- Louis Berkhof
Louis Berkhof (1873 - 1957) was a
Reformed systematic theologian whose written works have been influential in seminaries andBible college s in theUnited States andCanada and with individual Christians in general throughout the 20th century.Personal life
He was born in 1873 in Emmen,
Drenthe in theNetherlands and moved with his family toGrand Rapids, Michigan in 1882, when still a child.About the time he graduated from seminary he married Reka Dijkhuis and had four children with her before her death in 1928. He then married Dena Heyns-Joldersma who had two daughters. [ [http://www.calvinseminary.edu/aboutUs/presidents/berkhof.php Berkhof, Louis ] ]
Education and Career
In 1900 he graduated from
Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan after which he was called to be pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church inAllendale, Michigan . Two years later he attendedPrinceton Theological Seminary where he earned hisB.D. in two years. Then he returned to West Michigan to pastor Oakdale Park Church located in Grand Rapids.In 1906 he joined the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary and taught there for almost four decades. For the first 20 years he taught Biblical Studies until in 1926 he moved into the systematic theology department. He became president of the seminary in 1931 and continued in that office until he retired in 1944. [ [http://www.lgmarshall.org/Bio/berkhof_bio.html Louis Berkhof ] ]
Publications
Berkhof authored twenty two books during his career. [ [http://www.calvinseminary.edu/aboutUs/presidents/berkhof.php Berkhof, Louis ] ]
His main works are his "Systematic Theology" (1932, revised 1938) which was supplemented with an "Introductory Volume to Systematic Theology" (1932, which is included in the 1996 Eerdman's edition of "Systematic Theology") and a separate volume entitled "History of Christian Doctrines" (1937).
He wrote a more concise version of his "Systematic Theology" for
high school andcollege students entitled "Manual of Christian Doctrine", and later wrote the even more concise "Summary of Christian Doctrine".He also delivered Princeton Theological Seminary's
Stone Lectures in 1951. These were published as "The Kingdom of God".In addition to this he worked on many papers for the
Christian Reformed Church as well as collections of sermons. [ [http://www.lgmarshall.org/Bio/berkhof_bio.html Louis Berkhof ] ]Legacy
Berkhof was not known for being original or speculative but for being very good at organizing and explaining basic theological ideas following in the tradition of
John Calvin ,Abraham Kuyper , andHerman Bavinck .Theologian
Wayne Grudem has called Berkhof's "Systematic Theology" "a great treasure-house of information and analysis...probably the most useful one-volume systematic theology available from any theological perspective." [Grudem, "Systematic Theology", Zondervan, 1994, pg. 1225]Berkhof's writings continue to serve as systematic presentations of Reformed theology. They are organized for use in seminaries and religious education as well as individual reference, though his systematics works are demanding reads. [ [http://dispensationaltruth.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/a-general-bibliography-for-systematic-theology/ A General Bibliography for Systematic Theology « THE VERITAS PROJECT ] ]
References
External links
* [http://wscal.edu/clark/berkhofoutline.php Outline of Berkhof's "Systematic Theology"]
* [http://www.calvinseminary.edu/aboutUs/presidents/berkhof.php Calvin Theological Seminary's biography]
* [http://www.lgmarshall.org/Bio/berkhof_bio.html Additional Biographical information]
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