Status Updates From Reformed Dogmatics, Volume ...

"Prior to all reflection and reasoning, everyone is in fact fully assured of the real existence of the world. This certainty is not born out of a syllogism, nor is it supported by proof; it is immediate, originating spontaneously within us along with perception itself"

"There is indeed no room for philosophical theory of fundamental principles that must first lay the foundation for the study of theology and has the right to justify this pursuit."

"There is clearly no rosy future for Calvinism in America"

Chapter on Lutheran dogmatics. Bavincks perspective is quite sad: "Philosophy completely triumphed"

Whole chapter on RC Dogmatics.

Bavinck on Augustine:

"He is the most Christian as well as the most modern of all the fathers; of all of them he is closest to us. In dogmatics we owe our best, our deepest, our richest thoughts to him. Augustine has been and is the dogmatician of the Christian church."

"It is true that in its [the Reformation] public pronouncements it spoke harsh words against Aristotelian philosophy and medieval philosophy. But in principle, it was opposed not to all but only to a false and corrupted tradition. It accepted the Apostles Creed and The Creedal statements of the first four councils. It also took advantage of the Theology of the church fathers, especially Augustine."

"The method that arose in Scholasticism... of first treating the natural knowledge of God and then all the historical and rational proofs supporting revelation, must be rejected. At the very outset it abandons the viewpoint of faith, denies the positive character of dogmatics, moves on to the opponent's ground, and makes dogmatics dependent on philosophy."

Shots fired!

10 pages at a time haha. Dense but rich. Interestingly, Bavinck totally predicts the rise of postmodernism in a Lewis-esque way. Ive seen 2 or 3 comparisons between Lewis and Bavinck in the last week in various places. Very different men in very different contexts, yet bith with a foot in the past and an eye to the future.

"Theologians never come to Scripture from the outside, without any prior knowledge or preconceived opinion, but bring with them from their background a certain understanding of the content of revelation and so look at Scripture with the aid of the glasses that their church has put on them."

"Dogmatics describes the deeds of God done for, to, and in human beings. Ethics describes what renewed human beings now do on the basis of and in the strength of those divine deeds."

"The dogmatician remains bound to the revelation from beginning to end and cannot bring forward new truth; in his activity as thinker he can only reproduce the truth God has granted"

"It is absolutely imperative that the dogmatician be active as a believer."

"Theology possesses a range of characteristics in common with the other sciences."

Excellent take on dogmatics, science of theology, etc. You can see his Leiden influence, but only in how he knows what he is talking about, and then carefully rejecting it.

"The principal into which all theological dogmas are distilled is God has said it."