# Berkhof's ST - various editions



## Mark Hettler (Apr 11, 2017)

I haven't been on here regularly in quite a while and am not sure if I'm posting this question in the right place. Apologies if not; no disruption intended.

I have the Eerdman's edition of Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology, printed in 1974. My wife (known to PBers as Lynnie) is thinking of reading through Berkhof, just because she is looking for something to read and she is one of those rare women who finds systematic theology more interesting than romance novels. But the print is too small for her 60-something eyes.

So does anyone know of a different edition of Berkhof with larger print? I see maybe two or three different editions on Amazon, but none of them have the "Look Inside" feature available so I can't really compare. I thought of trying to post a picture of a page from my edition so you could compare with whatever you have, but I don't know how. But any thoughts anyone may have, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks, Mark (better known as Lynnie's husband).


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Apr 11, 2017)

Mark,

There are no large print editions that I am aware of being available. You could access the electronic version online (w/o the _prologomenena_) and print out sections with larger font sizes. Or upload the ebook version to a Kindle which has larger font features.

https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/systematic-theology-louis-berkhof


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## Stephen L Smith (Apr 12, 2017)

The Erdmans edition is the best edition because it includes the Introduction to Systematic Theology including the doctrine of scripture. Many editions do not have this. I cannot see an electronic edition of this on the Web unfortunately but it is worth hunting for an edition that includes the Introduction to Systematic Theology.


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## Mark Hettler (Apr 12, 2017)

It doesn't have to be "large print", just large-ER than what we have. If there is an edition with print size comparable to current editions of Hodge, Frame, Grudem, etc., that would be fine. But the 1974 printing of Berkhof just has especially small print.


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## JimmyH (Apr 12, 2017)

If I'm not mistaken the 1974 edition does not include the introduction. That was a separate volume. The new edition includes it. They say Berkhoff considered it essential.

https://www.amazon.com/Louis-Berkho...2&sr=1-2&keywords=systematic+theology+berkhof

The print in the new edition is slightly smaller than that in the 1960 Hodge systematic but only slightly. My 68 year old eyes can read it easily and I hope Lynnie would be able to as well.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk


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## py3ak (Apr 12, 2017)

Eerdmans has published it in many different years, but I don't think the text block changes, not even in the most current reprint with the prolegomena included and the Richard Muller preface. If the Eerdmans print is too small, the only other option I'm aware of is to try the Banner of Truth edition. I don't have that one to see if the font is any better, but it's possible. That one won't contain the prolegomena, but if the print is too small to read having more of it doesn't really add any value...

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## Pilgrim (Apr 21, 2017)

I don't know whether or not it will be the solution, but from what I've seen, the consensus seems to be that the Banner edition is better than the Eerdmans in every way other than the lack of the prolegomena. I haven't looked at the Eerdmans in a while, but my recollection is that the print is smaller and the pages are rather slick, which would cause a glare. I think it also has a glued binding, which may come apart eventually. Unless more recent printings have shown a decline in quality, the Banner of Truth edition is clothbound w/ dust jacket and is smyth sewn. The print is comparable to other books of theirs that are a similar size.

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## LilyG (Apr 21, 2017)

Mark Hettler said:


> I haven't been on here regularly in quite a while and am not sure if I'm posting this question in the right place. Apologies if not; no disruption intended.
> 
> I have the Eerdman's edition of Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology, printed in 1974. My wife (known to PBers as Lynnie) is thinking of reading through Berkhof, just because she is looking for something to read and she is one of those rare women who finds systematic theology more interesting than romance novels. But the print is too small for her 60-something eyes.
> 
> ...



I need to meet this woman!

Reactions: Like 1


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## bookslover (May 1, 2017)

A publisher called GLH Publishing, in Louisville, Kentucky (no, I've never heard of them before, either), has an edition of Berkhof that has quite large print - much larger than the standard Eerdmans edition (or the Banner edition, for that matter). I have no idea where they got a larger-print version of the book.

Here's the thing, though. The copyright page says "GLH Publishing Reprint 2017" and "Public Domain." I don't know how they can claim the book is in the public domain, since only books published before 1923 are in the public domain, and the first edition of Berkhof's book came out in 1932, I think - and Eerdmans has held the copyright on Berkhof's book ever since then, up to today.

Is it bogus? Does Eerdmans know about this?


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## Bill The Baptist (May 1, 2017)

Christian Book has the look inside feature for both the Eerdmans and the Banner editions.

Banner of Truth edition. https://www.christianbook.com/Chris...ideshow?sku=51056X&actual_sku=51056X&slide=12

Eerdmans edition. https://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product_slideshow?sku=38200&actual_sku=38200&slide=7

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## Bill The Baptist (May 1, 2017)

bookslover said:


> A publisher called GLH Publishing, in Louisville, Kentucky (no, I've never heard of them before, either), has an edition of Berkhof that has quite large print - much larger than the standard Eerdmans edition (or the Banner edition, for that matter). I have no idea where they got a larger-print version of the book.
> 
> Here's the thing, though. The copyright page says "GLH Publishing Reprint 2017" and "Public Domain." I don't know how they can claim the book is in the public domain, since only books published before 1923 are in the public domain, and the first edition of Berkhof's book came out in 1932, I think - and Eerdmans has held the copyright on Berkhof's book ever since then, up to today.
> 
> Is it bogus? Does Eerdmans know about this?



There are other ways that a work can become public domain. Here are the guidelines:


All works published in the U.S. before 1923
All works published with a copyright notice from 1923 through 1963 without copyright renewal
All works published without a copyright notice from 1923 through 1977
All works published without a copyright notice from 1978 through March 1, 1989, and without subsequent registration within 5 years


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## Mark Hettler (May 1, 2017)

bookslover said:


> A publisher called GLH Publishing, in Louisville, Kentucky (no, I've never heard of them before, either), has an edition of Berkhof that has quite large print - much larger than the standard Eerdmans edition (or the Banner edition, for that matter). I have no idea where they got a larger-print version of the book.
> 
> Here's the thing, though. The copyright page says "GLH Publishing Reprint 2017" and "Public Domain." I don't know how they can claim the book is in the public domain, since only books published before 1923 are in the public domain, and the first edition of Berkhof's book came out in 1932, I think - and Eerdmans has held the copyright on Berkhof's book ever since then, up to today.
> 
> Is it bogus? Does Eerdmans know about this?



I never heard of them before this morning either, but according to their website (http://glhpublishing.com/), GLH publishing specializes in conversion of classic Christian books to ebook format.


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## bookslover (May 2, 2017)

Bill The Baptist said:


> There are other ways that a work can become public domain. Here are the guidelines:
> 
> 
> All works published in the U.S. before 1923
> ...


Interesting, but I don't think Berkhof fits any of those categories. Originally published around 1932, never out of print (as far as I know) and, thanks to Eerdmans, never out of copyright. Eerdmans has, as far as I know, always renewed the copyright.


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## reaganmarsh (May 3, 2017)

I don't have anything of consequence to add to the present discussion.

I just wanted to say that I really like Mark's t-shirt in his picture. 

Ok, as you were!


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## Pilgrim (May 5, 2017)

bookslover said:


> Interesting, but I don't think Berkhof fits any of those categories. Originally published around 1932, never out of print (as far as I know) and, thanks to Eerdmans, never out of copyright. Eerdmans has, as far as I know, always renewed the copyright.



I've long wondered about this. I've seen Berkhof's ST posted in various places around the internet for years. Few other books of that vintage are.

(EDIT: Google Berkhof Systematic Theology public domain and you'll find several places where it is posted online, sometimes accompanied by an assertion that it is in the public domain. It appears to be posted in full on Monergism, which in my experience isn't known for printing copyrighted books without permission.)

In my Banner edition, (printed in 2012) it is noted that the first Banner edition was in 1958 and many subsequent printings are listed. But there is no actual copyright notice.


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## Pilgrim (May 5, 2017)

Pilgrim said:


> I don't know whether or not it will be the solution, but from what I've seen, the consensus seems to be that the Banner edition is better than the Eerdmans in every way other than the lack of the prolegomena. I haven't looked at the Eerdmans in a while, but my recollection is that the print is smaller and the pages are rather slick, which would cause a glare. I think it also has a glued binding, which may come apart eventually. Unless more recent printings have shown a decline in quality, the Banner of Truth edition is clothbound w/ dust jacket and is smyth sewn. The print is comparable to other books of theirs that are a similar size.



I consulted my Banner edition of Berkhof yesterday and saw that the print is quite a bit smaller than I had recalled. I don't know whether or not the text block is the same as Eerdmans. By "books of theirs that are a similar size" I was probably thinking of Banner editions that are basically facsimilies of original editions that were published in the 19th Century, etc. Many of those have larger print. Their edition of A.A. Hodge's "Outlines of Theology" appears to be an example of this. It seems to be a bit easier on the eyes. Thomas Boston's "Fourfold State" is a lot easier on the eyes. 

For some reason, even though the print is tiny and there are a great many characters per line, I've never really experienced significant eye strain reading Robert Duncan Culver's ST. Maybe it is due to the paper.


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## bookslover (May 6, 2017)

Pilgrim said:


> I've long wondered about this. I've seen Berkhof's ST posted in various places around the internet for years. Few other books of that vintage are.
> 
> (EDIT: Google Berkhof Systematic Theology public domain and you'll find several places where it is posted online, sometimes accompanied by an assertion that it is in the public domain. It appears to be posted in full on Monergism, which in my experience isn't known for printing copyrighted books without permission.)
> 
> In my Banner edition, (printed in 2012) it is noted that the first Banner edition was in 1958 and many subsequent printings are listed. But there is no actual copyright notice.



Maybe I'll send Eerdmans an email about this (if that's possible) to see what they have to say about this whole subject.


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## greenbaggins (May 12, 2017)

Just have her read Vos's Reformed Dogmatics instead! It's better anyway, in my opinion, and much easier on the eyes.


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## reaganmarsh (May 12, 2017)

greenbaggins said:


> Just have her read Vos's Reformed Dogmatics instead! It's better anyway, in my opinion, and much easier on the eyes.



I've only read vol. 4, but if the rest of the series is like that one, I wholeheartedly concur.


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