Herman Bavinck

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Herman Bavinck

Herman Bavinck (born December 13, 1854 in Hoogeveen , † July 29, 1921 in Amsterdam ) was a Dutch theologian.

Life

As the son of the Reformed pastor Jan Bavinck (1826-1909), he grew up with his brother Coenraad Bernardus Bavinck in a religious environment. After Herman Bavinck had finished high school in Zwolle in 1873, he went to the theological school in Kampen and continued his studies in Leiden in 1874. In 1880 he was made a doctor of theology. From 1881 to 1882 he was pastor of a reformed church in Franeker .

Shortly afterwards he began to teach at the theological school in Kampen (1882). In his professional development, the appointment as professor of dogmatics and the history of dogma at the Free University in Amsterdam in 1902 must be highlighted as the highlight.

On July 2, 1891, he married Johanna Adriana Schippers (1868–1942). A daughter later emerged from this connection.

Act

The high point of his work, however, and his spiritual work began a few years earlier. In 1895 the first edition of his Christian Dogmatics (in the original Gereformeerde Dogmatiek ) was published. This edition went through four revisions during his life, so that in 1911 the fourth and last edition of this work was published. His main work Gereformeerde Dogmatiek is basically the classic summary of the modern Calvinist faith. It was written in Dutch and is currently being translated into German.

Alongside Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck is considered the most important representative of modern Calvinism . In addition, he always tried to convey how important and elementary the church is for modern society and its culture. Not least because of this, Bavinck maintained many contacts with people who think differently, both in his party and within the church. Bavinck cultivated a friendship with Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje , an expert on Islam and a specialist in Semitic languages . In 1911 he entered the First Chamber of Parliament as a representative of the Anti-Revolutionary Party .

In addition to his dogmatics, Herman Bavinck also wrote writings on educational issues and political issues. His 1888 speech on the question of the generality of Christianity and the church ( De kathiciteit van christendom en kerk ) became just as well known, in which he biblically derived the mandate of the church to be the church and analyzed how this mandate was preserved in the past and what duties derive from it for the modern church.

Fonts (selection)

  • Christian worldview. 1907 (Newly edited by Thomas K. Johnson. Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft, Bonn 2007).
  • Philosophy of revelation. Stone lectures for 1908 given in Princeton NJ Winter, Heidelberg 1909.
  • The doctrine of God. Edinburgh [u. a.]: Banner of Truth Trust, 1977.
  • Reformed dogmatics. Baker Academic cop., Grand Rapids, Mich. 2003ff (so far four volumes).
  • Reformed dogmatics - abridged in one volume. Baker Academic cop., Grand Rapids, Mich. 2011.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John van Engen: Bavinck, Herman (1854-1921) . In: Helmut Burkhardt and Uwe Swarat (ed.): Evangelical Lexicon for Theology and Congregation . tape 1 . R. Brockhaus Verlag, Wuppertal 1992, ISBN 3-417-24641-5 , p. 191 .
personal data
SURNAME Bavinck, Herman
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch theologian
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH Hoogeveen , Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1921
Place of death Amsterdam