Saving faith has as its object, not simply God’s words and deeds as such, but the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 561.
Tag Archives: Reformed Dogmatics
Herman Bavinck – The Gospel and Humanity’s Perceived Problems
7 Aug
The gospel is not to the liking of human nature, not a ready match for the needs of people as they themselves picture those needs. Outside of revelation human beings do not even know themselves.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 552.
Herman Bavinck – Scripture Should Define Our Emotions
3 Aug
Experience by itself is not sufficient. Scripture is the norm also for our emotional life and tells us what we ought to experience.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 534.
Herman Bavinck – Religion vs. Science
1 Aug
No one is prepared to sacrifice his life for a truth of natural science or mathematics.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 523.
Herman Bavinck – Needed: The Witness of God
30 Jul
In religion no human being and no creature can stand between God and my soul. To live and die in the comfort and blessing of salvation is not possible so long as I must rest on fallible human testimony. In religion we need not less but much stronger and firmer certainty than in science. Peace can be found only in the witness of God.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 516-517.
Herman Bavinck – Should Scripture Submit to (Darkened) Reason?
24 Jul
If Christian revelation, which presupposes the darkness and error of unspiritual humanity, submitted in advance to the judgments of reason, it would by that token contradict itself. It would thereby place itself before a tribunal whose jurisdiction it had first denied.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 516.
Herman Bavinck – The Blessing of Apologetics
20 Jul
Apologetics cannot precede faith and does not attempt a priori to argue the truth of revelation. It assumes the truth and belief in the truth. It does not, as the introductory part or as the foundational science, precede theology and dogmatics. It is itself a theological science through and through, which presupposes the faith and dogmatics and now maintains and defends the dogma against the opposition to which it is exposed. Thus understood, apologetics is not only perfectly justified but a science that at all times, but especially in this century, deserves to be seriously practiced and can spread rich blessing all around. First of all, it has the immediate advantage of forcing Christian theology to take deliberate account of the grounds on which it is based, of the principles on which it is constructed, and of the content it has within itself. It brings Christian theology out of the shadows of the mysticism of the human heart into the full light of day. Apologetics, after all, was the first Christian science. Secondly, it teaches that Christians, even though they cannot confer faith on anyone, need not hide from their opponents in embarrassed silence. With their faith they do not stand as isolated aliens in the midst of the world but find support for it in nature and history, in science and art, in society and state, in the heart and conscience of every human being. The Christian worldview alone is one that fits the reality of the world and of life. And finally, if it seriously and scrupulously performs its task, it will very definitely succeed in impressing opponents with the truth of Christian revelation, refuting and silencing them. It cannot truly convert people to God. Not even the preaching of the gospel is able to do that; only God, by his Spirit, can accomplish that. But subject to this working of God, and as a means in his hand, apologetics, like the ministry of the Word, can be a source of consummate blessing. For this fact the early centuries of Christianity offer abundant evidence.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 515.
Herman Bavinck – Doubt and Distrust
18 Jul
Doubt and distrust in the cause we champion renders us powerless in the battle.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 515.
Herman Bavinck – The Soul is Naturally Christian
6 Jul
In the pagan world there was much that is true and good and beautiful. The “seeds of truth” present there, however, are traceable to the Logos, who created the world, enlightens every human being coming into the world, and in Christ became flesh. Or they originate in the special revelation that from ancient times on was given by God in humankind and later to the people of Israel, and filtered through to or has been preserved to some degree also among other peoples. All that still exists in the way of true relgion, true doctrine, or pure morality among pagans, specifically in Greek philosophy, is derived from revelation and therefore actually belongs to Christianity. Christianity, accordingly does not first begin in the days of the apostles but was germinally present from the beginning in [divine] revelation. It is as old as the world and therefore receives testimony from all the true and the good that is found in the religions and philosophical systems of paganism, in fact even from every human soul. “The soul is naturally Christian.”
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 509.
Herman Bavinck – Apologetics: As Old as Revelation Itself
3 Jul
Inasmuch as the revelation of God in Christ is not naturally palatable to humanity, it has, from its earliest beginning, had to endure all sorts of attack and so continually saw itself called to self-defense. Apologetic is nothing new but as old as revelation itself.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 507.
The Old Guys 