Bavinck

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ProtestantBankie

Puritan Board Freshman
Brethren, I've been handed the works of the Dutch Theologian Herman Bavinck, what particular works would you direct my attention towards?

As a Scottish Presbyterian I have heard the name, but not read anything by him, and I should add - the works are all in English translation. :um:
 
Consider yourself fortunate to have been gifted such a collection. If you have Bavinck's four-volume set of Reformed Dogmatics, I would start there to read the man whom Berkhof was "channeling" when Berkhof wrote his single volume Systematic Theology.
 
I think his section on the covenant of grace is amazing. It actually helped change a once reformed Baptist friend's stance on baptism.
 
Did "Our Reasonable Faith" come as part of the package? This book gave English readers an appreciation for Bavinck long before the Dogmatics became available. I might also add, that the condensed nature of the volume creates a flow of rich doctrinal teaching uninterrupted by the technical material common to dogmatics proper.
 
Unfortunately, not a lot of Bavinck beyond his Reformed Dogmatics has been translated into English.

The definitive work to help you forward with Bavinck's writings is Eric Bristley's Guide to the Writings of Herman Bavinck. He identifies everything that's been written and published, in Dutch, English, and other languages.

Reformed Dogmatics is definitely the top work. Our Reasonable Faith is a condensed version of the four-volume RD. Some of the other English translations you'll find floating about are bits and pieces of RD.
 
If you are looking for a place to begin in Reformed Dogmatics, consider Bavinck's treatment of creation or his section on eschatology. Baker Books published each of these sections as individual books (with John Bolt as the editor) entitled In the Beginning and The Last Things, respectively. They must have felt it was worthwhile to publish these sections as stand alone units.
 
If you are looking for a place to begin in Reformed Dogmatics, consider Bavinck's treatment of creation or his section on eschatology. Baker Books published each of these sections as individual books (with John Bolt as the editor) entitled In the Beginning and The Last Things, respectively. They must have felt it was worthwhile to publish these sections as stand alone units.

The two volumes mentioned were published prior to the appearance of the full four volume set -- I guess you could say that they were "teasers."
 
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