Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) is widely celebrated as one of the most eloquent divines in the Reformed tradition. And yet there is a curious gap between Bavinck the theologian and the preachers who read him in the present day. How Bavinck preached, or what and how he thought about the act of preaching, are largely unknown. The largest barrier is that his writings on preaching were previously untranslated--until now. Herman Bavinck on Preaching & PreachersHerman Bavinck on Preaching & Preachers is a welcome translation from Dutch of Bavinck's thoughts on preaching and preachers, and includes one of his only written sermons.
For Bavinck, the sermon was the most important part of the worship service, and the preaching of the word is the decisive mark of the church. He believed that the preacher must be a student of the word, search it in all its riches and depth, in its unity and diversity. Translator and editor James Eglinton describes this book as a "useful and very interesting text on how to preach theology" and a "message that sorely needs to be heard if pulpits during our own time are to improve." This is the first time this book is in print. Herman Bavinck on Preaching & PreachersHerman Bavinck on Preaching & Preachers has never been published before in either Dutch or English.
Born on December 13, 1854, in Hoogeveen, Drenthe, Holland, Herman Bavinck was the son of the Reverend Jan Bavinck, a leading figure in the secession from the State Church of the Netherlands in 1834. After theological study in Kampen, and at the University of Leiden, he graduated in 1880, and served as the minister of the congregation at Franeker, Friesland, for a year. According to his biographers, large crowds gathered to hear his outstanding exposition of the Scriptures.
In 1882, he was appointed a Professor of theology at Kampen, and taught there from 1883 until his appointment, in 1902, to the chair of systematic Theology in the Free University of Amsterdam, where he succeeded the great Abraham Kuyper, then recently appointed Prime Minister of the Netherlands. In this capacity -- an appointment he had twice before declined -- Bavinck served until his death in 1921.
... Show more