Gloriously Intertwined: A Bavinckian Account of the Single Organism of Dogmatics and Ethics

Abstract

AbstractRecent Bavinck studies show that Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) is not only a dogmatician but also an ethicist. This article seeks to demonstrate that, by intertwining dogmatics and ethics in a doxological way, that is, glorifying and exalting God in wonder and praise, Bavinck describes these two disciplines as inter‐independent yet intimately related; together they compose a single organism. Yet, Bavinck does not fully explicate the organic interconnection between dogmatics and ethics. Given this, I would like to take a step further to propose a Bavinckian analogical account of the two disciplines: ethics is embodied dogmatics, and dogmatics is ensouled ethics; together they constitute the organism of systematic theology. As such, dogmatics and ethics are understood to be two sub‐disciplines of systematic theology, which aims to promote flourishing life in light of God’s self‐revelation. Such a systematic theology serves to validate the due place of Christian theology in the academy.</jats:p