Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 2: God and Creation

The classic work of Reformed theology by renowned theologian Herman Bavinck

In partnership with the Dutch Reformed Translation Society, Baker Academic is proud to offer the second volume of Herman Bavinck's complete Reformed Dogmatics in English for the very first time.

This masterwork will appeal to scholars, students, pastors, and laity interested in Reformed theology and to research and theological libraries.

Endorsements

"Despite all the important contributions that Dutch Calvinists have made to North American Protestantism, Herman Bavinck remains an obscure figure, lagging behind the influential Abraham Kuyper. With the translation and republication of Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics, this unfortunate situation should change for the better. These four volumes demonstrate the importance and mastery of Bavinck's own contribution to Reformed theology, while providing a useful and striking point of comparison with the best-known twentieth-century Reformed dogmatics, that of Karl Barth. At a time when the scholastic nature of systematic theology has come under serious criticism, Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics reveals the advantage of careful and sustained reflection on Christian truth that is both faithful to the church and engaged with the academy. Readers will discover more than Bavinck the theologian in these volumes; they will learn about the God whom he worshiped and served."
—D. G. Hart, author of The Lost Soul of American Protestantism

"Bavinck's Dutch masterwork was the Everest of which the textbooks by Louis Berkhof and Auguste Lecerf were foothills and Berkouwer's studies in dogmatics were outliers. Like Augustine, Calvin, and Edwards, Bavinck was a man of giant mind, vast learning, ageless wisdom, and great expository skill, and to have his first volume now in full English, with a promise of the other three to come, is a wonderful enrichment. Solid but lucid, demanding but satisfying, broad and deep and sharp and stabilizing, Bavinck's magisterial Reformed Dogmatics remains after a century the supreme achievement of its kind."
—J. I. Packer, professor of theology, Regent College

"A welcome addition to the works of Bavinck in English. Of special interest is Bavinck's insightful critique of the role of apologetics in establishing certainty in faith."
—Donald G. Bloesch, emeritus professor of theology, University of Dubuque Theological Seminary

"Herman Bavinck has often been unjustly overshadowed by Abraham Kuyper, especially in the English-speaking world. The unavailability in English of his crowning work, Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, has been a particularly significant lack. Bavinck's breadth, thoroughness, rigor, ecumenical interests, and spiritual fervor are clearly on display in this careful and readable translation. It is a splendid gift to theological studies and will contribute to redressing the neglect of this faithful servant of Christ and his church."
—Stephen R. Spencer, Wheaton College

"What a wonderful gift to the English-speaking theological world! The topics explored by Bavinck are still of the utmost importance, and he addresses them here in a theological voice that is amazingly fresh. I pray that the appearance of this volume signals the beginnings of a Bavinck revival!"
—Richard J. Mouw, president, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Finally Bavinck becomes available to the English-speaking world. The Dutch version has been a constant stimulus for students, pastors, and other interested Christians. It has shaped generations of theologians and helped them to preach, think, and act on a fresh, Reformed basis. The strength of Bavinck's Dogmatics is that it's neither conservative nor progressive, but its biblical character makes it constantly up-to-date. Baker and the Dutch Reformed Translation Society deserve praise for this project, from which without doubt church and theology will profit for years to come."
—Herman Selderhuis, Theologische Universiteit Appeldoorn

"Those interested in Reformed theology will welcome with open arms this first volume of Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics. Bavinck is one of the premier Reformed theologians, but till now much of his magnum opus has not been accessible to English-language readers. This splendid translation gives us the benefits of Bavinck's thorough consideration of theological prolegomena, revelation, and faith. These fundamental issues are dealt with out of his deep commitment to God's divine revelation in Scripture, the need to engage modern thought, and a piety by faith nurtured in the riches of the Reformed faith. We owe a great debt of gratitude to those who have made the treasures of Bavinck's thought available to a new world of appreciative hearers."
—Donald K. McKim, editor, Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith

"Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics has been the fountainhead of Reformed theology for the last hundred years. It is by far the most profound and comprehensive Reformed systematic theology of the twentieth century. The reader will be amazed by Bavinck's erudition, creativity, and balance. Bavinck is confessionally orthodox, but he recognizes the need to rethink the traditional formulations from Scripture in the context of contemporary discussion. I cannot express how delighted I was to read volume one for the first time in my own language! I hope it will have a large readership and will bring forth much theological and spiritual fruit."
—John M. Frame, professor of systematic theology and philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary

Contents

Part I: The Incomprehensibility of God

1. The Incomprehensibility of God
2. The Knowledge of God

Part II: The Living, Acting God

3. The Names of God
4. God’s Incommunicable Attributes
5. God’s Communicable Attributes
6. The Holy Trinity

Part III: God’s Will on Earth as it is in Heaven

7. The Divine Counsel
8. Creation

Part IV: Maker of Heaven and Earth

9. Heaven: The Spiritual World
10. Earth: The material World

Part V: The Image of God

11. Human Origins
12. Human Nature
13. Human Destiny

Part VI: God’s Fatherly Care

14. Providence