pretty much any theological topic. I will argue that the differences cited are not in terms of actual doctrine, but rather in the defense of that. Doctrine of god by herman bavinck banner of truth usa.