(March 25, 1996) URNS-On Sabbath afternoon, March 24, Dr. John H. Gerstner went to be with the Lord while at his home in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Gerstner was 81 at the time of his death. For most readers little more needs to be said. You know the man, and you know the respect and affection so […]

My mind is transported back to 1966. The theology faculty of the Free University had not yet moved to the “suburbs” of Amsterdam, but was packed into that wonderful complex of old buildings on the Keisersgracht. I took a seat close to the open window looking out on the canal. I had never heard or […]

Last month we presented an introduction to Dr. Bogue’s treatment of the thought of the late Dr. G.C. Berkouwer, long-time professor at the Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We drew parallels between Berkouwer’s thought and its impact on the Dutch-American scene here in the United States. It would be helpful to read or reread […]

In this discussion of Dr. Berkouwer’s view of Providence and Election, Dr. Carl Bogue points out Berkouwer’s unwillingness to accept reprobation as the flip side of God’s election. The “hard sayings” of the Canons of Dort, the idea of reprobation, the rejection of some, is a problem to Berkouwer. But at the same time, Berkouwer […]

This month and next month, Dr. Bogue focuses on Dr, G.C. Berkouwer’s view of Scripture, which is of course, the fatal flaw which produces error on many other issues. It must be understood at the outset, that here again, we see an early Berkouwer and a later Berkouwer. In 1938 Berkouwer produced a book (Het […]

Due to space constraints in this issue, we will place a wrap-up editorial on Dr. Berkouwer’s views and their echo in the Christian Reformed Church in the November issue of The Outlook. I have elsewhere referred to Berkouwer as “the hole in the dike” throughwhich a flood would come.169 Of the many small streams that […]

I have always been a little jealous of Reformed Churches referencing their creedal standards as The Three Forms of Unity. That is what Creeds or Confessions are for – to unify us in the Body of Christ. Contrary to how we think of our Standards, they are not a proposition set forth to be debated […]