Herman Bavinck: Pastor, Churchman, Statesman, and Theologian [Paperback]

Ron Gleason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 2010

This is a much needed work on the life and theology of Dr. Herman Bavinck, an increasingly important influence on the church landscape and one of the finest and best theologians that Holland ever produced. Gleason describes Bavinck s education at Leiden University, his first and only pastoral ministry in the Friesian village of Franeker, his fruitful time in Kampen as professor of the Theological Seminary there, and his eventual transfer to the Free University. This is a thought-provoking portrait of an influential man written by one of the leading authorities on his life and ideas. Gleason takes you on a journey with Bavinck through his whole life until the events surrounding his death in 1921.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: P & R Publishing (August 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596380802
• ISBN-13: 978-1596380806
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ronald N. Gleason, pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Yorba Linda, California, holds a PhD in systematic theology from Westminster Theological Seminary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An English Introduction to a great Dutch Theologian, December 8, 2010

By 

J. Taylor "rerum cognoscere causas" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Herman Bavinck: Pastor, Churchman, Statesman, and Theologian (Paperback)

Ron Gleason's biography has been greatly anticipated by devotees of Herman Bavinck. With the English translation of Bavinck's magnum opus - Reformed Dogmatics - recently completed, an English biography provides a much needed introduction to the life and times of this brilliant Dutch theologian.

Gleason's biography carefully describes Bavinck's family life, his involvement in the union of the secessionist (Afscheiding) and Doleantist churches, his academic work at Kampen and the Free University, and his contributions to applying a Reformed worldview through politics.

What emerges is a portrait of a Reformed theologian committed to the Five Solas, who labored to preserve orthodoxy in the face of Liberalism, and who was passionate about ensuring that theology remained a practical comfort to the Church and society.

I do have a few minor quibbles; primarily, Gleason's biography could have been better edited for concision. But the writing style - while at times frustrating - also added to the book's readability.

Bavinck's works deserve a special place in the library of any serious student of theology. And Gleason's biography provides the ecclesiastical, academic and political contexts necessary to better appreciate Bavinck's unique contribution to the study of God.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Herman Bavinck: A Fine Biography, March 23, 2011

By 

Mike Robinson "Mike A Robinson: Apologetic An... (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Herman Bavinck: Pastor, Churchman, Statesman, and Theologian (Paperback)

In Ron Gleason's "Herman Bavinck: Pastor, Churchman, Statesman, and Theologian," the late Roger Nicole wrote in the Forward: "Bavinck has been for me an inspiration and a challenge. His grasp of theology in all its dimensions, his thoroughness and fairness in dealing with those with whom he did not agree, his soundness in accepting and reflecting the witness of Scripture, his architectural gift in perceiving each doctrine in its correlation with the Christian view as a whole; these are some of the excellencies that characterize his work throughout" (p. xiii; Gleason also dedicates this book to Nicole). And in this hefty (511 pages) and likeable volume the reader finds much to learn and admire regarding the grand Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck (HB).

Chapters include:

- A Short history of past generations of the Bavinck's family (pp. 1-27)

- Birth and youth of Bavinck (pp. 28-44)

- The Separatists Controversy (pp. 45-68)

- HB's pastorate (pp. 69-96)

- HB as Professor at Kampen (additional chapters discuss his professorship)

- HB as Kuyper's Confidant (other chapters also cover HB and Kuyper's [AK] relationship)

- His years at Amsterdam

- HB the politician

- Did HB change his theology later in life?

- HB and the truth of the Christian Worldview (pp. 475-484)

- How studying at a liberal University helped equip Bavinck to contest theological liberalism

- Much of this volume is influenced by Dutch biographies of Bavinck

- And much more.

On the importance of fencing the Lord's Table: "To our minds, this (fencing) might seem like a small insignificant item, but to the CRC the fencing of the Table in the aftermath of the Separation was quite strict. So strict that it was the practice not to allow those to attend the celebration of the Lord's Supper who were not members of that individual congregation, even though they might be members in good standing in the CRC" (unless they had a letter from their own congregation regarding their good standing; p. 47).

This fine and well-researched book discusses the influence that Tiele, Rauwenoff, Land, Scholten, and many others had on HB. The author demonstrates how theological liberals are intolerant while covering HB's life at Leiden (p. 53-57). Gleason comments on HB and AK's relationship: "AK's appreciation of HB did nothing to harm HB's reputation as an accomplished theologian, and HB, in his turn, was pleased to have AK's support. The net result of their respective ages and positions was that HB stood in the shadow of his elder theologian and statesman" (p. 229).

One significant criticism: this large volume has very few quotations from Bavinck. I am one who takes great delight in Bavinck's works, especially "Our Reasonable Faith" and "The Doctrine of God" and I would have enjoyed reading more of HB's words within this volume.

In "Herman Bavinck" Gleason smoothly takes the reader through the victories, difficulties, influence of HB as well as covering his Stone Lectures, HB's interaction with Vos, HB's criticisms of the Presbyterian church located in America, his interface with B.B. Warfield, and the impact of AK's death on HB.

Gleason notes: "HB profoundly impacted first the theological world within the borders of the Netherlands, but then his biblical scholarship and exceptional mind was recognized and acknowledged outside of Holland. ... Without pushing himself to the forefront, the Lord moved him, through the mystery of providence, to a prominent place in the ecclesiastical and political arenas in Holland and to recognition in the theological world" (p. 315).

An outstanding biography that will inform the Bavinck admirer as the faithful life of HB edifies one's character.

One in looking at the work of Bavinck one should take his words to heart: "The study of antiquity is not only of formal and practical value: for the development of thinking, understanding Greek and Latin terms in our scholarship, understanding citations and allusions in our literature, and so fourth. Its lasting value also lies in the fact that the foundations of modern culture were laid in antiquity. The roots of all our arts and learning -- and also, though in lesser degree, the sciences that study nature -- are to be found in the soil of antiquity. It is amazing how the Greeks created all those forms of beauty in which our aesthetic feeling still finds expression and satisfaction today; in their learning they realized and posited all the problems of the world and of life with which we still wrestle in our heads and hearts. They were able to achieve all that, on the one hand, because they rose above folk religion and struggled for the independence of art and learning; but on the other hand, they did not loosen art and learning from those religious and ethical factors that belong to man's essence. In the midst of distressing reality, they kept the faith in a world of ideas and norms. And that idealism is also indispensable for us today; it cannot be replaced or compensated for by the history of civilization or new literature."

See the new apologetic book that contends for the truth of the Christian worldview with interaction with scholars influenced by HB and various ideas of Bavinck:

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Gleason's volume is endorsed by: David Wells, Michael Horton, Derek Thomas, and Richard Gaffin.