Grace in Common

Our guest in this episode is George Harinck, professor of the history of neo-Calvinism at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Theological University Kampen/Utrecht. This is his inaugural adres at the Vrije Universiteit,  Waar komt het VU kabinet vandaan? (2008) George Harinck, Marinus de Jong and Richard Mouw (eds.), The Klaas Schilder Reader: The Essential Theological Writings (2022) Russel Shorto, Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City (2014) Abraham Kuyper, Lectures on Calvinism (1898) Gert van Klinken, Actieve burgers: Nederlanders en hun politieke partijen 1870-1918 (2003) Tom Holland, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind (2019) Johan H. Bavinck (1895-1964), Persoonlijkheid en wereldbeschouwing (1924) The English translation, Personality and Worldview is forthcoming. Gerrit C. Berkouwer (1903-1996). His Studies in Dogmatics were published with Eerdmans from 1952 - 1976. Jeroen Koch, Abraham Kuyper: een biografie (2006) Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer (1801-1876), historian and anti-revolutionary politician. His Unbelief and Revolution was translated in 2018.

In this episode we continue to reflect on “what is neo-Calvinism” by talking through misunderstandings of neo-Calvinism, mostly from our own experiences. The book about Lutheranism and Calvinism mentioned by Gray is Robert Kolb and Carl Trueman, Between Wittenberg and Geneva (Baker Academic, 2017) Klaas Schilder (1892-1952) was a Dutch second generation neo-Calvinist theologian. An anthology of his work will be available soon: George Harinck, Marinus de Jong and Richard Mouw (eds), The Klaas Schilder Reader: The Essential Theological Writings (Lexham Press, 2022). Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977) was a Dutch second generation neo-Calvinist philosopher. His most famous work is A New Critique of Theoretical Thought (1955). Two examples of the modern - orthodox sensibility mentioned by Gray are Abraham, Kuyper, “Conservatism and Orthodoxy” in James Bratt (ed.), Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader (Eerdmans, 1998) Herman Bavinck, Wonderful works of God (Westminster Seminary Press, 2019) And this is the book that required an update according to Bavinck: Wilhelmus a Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service (Reformation Heritage Books, 2015) The merger of two seceded churches Marinus talked about is called the Vereniging that occurred in 1892. The churches that issued from the 1834 Secession where Bavinck belonged to merged with the churches that issued from the Doleantie in 1886, led by Abraham Kuyper. A small group of Secession churches did not join because they mistrusted Kuyper’s supposedly rational and activist neo-Calvinism.

The four hosts of the podcasts with their affiliation: James Eglinton (New College, University of Edinburgh) Gray Sutanto (Reformed Theological Seminary, Washington D.C.) Cory Brock, (St Columba’s Free Church, Edinburgh) Marinus de Jong (Oosterparkkerk, Amsterdam, Neo-Calvinism Research Institute, Kampen|Utrecht).  Two people we have mentioned (and will be mentioning a lot) are the two founding fathers of neo-Calvinism: Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) and Herman Bavinck (1854-1921). Both Kuyper and Bavinck have several biographies. We recommend these two in English: James Bratt, Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat (Eerdmans, 2013); James Eglinton, Herman Bavinck: A Critical Biography (Baker, 2021). See https://www.neocalvinism.org/ for sources and more.  We discussed the alteration of the Belgic Confession, an important Reformed Confession in the Netherlands that dates back to the 16th century. Below is the line from Article 36 that was altered by the synod of the Gereformeerde Kerken in 1905. The italicised part was omitted. In 1958 the synod of the Christian Reformed Churches in North America also amended this particular section. 
“And the government’s task is not limited to caring for and watching over the public domain but extends also to upholding the sacred ministry, with a view to removing and destroying all idolatry and false worship of the Antichrist; to promoting the kingdom of Jesus Christ; and to furthering the preaching of the gospel everywhere; to the end that God may be honored and served by everyone, as he requires in his Word.”  Finally, two other sources that were mentioned in this episode:  Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Eerdmans, 1995);  Jan de Bruijn en George Harinck (eds.), Een Leidse vriendschap: Herman Bavinck en Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje over christendom, islam en westerse beschaving (Verloren, 2021). The English translation is forthcoming.