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Reformed Dogmatics
Reformed Dogmatics
In partnership with the Dutch Reformed Translation Society, Baker Academic is proud to offer in English for the very first time all four volumes of Herman Bavinck's complete "Reformed Dogmatics." This masterwork will appeal not only to scholars, students, pastors, and laity interested in Reformed theology but also to research and theological libraries.
3024 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2008
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396 people want to read
About the author
Herman Bavinck
112 books195 followersHerman Bavinck (1854-1921) succeeded Abraham Kuyper as professor of systematic theology at the Free University of Amsterdam in 1902.
His nephew was Johan Herman Bavinck.
His nephew was Johan Herman Bavinck.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 14, 2016
Reading Bavinck has opened up new doors, presented me with new opportunities. Certainly these come with theological growth--and indeed it took me more than eight months to go through all four volumes--but even still, Bavinck's scientific rigor combined with his love for the Reformed tradition, the church molded me in a way more than simply learning new propositions ever could. This Dutch Reformed theologian showed me what it means to do good theology: and this good theology does not have to mean wordy, verbose, or cumbersome. It certainly does not mean that it has to be new either. Theologians today are scrambling to come up with the next bet "thing," or compose new systems, but Bavinck thinks that we have enough of these, and simply going back to the confessions, yet dealing with current philosophy, theology, and science, all the while never neglecting church history and the development of Dogmatics, makes for the brilliance of Herman's systematic mind.
What's more is that the Reformed Dogmatics are not only rigorous, scientific, and defensible, but Prof. Bavinck's writing is doxalogical through and through. That is simply to say that we should never be doing theology for theology's sake, but it should be done simply as a means, an essential and necessary one albeit, insofar as we ought, seek, and desire to worship the one true Triune God in all of His fullness.
Of the Volumes themselves, They were all unique in their own way. Still, Volume One certainly is a stand out, and still extremely relevant and defensible today. His prolegomena deals extensively with the history of philosophy, the history of the church and it's theology, and what was then current strains of liberal thought coming from both Roman Catholics and Lutherans. Topics such as the nature of revelation, how the subject relates to the object, and the nature of the external world and it's relation to God, and so on. The remaining of the volumes are certainly just as meaty, and Bavinck's knowledge of Church history as well as reformed thought it simply remarkable.
On the whole, Bavinck is still a force to be reckoned with, and the fact that is works are finally picking up steam in English speaking lands, thanks in large part to wonderful translations coming out from the Dutch Reformed Translation Society, I am confident that he will continue to remain relevant to the Church.
What's more is that the Reformed Dogmatics are not only rigorous, scientific, and defensible, but Prof. Bavinck's writing is doxalogical through and through. That is simply to say that we should never be doing theology for theology's sake, but it should be done simply as a means, an essential and necessary one albeit, insofar as we ought, seek, and desire to worship the one true Triune God in all of His fullness.
Of the Volumes themselves, They were all unique in their own way. Still, Volume One certainly is a stand out, and still extremely relevant and defensible today. His prolegomena deals extensively with the history of philosophy, the history of the church and it's theology, and what was then current strains of liberal thought coming from both Roman Catholics and Lutherans. Topics such as the nature of revelation, how the subject relates to the object, and the nature of the external world and it's relation to God, and so on. The remaining of the volumes are certainly just as meaty, and Bavinck's knowledge of Church history as well as reformed thought it simply remarkable.
On the whole, Bavinck is still a force to be reckoned with, and the fact that is works are finally picking up steam in English speaking lands, thanks in large part to wonderful translations coming out from the Dutch Reformed Translation Society, I am confident that he will continue to remain relevant to the Church.
August 4, 2016
There is no way this box could contain all my thoughts on these books. I will return to them for many years. This first reading was more of a skim for some sections while other sections are heavily annotated. 30 years from now I hope to have comments on every page of all the volumes.
August 14, 2021
I can't review Bavinck's Dogmatics, it's the sort of classic that people will go back to for the whole of history.
It's also the sort of immensely long work that it's quite hard to give a full appraisal of - I've read it through just once, to be thoroughly knowledgable of it would take multiple reads.
Bavinck's aim in his Dogmatics, roughly speaking, was to take every area of Christian belief, analyse all the different views and what have people taught about it, then present the Biblical/reformed/correct position.
In addition to earlier reformed thinkers he engages with Early Church Fathers, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Arminians, Cultic groups, Liberals etc. he tries to find the positives in those he disagrees with as well as critiquing the errors he identifies. Broadly speaking his conclusions are inline with the classic reformed confessions.
Not a review, but here are a few thoughts:
- These volumes are not for everyone, not even for all christians who like heavy reading. They are very dense and very in depth, the target audience is people who have already done significant academic study of theology.
- As this is a very modern translation the style of English is good - it's very readable.
- At times it seems Bavinck is combatting liberalism with it's own tools, I wonder if he unintentionally imbibed some of what he intended to combat (particularly in his discussion of the christian life and the "experience" of faith)
- Bavinck's approach to prolegomena and epistemology is hard to fully comprehend, is there a contradiction running through it? Possibly.
- Volumes 1 and 2 are amazing reads (Prolegomena, God and Creation), in contrast Volume 4 (Holy Spirit, Church and New Creation) is much more tedious/harder going. Volume 3 (Sin and Salvation) is a mix. Generally I found that whenever Bavinck was writing on the nature of God or the observable works of God he was excellent whereas his analysis of human response to God often seemed quite tortured (not necessarily wrong BUT certainly harder to follow and understand).
- The historical reviews that accompany most doctrinal sections are fascinating and are part of why this is a helpful first resource for many topics.
It's also the sort of immensely long work that it's quite hard to give a full appraisal of - I've read it through just once, to be thoroughly knowledgable of it would take multiple reads.
Bavinck's aim in his Dogmatics, roughly speaking, was to take every area of Christian belief, analyse all the different views and what have people taught about it, then present the Biblical/reformed/correct position.
In addition to earlier reformed thinkers he engages with Early Church Fathers, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Arminians, Cultic groups, Liberals etc. he tries to find the positives in those he disagrees with as well as critiquing the errors he identifies. Broadly speaking his conclusions are inline with the classic reformed confessions.
Not a review, but here are a few thoughts:
- These volumes are not for everyone, not even for all christians who like heavy reading. They are very dense and very in depth, the target audience is people who have already done significant academic study of theology.
- As this is a very modern translation the style of English is good - it's very readable.
- At times it seems Bavinck is combatting liberalism with it's own tools, I wonder if he unintentionally imbibed some of what he intended to combat (particularly in his discussion of the christian life and the "experience" of faith)
- Bavinck's approach to prolegomena and epistemology is hard to fully comprehend, is there a contradiction running through it? Possibly.
- Volumes 1 and 2 are amazing reads (Prolegomena, God and Creation), in contrast Volume 4 (Holy Spirit, Church and New Creation) is much more tedious/harder going. Volume 3 (Sin and Salvation) is a mix. Generally I found that whenever Bavinck was writing on the nature of God or the observable works of God he was excellent whereas his analysis of human response to God often seemed quite tortured (not necessarily wrong BUT certainly harder to follow and understand).
- The historical reviews that accompany most doctrinal sections are fascinating and are part of why this is a helpful first resource for many topics.
November 16, 2019
Totes fave!
July 3, 2022
Herman Bavinck, in my view, is probably the greatest theologian since John Calvin.
There are four primary reasons why I love Bavinck so much:
First, he is a solidly Reformed in his theology.
Second, he is brilliant and knowledgeable in so many areas outside of theology, such as philosophy, sociology, history, etc. He is truly a renaissance man.
Third, when he deals with his opponents, he strives to articulate their views accurately and fairly and does so in a very charitable manner. In fact, he is so charitable that at times it’s easy to mistake his critique of another view’s as if he was promoting it (which you find out later he isn’t).
Lastly, He is a master wordsmith. His writing style is so elegant, uplifting, and glorifying of God that I pulled at least 20 pages of quotes from the four volumes. Here is just one of many, many examples I could give:
“Thus Christ is our only priest, who, according to the order of Melchizedek, remains forever, continually covers our sins with his sacrifice, always acts as our Paraclete with the father, pleads our case against all the accusations of Satan, the world, and our own heart, makes our prayers and thanksgivings pleasing to the father, consistently assures us of free and confident access to the throne of grace, and out of his fullness sends to us all the blessings of grace.”
Although this is a systematic theology, it is relatively accessible for the average person with careful reading and the help of the Internet to look up definitions of words. There were times that I skim read certain parts because they went over my head but just as often I found much that I could understand. The four volumes are so saturated with scripture references that at times it can even be a little distracting. If you are a Christian and particularly if you are reformed, I would highly recommend reading them. There is also a one volume abridged version which is not quite as expensive.
For those looking for a less technical, more pastoral version of Bavinck’s theology, I would highly recommend “The Wonderful Works of God”, which is basically his own summation of his “Reformed Dogmatics“.
Next to my Bible, this 4 volume set is my prized piece of literature. I will return to it again and again.
There are four primary reasons why I love Bavinck so much:
First, he is a solidly Reformed in his theology.
Second, he is brilliant and knowledgeable in so many areas outside of theology, such as philosophy, sociology, history, etc. He is truly a renaissance man.
Third, when he deals with his opponents, he strives to articulate their views accurately and fairly and does so in a very charitable manner. In fact, he is so charitable that at times it’s easy to mistake his critique of another view’s as if he was promoting it (which you find out later he isn’t).
Lastly, He is a master wordsmith. His writing style is so elegant, uplifting, and glorifying of God that I pulled at least 20 pages of quotes from the four volumes. Here is just one of many, many examples I could give:
“Thus Christ is our only priest, who, according to the order of Melchizedek, remains forever, continually covers our sins with his sacrifice, always acts as our Paraclete with the father, pleads our case against all the accusations of Satan, the world, and our own heart, makes our prayers and thanksgivings pleasing to the father, consistently assures us of free and confident access to the throne of grace, and out of his fullness sends to us all the blessings of grace.”
Although this is a systematic theology, it is relatively accessible for the average person with careful reading and the help of the Internet to look up definitions of words. There were times that I skim read certain parts because they went over my head but just as often I found much that I could understand. The four volumes are so saturated with scripture references that at times it can even be a little distracting. If you are a Christian and particularly if you are reformed, I would highly recommend reading them. There is also a one volume abridged version which is not quite as expensive.
For those looking for a less technical, more pastoral version of Bavinck’s theology, I would highly recommend “The Wonderful Works of God”, which is basically his own summation of his “Reformed Dogmatics“.
Next to my Bible, this 4 volume set is my prized piece of literature. I will return to it again and again.
December 31, 2020
The magisterial and towering theologian of the Dutch Reformed tradition has garnered a lot of resurgence in the English speaking world for the last decade. It is no easy work to surmount Bavinck's magnum opus, but it was a great process. Bavinck is dangerously learnt and eloquent. Instead of systematic theology that constructs tediously a compendium of biblical doctrines from the ground up, this is more akin to a historical-elenctic theology. Most of the time Bavinck would survey through the church history, Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions before presenting the Reformed view, other times he would contend against the prevalent continental theologies and philosophies in his time, such as those Kant, Schleiermacher, Ritschl, Spinoza, Schelling and many more (one can only dream about the potential if Bavinck had been active after Barth). He would critic the research of evolutionary biology in his article on human origin, archaeology on the age of the earth, geology for the debate on the universal flood, psychology against the history of religion phenomenon and so on. And other times he would outrightly present the Reformed view and then invite the criticism of detracting views and engages them with extensive exegetical work. Therefore, it is often time difficult to distinguish whether Bavinck is describing a view or advocating for one, coupled with the fact that one would probably need a masterful grasp over western philosophy to follow Bavinck's contention against Kant, Schleiermacher and Ritschl. Nevertheless, Bavinck's dogmatics is a treasure trove, and if one is willing to plough the field, one will definitely be able to uncover a lifetime of great pearls, those that glow of the most practical, profound and pious Christianity.
"Religion, the fear of God, must therefore be the element which inspires and animates all theological investigation. That must be the pulsebeat of the science. A theologian is a person who makes bold to speak about God because he speaks out of God and through God. To profess theology is to do holy work. It is a priestly ministration in the house of the Lord. It is itself a service of worship, a consecration of mind and heart to the honour of His name."
"Religion, the fear of God, must therefore be the element which inspires and animates all theological investigation. That must be the pulsebeat of the science. A theologian is a person who makes bold to speak about God because he speaks out of God and through God. To profess theology is to do holy work. It is a priestly ministration in the house of the Lord. It is itself a service of worship, a consecration of mind and heart to the honour of His name."
May 3, 2010
Herman Bavinck is one of my favorite theologians He reminds one of Warfield for his encyclopedic knowledge of theology as a science, and for his precise and comprehensive statement of doctrine he is without peer. I particularly enjoy his skilled use and interaction with the discipline of historical theology in his exposition of doctrine. He is reverent in his handling of the scriptures, and leaves one with the impression that if he so desired he could have been a Biblical scholar of repute. If Warfield was a dogmatic theologian, and Shedd a speculative theologian, then Bavinck was truly the scientific theologian of the 19th century. Reformed theology in this country is richer because of the translation into the english language of this magnum opus. Bavinck was not afraid to interact with the liberal theologians of his day thus refuting the charge that conservative theologians are closed minded and afraid to dialogue about the so called "issues".
November 8, 2012
Don't get me wrong... Finally getting this all translated into English is huge and important... and I would choose this set any day over Berkhof, Hodge or most others in the reformed tradition... I think Bavinck, Kuyper (Principles) and the Dutch tradition are vitally important in so many areas, this set (when I read it) felt like overkill and just wasn't in my gear box. Beyond that, I really do enjoy (Despite its weeknesses) Hendriksen's translation... Still, this set is very worthy of the space on one's bookshelf, the money that will be spent in procuring it and also the time (lots of time) that will be spent reading through and studying it. Good stuff overall.
February 22, 2017
The Reformed Dogmatics is the Cadillac of Reformed Systematic Theologies. The prolegommena, doctrine of God, creation & new creation are some of the richest theological material you will find anywhere. The doctrines of sin, salvation,and the church are solid, but don't contribute much to the wealth of material in these loci in reformed theology.
January 1, 2018
Well, it took me two years to read these cover to cover. These volumes are not light or easy reading, in fact, at times they were dense and difficult to read. That said, it was a joy and a blessing to read these volumes. If you are looking for a reformed systematic/historical theology, you won't find any better.
May 13, 2017
Absolutely incredible. Bavinck is so insightful. He has a way with words that is pure joy to read.
January 11, 2022
Very wordy but has some good points. He did slot of reading
August 31, 2024
Ridiculously thorough and cohesive. Theology explained/defended masterfully and plenty of history along the way.
Constantly referencing and recommending!
Constantly referencing and recommending!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews