The History of Christian Doctrines

by Louis Berkhof

Berkhof traces the great movements of thought within the church from the apostolic fathers to the last century, on such doctrines as the Trinity the Person of Christ, Sin and Grace, the Atonement, the Church, the Sacraments, and the Last Things.

Genres: Theology, Church History, History, Christianity, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian

285 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Louis Berkhof (1873–1957) was a Reformed theologian best known for his Systematic Theology (1932). He taught for almost four decades at Calvin Theological Seminary and served as its president from 1931–1944. In his work on systematic theology Berkhof followed in the line of John Calvin and embraced the development of Reformed theology by the Dutch theologians Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck.

Selected publications:

Systematic Theology. Eerdmans, 1932; New Combined Edition, 1996.

The History of Christian Doctrines. Baker, 1978; Banner of Truth, revised, 1996.

Principles of Biblical Interpretation. Baker Academic, 1981; republished, 1994.

A Summary of Christian Doctrine. Eerdmans, 1939; Banner of Truth, 1960.

Reviews

[Lee Irons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a companion to Berkhof’s more well-known Systematic Theology. I highly recommend it and encourage people to use it. Berkhof does a masterful job of summarizing all of the major theological debates in the history of dogma in a very compact manner without oversimplification. It is basically an easier-to-read, condensed version of Seeberg’s masterful Text-Book of the History of Doctrines. Berkhof helpfully defines the concept of “dogma” as the Church’s Spirit-guided reflection on Scripture:

“According to [the Reformers] all truly religious dogmas derive their material contents from Scripture and from Scripture only. They do not recognize the unwritten word or tradition as a source of dogma. At the same time they do not regard dogmas as statements taken directly from the Bible, but represent them as the fruit of the reflection of the Church, as the body of believers, on the truths of revelation ... Since the reflection of the Church is often determined and deepened by doctrinal controversies, the formulations to which Church Councils or Synods are finally led under the guidance of the Holy Spirit often bear the earmarks of past struggles. They are not infallible but yet have a high degree of stability ... [Dogma] is not a mere repetition of what is found in Scripture, but the fruit of dogmatic reflection ... In the History of Dogma we see the Church becoming ever increasingly conscious of the riches of divine truth under the guidance of the Holy Spirit” (pp. 17, 19).

[Chip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful intro and overview of the development of various doctrines. I especially like the short, bite-sized chapters.

[JT Stead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this short and readable history of theology. Berkoff is concise, plain, and clear. What is missing is footnotes, and more representation of baptist views.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good survey book, miss some part of the history because the author looked principally at the history of Christian doctrines with the Reformed view as being the apogee of this history. One thing though: where are the dates? The timeline is very vague.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conciseness of this work makes it particularly useful either as a quick recap of the subject or an introduction to it. Berkhof knew his subjects as well as any.

A trusted work.

I sure benefited a lot.

Favourite aspect: the layout of the material.

[Alexander Proudfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Constantly an aid in doctrine, and an excellent insight into post-Kuyperian Dutch Reformed thought. Although much of what he says is a mirroring of Vos, he is no imitator. Truly a necessity for all Reformed libraries. Truly a relic from the golden days of the Christian Reformed Church.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Berkhof’s History of Christian Doctrines is like walking through the minds of the Church Fathers, medieval scholastics, Reformers, and modern theologians all at once. It offers a perspective that summaries cannot capture, tracing the development of doctrine, recurring controversies, and the ways God’s people have wrestled with truth across the centuries.

I must confess that I have owned this very copy for over 40 years and am only now getting around to reading it—a delay I accept with humility. Even so, the book proved immensely rewarding. Berkhof’s systematic approach illuminated patterns in theology—from early Trinitarian debates to Reformation controversies over grace, predestination, and the sacraments. The book also includes a very helpful index of persons and subjects, which makes it especially useful as a reference tool.

Though written in 1937—thus leaving out later theological movements and modern biblical scholarship—a further drawback is that it doesn’t provide life dates of the key figures discussed. Still, it remains an indispensable foundation for understanding Christian thought. For anyone seeking a deep historical grasp of doctrine, Berkhof offers a journey both rigorous and enriching—a chance to engage with the living tradition of the Church across the ages.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been in need of a good church history book for a while and this one fits the bill. It is not long or over descriptive on any specific doctrine, but covers a wide range of material. It gave me great essay on the founding of the different churches/denominations and the theologians responsible for starting them as well as how they differ from each other. A good history book is unbiased fact and this hit that mark as I’m not sure what the author believes specifically but I can assume reformed. There are many ideas I’ve thought about when reading the Bible that are natural and have been thought about before. Here I was able to see some of those ideas detailed out and how they were accepted in their day and time and by whom. This encourages me to get back into the word and continue to study theology. Highly recommend it for all believers.

[Darren Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book which summarizes the key essentials of historical theology. I would recommend this book as an entry point into historical theology to see the grand overview of this subject before chewing on a more technical and beefy textbook or diving into the primary sources of a specific theologian in the past. In my opinion, the problem with those who were overly obsessed with a particular church father or theologian in the past is due them not having a good overview of historical theology. And I believe reading this book will help avoid this problem. Besides this book, I would highly recommend reading Berkhof's Systematic Theology as well which is his magnum opus!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

History of Christian Doctrines by Louis Berkhof was originally titled Reformed Dogmatics. The focus of the book is the theological development—whether orthodox, heterodox or outright heretical—of doctrines foundational to the Reformed Protestant tradition. Don’t come to it looking for all the great stories, dates, timelines of general church history, come looking for the development of Reformed theology. This is a companion volume to Berkhof’s legendary Systematic Theology.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A handy, short survey of the history of Christian doctrine. It is a bit older, so recent developments are obviously out of view, but it is quite helpful as a quick reference to doctrine from the early days of the church through the post-Reformation period.

I would recommend having some knowledge of the major figures of church history before reading this, because Berkhof assumes prior knowledge of the many figures mentioned.

[Charles Hirschy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful overview of the development doctrines. It helps us see where there has been disagreement but also unity namely on the important issues and puts into perspective the historic faith of Christianity. The only issue I had was there aren't direct quotes or many references to scripture which is because this is meant to be a companion to Berkhof's systematic theology. So for optimal reading one really needs both. Otherwise very helpful read

[Dayo Adewoye · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting walk through the halls of Christian thought. From the ideas of the Apostolic Fathers to the speculations of the Scholastics, on to the teachings of the Reformers, Berkhof takes us on a worthwhile journey of faith. The exploration helps us note the excesses and mistakes of the past, the achievement and clarity of today, so we can teach and defend the faith better into the future.

[Quoxta Fenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bird's eye view of the flow of doctrinal understanding in the Church. The gravity of the matter and the confusion within the Church makes the readers of the present day to humble themselves and not presume to know better than their forefathers did.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid reference work. I found the definitions of heresies to be most helpful. I'd rather read a book that covers Christian doctrine in historical order rather than organized by doctrine, but if you want to know about the history of a doctrine, this is a good one-stop source.

[Chris Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Berkhof's 20,000 feet up in the air cursory overview of historical Christian doctrines. A handy reference tool to have in one's library but the writing style is a little on the dry side - kind of like reading a dictionary.

[Bruno Matias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma história do desenvolvimento histórico-teológico das principais doutrinas cristãs. Entre elas, a Cristologia, Trindade, predestinação. Obra indispensável.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was a good book on whole different doctrines developed through Church History.

[Joonas Laajanen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. A real page turner. Concise and therefore easy to comprehend.

[Cameron Borders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on the history of how Christian theological thought has developed over the past couple thousand years. One can see the foundation for so many modern heresies and modern common opinions and interpretations about God and Scripture in so many of the ideas that developed centuries ago which simply get repackaged under new names today. Berkhof is very approachable in his writing and gives a fair and honest representation of the many different doctrines that are discussed in this book.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though a bit high-level, this book provides a helpful overview of how many church doctrines evolved over the last 2000 years. Its strength is that it fairly represents different perspectives, calling out those that are objectively heretical. Because it is a short book, it does not provide the details that might be helpful in really understanding the different perspectives.

[John Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty decent summary of doctrine. Berkhof is obviously a Reformed lad which restricts his work to doctrines particularly relevant to his theological heritage. A decent compendium to his Systematic Theology - not entirely useful in and of itself, but a concise reference work nonetheless.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

[Treyyyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.75

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite good. A textbook. Dry. Close to lifeless. But rock-solid.