Hendrikus Berkhof

Hendrikus Berkhof (1954)

Hendrikus Berkhof (born June 11, 1914 in Appeltern ; † December 17, 1995 in Leiderdorp ) was a Dutch Protestant Reformed theologian. He is known, among other things, for his examination of the theology of Karl Barth .

Youth and Studies

Berkhof, who came from a Reformed family in the north of Amsterdam, learned in his youth, according to his own account, not only the Reformed but also the Neocalvinist (Reformeerde) tradition, as well as secular and socialist milieus. He attended Gereformeerd Gymnasium in Amsterdam and began studying theology at Amsterdam University in 1931 , which he continued in 1932 at Leiden University . Here he came into contact with the theology of Ernst Troeltsch as well as with Karl Barth's commentary on the Romans , a work that initially seemed one-sided to him. It was only towards the end of his studies that he became interested in Barth's theology by reading the first volume of Kirchliche Dogmatik (KD I / 1). In 1939 he did his doctorate with JN Bakhuizen van den Brink with a work on church history ( The Theology of Eusebius of Caesarea ). Half a year of studying at the College of the Confessing Church in Berlin aroused Berkhof's interest in the Confessing Church : the controversy over the doctrine of the Trinity in the 4th century seemed to him just as important for the history of theology as the contemporary discussion of the ideology of National Socialism .

Predicant during World War II

After he took up a position as a preacher in Lemele in 1938, he married Cornelia van den Berg in 1939; the couple had four children. In 1940 Berkhof was appointed professor at Zeist and held this position for a decade. In 1941 he was imprisoned during the German occupation , and during the six months in prison he wrote his first book, "Die Geschichte der Kirche" ( De geschiedenis der kerk ). The book later met with great interest. Berkhof provided the dogma-historical development with clear evaluations, which was applauded by a conservative Protestant readership, but irritated in liberal circles and also aroused the opposition of church historians. Although Berkhof revised the work in the following editions, he retained the main emphasis in the sixth edition (1955).

During the Second World War , Berkhof had to go into hiding for a few months in 1942/43, during which time he wrote “Die Kirche und der Kaiser” ( De kerk en de keizer ), a book that deals with the 4th century AD from the Berkhof's positions on the current situation of the Christian church, however, emerged clearly.

Lecturer at Kerk en Wereld

After the end of the war, Berkhof became a lecturer at Kerk en Wereld , a seminar at the Nederlands-Hervormde Kerk . It was an essential task to integrate the diverging theological directions within this church. Berkhof was very successful in this. Two smaller fonts were created during this phase of life:

• "The Crisis of Middle Orthodoxy " ( De crisis of middenorthodoxy ). Berkhof was critical of the Barthian theology that was widespread in the Hervormde Kerk and, in his opinion, neglected personal belief. With this he positioned himself in the very conservative spectrum of his church. He critically noted a one-sided emphasis on divine distance and an ethical-political orientation among the Barthians, which did not address the younger generation of theologians' interest in mysticism and inwardness. He made a name for himself as an Orthodox Calvinist, an orientation that would later change through his ecumenical commitment.
• "Christ and the Powers" ( Christ en de made ). In the manner characteristic of him, Berkhof demanded that the Christian faith should not only shape personal life, but should also have social effects. Without becoming a member of the Partij van de Arbeid , Berkhof showed clear sympathy.

Ecumenism

In 1948 the Nederlands-Hervormde Kerk sent Berkhof as its delegate to the founding assembly of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam. From 1954 to 1974 Berkhof served on the central committee of the WCC.

Professorship for Systematic Theology

Hendrikus Berkhof preaches at the baptism of Prince Maurits in the Grote Kerk of Apeldoorn (1968)

In 1960 Berkhof received the chair for dogmatics at the theological faculty of the University of Leiden and thus succeeded Kornelis Heiko Miskotte . In the 1960s, knowledge from other humanities (psychology, sociology) found its way into theological studies worldwide, including in the Netherlands. Because this was in accordance with Berkhof's theological orientation anyway, these changes did not cause him any trouble. Until his retirement in 1981, Berkhof held the professorship for dogmatics in Leiden. In 1973 Berkhof published the internationally acclaimed dogmatics of Christian faith ( Christelijk geloof ), which made the theologies of Schleiermacher and Barth more dynamic and into dialogue.

In 1974 Berkhof became chairman of the Dutch Council of Churches ( Nederlandse Raad van Kerken ) and was able to use his international ecumenical experience in this office. His term of office was marked by church and social discussions about nuclear weapons , and Berkhof took a clear position, which he caused irritation in the conservative church spectrum. Berkhof was also critical of the doctrine of the Trinity, but without breaking the connection with the Calvinist tradition. He hoped that biblical studies would provide critical impulses for dogmatics. Berkhof thus found less resonance in the conservative majority of his church, but in the liberal minority; however, this dominated the theological discussion. Berkhof rejected the process theology , which advocates the thesis that God himself is changing and is "materialized" by people; he adhered to the traditional Christian teaching that God stands before mankind and the world in sovereign freedom.

Last years of life

In 1990 Hendrikus Berkhof suffered a cerebral haemorrhage . After that he could no longer publish and lived in a nursing home.

Publications (selection)

• Christelijk loofed. Een inleiding tot de geloofsleer, 10th edition, Kampen 2013
• Theology of the Holy Spirit ( The doctrine of the holy spirit ), 2nd edition Neukirchen-Vluyn 1988
• 200 years of theology: a travelogue, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1985
• The catholicity of the church, Zurich 1964

literature

• Eginhard P. Meijering: Hendrikus Berkhof . In: Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde 1997, pp. 87-92. ( online )

Individual evidence

1. ^ Susanne Hennecke : Karl Barth and Friedrich Schleiermacher. A relationship determination from a Dutch perspective. In: Susanne Hennecke (Hrsg.): Karl Barth and the religion (s): Explorations in the world religions and the ecumenical movement. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2018, pp. 69–88, here p. 70.
2. ^ Susanne Hennecke : Karl Barth and Friedrich Schleiermacher. A relationship determination from a Dutch perspective. In: Susanne Hennecke (Hrsg.): Karl Barth and the religion (s): Explorations in the world religions and the ecumenical movement. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2018, pp. 69–88, here p. 71.
3. ^ EP Meijering: Hendrikus Berkhof , p. 87.
4. ^ EP Meijering: Hendrikus Berkhof , p. 88.
5. ^ Susanne Hennecke : Karl Barth and Friedrich Schleiermacher. A relationship determination from a Dutch perspective. In: Susanne Hennecke (Hrsg.): Karl Barth and the religion (s): Explorations in the world religions and the ecumenical movement. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2018, pp. 69–88, here p. 72.
6. ^ EP Meijering: Hendrikus Berkhof , p. 88.
7. ^ Susanne Hennecke : Karl Barth and Friedrich Schleiermacher. A relationship determination from a Dutch perspective. In: Susanne Hennecke (Hrsg.): Karl Barth and the religion (s): Explorations in the world religions and the ecumenical movement. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2018, pp. 69–88, here p. 75 ff.
8. ^ EP Meijering: Hendrikus Berkhof , p. 90 f.
9. ^ EP Meijering: Hendrikus Berkhof , p. 91.