Bavinck Week 0: Introduction, Preface and Foreword

I am delighted to be walking through Dutch theologian’s seminal systematic theology, The Wonderful Works of God, in 2022. In this introductory post, I’d like to give a brief walkthrough of what to expect over the course of the year and provide some brief thoughts on the Introduction written by former Westminster Seminary professor Carlton Wynne, Preface written by Henry Zylstra in 1955, and the Foreword written by H. Bavinck himself. Do you still need to purchase your copy? Reformation Heritage Books has the best price I could find for a hard copy ($28.00). The Westminster Bookstore has the best price I could find for an eBook ($29.99). If you’re the kind of person who likes study guides and discussion questions, the Westminster Bookstore has generously made a study guide available for free, I found it on their website.

Introduction, Preface and Foreword

The introduction to this edition was written by former Westminster Seminary professor Carlton Wynne. I had the privilege of taking two classes with Dr. Wynne, Doctrine of Man and Christian Ethics. In the introduction, Dr. Wynne gives some helpful background knowledge about Bavinck’s academic and personal background that helps us to get a feel for the perspective Bavinck takes on theological issues. The most helpful reminder for me from the introduction is that “sound doctrine fuels and informs the godliness seeks throughout the church (cf. 1 Tim 6:3; Titus 1:1), not just among her teachers.” While some of you who are reading this post work in ministry as a vocation, not all of you do, and I thank God that there are many in our pews who have an interest in sound doctrine leading to godliness.

Zylstra’s preface gives a helpful survey of Bavinck’s bibliography and the culture surrounding Bavinck that influenced his work. Notably, two of the external influences were “modern religious liberalism and Roman Catholicism,” and the internal Christian influences were “a moribund formal orthodoxy, on one hand, and evasive pietism on the other.” As we delve into Bavinck’s work, we will see how just Bavinck interacts and responds to these alternatives to lively Christian orthodoxy.

Bavinck’s Foreword was mercifully short but there was one point he made that especially stood out to me. As someone who likes to read old books written by theologians that have long since departed this earth, it struck me that this book was Bavinck’s attempt to write a systematic that was accessible to the people of his day. I was shocked to read him write that old theology books including the classic À Brakel’s The Christian’s Reasonable Service are essentially outdated and do not speak to the younger generation, and they involuntarily give rise to the thought that Christianity no longer fits in this present era.” I must confess, I am not as pessimistic about the desire for young people to read old books as Bavinck was, but he makes a good point about the need for every generation to guard the deposit of the gospel and create content that speaks to the particular issues of every age with the unchanging truth of Scripture.

Thank you for joining me on this journey, expect an post next week previewing chapter one, Man’s Highest Good.