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The History of Christian Doctrines

by Louis Berkhof

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1949

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Overview

Doctrinal truths cannot be studied apart from their historical background. The History of Christian Doctrines covers the development of doctrine. In it, Berkhof attempts to recover an appreciation for the development of the doctrines in their present form. His investigation is detailed, covering all the ground in his Systematic Theology in a more concise format. This book is essential reading for historical theologians.

Top Highlights

“Religious doctrines are found in Scripture, thought not in finished form, but dogmas in the current sense of the word are not found there. They are the fruit of human reflection, the reflection of the Church, often occasioned or intensified by theological controversies. Roman Catholics and Protestants differ somewhat in their description of the origin of dogmas. The former minimize, if they do not exclude, the reflection of the Church as the body of believers, and substitute for it the study of the teaching Church or the hierarchy.” (Page 18)

“The Meaning of the Word ‘Dogma’. The word ‘dogma’ is derived from the Greek dokein, which in the expression dokein moi meant not only ‘it seems to me’, or ‘it pleases me’, but also ‘I have definitely determined something so that it is for me an established fact’. The last meaning gradually predominated, so that the word ‘dogma’ became the designation of a firm, and especially a public, resolution or decree. It was applied to the self-evident truths of science, to well established and admittedly valid philosophical convictions, to government decrees, and to officially formulated religious tenets.” (Page 17)

“The Apostolic Fathers are the Fathers who are supposed to have lived before the last of the apostles died, of whom some are said to have been disciples of the apostles, and to whom the earliest Christian writings now extant are ascribed. There are especially six names which have come down to us, namely, Barnabas, Hermas, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Papias, and Ignatius.” (Page 41)

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Louis Berkhof was born in 1873 in the Netherlands, and immigrated with his family to West Michigan in 1882. In 1893, he began attending the Theological School of the Christian Reformed Church (now Calvin Theological Seminary), where he studied under Hendericus Beuker and was influenced by the writings of Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck. Berkhof graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1900 and became the pastor of First Christian Reformed Church in Allendale, Michigan. He attended Princeton Theological Seminary from 1902 to 1904, where he studied under B.B. Warfield and Geerhardus Vos. H. Henry Meeter, a friend of Berkhof, remarked that “Berkhof frequently said that he owed more to Vos than anyone else for his insights into Reformed theology” (Reformed Theology in America, 156).

Berkfhof returned to Michigan in 1904 and became pastor of Oakdale Park Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. In 1906, he was appointed professor of exegetical theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, and in 1926, became professor of dogmatic theology. He also delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton in 1921. On September 9, 1931, Berkhof became president of Calvin Theological Seminary, where he served until his retirement in 1944. During his lifetime, he wrote prolifically, including numerous volumes on theology, social issues, politics, education, and missions. In addition to his books, he also published countless articles in Reformed periodicals, such as The Banner, De Wachter, and the Calvin Forum. He also served as the first president of the Reformed Ecumenical Synod in 1946.

Louis Berkhof died in 1957.