Herman Bavinck and same-sex marriage: A current application of older theological concepts

It seems like an anachronism to turn to Herman Bavinck for a vision of homosexual relationships in the church. It is indeed an anachronism when we look at Bavinck’s treatment of this phenomenon. Except for a reference to ‘unnatural sin’, he does not explicitly reflect on this theme. Yet, his theological concepts may offer possibilities for creating an openness to same-sex marriage in the church. This article examines four of Bavinck’s concepts, namely the concepts of catholicity, hermeneutics, subjectivation and worldview. While the first three concepts suggest an openness, it is different with the fourth concept. This leads to the question of how to value it. Added to this, it is uncertain how Bavinck’s later hermeneutical insights relate to his Christian worldview. In this article, these insights are weighed, and the conclusion is drawn that there is no evidence that the relativisation of historical and natural worldviews in the Bible also applies to Bavinck’s moral biblical worldview. Therefore, it seems that Bavinck’s concepts do not lead to openness for same-sex marriage in the church. If we make use of these concepts today, we must again account for the weight we assign to the various concepts, their interrelationship and the relative weight of each concept with respect to other concepts. Contribution: This research contributes both to the understanding of the tensions in Bavinck’s theology, to the consciousness of Bavinck’s hermeneutics, and to the reflection on same-sex relationships in the church

Complementary apologetics: An attempt for the integration of apologetic schools

Within Christian apologetics several schools of thought exist. This article is firstly an attempt to come to a classification of these different schools. Next, the agreements and disagreements between these schools are investigated. It appears that despite the differences there are several common convictions between the several apologetic approaches, namely ‘knowing as basis for showing’, and ‘faith seeks understanding’. These common convictions appear to be fundamental if compared with the differences. The third part of this article explores the arguments for an integration of the different approaches. However, the concept of a strict integration will be problematic, and this leads in the final part to a proposal. The proposal is for a complementary model of concentric circles, starting with the convictions of the heart in the centre in fideism and presuppositionalism, continuing with apologetics which refer to the human mind in classical apologetics and culminating in apologetics that refer to senses in evidentialism

One of the most difficult points in the bible:An analysis of the development of Jonathan Edwards’ understanding of the new heaven and new earth

This article investigates Edwards's concept of the new heaven and new earth. It appears that, as a young tutor, he believed in a material new earth but later, during his ministry, he became convinced that the new heaven and new earth had to be interpreted spiritually. So, in Edwards's view, there is no expectation of a re-creation of earth. The future of the risen saints will not be on a new earth, but in heaven. But Edwards speaks about the destruction of the old heaven, and the renewal of heaven. This article not only investigates the development of Edwards's thought, but also provides an analysis of the theological structures and tensions in Edwards's concept

Neurocalvinism: Calvinism as a Paradigm for Neuroscience

In order to assert that the determinism of neuroscience is comparable with that of Calvinism, Dick Swaab, a leading neuroscientist, speaks of ‘neurocalvinism.’ To test this assertion, the author uses the classic view of Calvinism, propounded by Jonathan Edwards, as a conceptual framework. This allows the author to conclude that Edwards has a holistic understanding of human personality, that he defends compatibilism and upholds responsibility and morality. However, Swaab presents himself as an incompatibilist who has a tendency to deny responsibility and morality. Thus, in the case of Edwards, it is not possible to speak about neurocalvinism

Between tradition and renewal: Some considerations about the use of tradition in reformed theology

In the theology and practice of the Christian church a tension between tradition and renewal exists. This essay focuses on this tension to provide a first step of methodological reflection to deal with it. Firstly, this tension is illustrated from the reformed perspective of sola scripturathat led to criticism of the tradition on the one hand, whilst understanding the reformed movement as part of the tradition on the other hand. A danger of unqualified sola scriptura is subjectivity. Subsequently, the importance of tradition is elaborated from the perspective of the church as the body of Christ across all ages. This implies that Christians should study and love the traditional theology because of the fundamental unity of the church that transcends cultural diversity. Rejecting tradition will cut the church from its historical and spiritual roots. Thirdly, this raises the question whether the church is imprisoned by tradition, as well as the problem of the relation between tradition and renewal. In response, it is argued that the doctrine of incarnation guarantees openness to history. With the help of the philosophical and Christian view on structural contingency, the belief that tradition is principally open to renewal is defended. Some examples are given as illustrations of how classic theological concepts can be reframed in our postmodern context. The last part of this essay concludes with the insight of Cyprian that only the conveyed tradition can be renewed, implying that renewal is in essence not a new theology, but a new application of apostolic theology

Kuyper’s spirituality in its Calvin-context

This article explores Abraham Kuyper’s spirituality by comparing it to that of John Calvin. Calvin’s Institutes exhibits three dimensions of his spirituality in the context of the mystical union with Christ, namely, the affective character of this union, its effects and its significance for a correct estimation of the world. By comparison, Kuyper put a greater emphasis on the importance of the affections in mystical union because he gives more weight to the regenerated life. This focus also coheres with Kuyper’s more optimistic approach to the Christian life, which contrasts with Calvin’s emphasis on the need for daily justification. In Kuyper’s approach the indwelling of the Spirit represents the union between heaven and earth, while Calvin stresses that God’s future kingdom is beyond the here and now