From Princeton to Wheaton 1: The Course ofNeo- in

John Bolt

It is my assignment to cover one track of Reformed in North America, the path of Dutch Neo-Calvinism. This involves tracing the course of two different but overlapping influences: the distinct lega­ cies of its two giant figures, and . This opening observation may seem embarrassingly obvious but my purpose here is to underscore the distinct thought and impact of Kuy­ per and Bavinck respectively. As R.H. Bremmer has observed in his study of Bavinck as a theologian,2 the difference between the two men has not always been fully appreciated either by proponents of Neo­ Calvinism or by scholarly interpreters.3 When it comes to Neo­ Calvinism's influence in North America it is crucial to make this dis­ tinction and not consider it as a monolithic movement with a singular impact. G.C. Berkouwer notes the different impact of the two men on the Dutch Reformed Churches thus: 'Kuyper's influence worked through the development of the of the Law-Idea.4 But

I. With stops along the way in Grand Rapids, Philadelphia, and Toronto. I want to thank my colleagues in the Theological Division at Calvin Seminary, Lyle Bienna, John Cooper, James de Jong, Ronald Feenstra, Richard Muller, Neal Plantinga, David Rylaarsdam, Calvin van Reken, and Henry Zwaanstra, as well as our visiting scholar from the University of , Willem van Asselt, for a stimulating collo­ quium where this paper was thoroughly discussed. Their questions, suggestions, and general all-around wisdom, helped improve this paper considerably. 2. 'Yoor het besef van velen stonden deze twee grote figuren van het Calvinistisch Reveil van de negentiende eeuw dicht bij elkaar, zo zeer zelfs, dat zij vaak in een adem werden genoemd' (R.H. Bremmer, Herman Bavinck als Dogmaticus, Kam­ pen 1961, 13). 3. For example: 'In their maturity, the fundamental convictions of the two men were the same' (B. Kruithof, The Relation of and Culture in the Teaching of Herman Bavinck [Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Edinburgh, 1955), 12). James Hutton MacKay completely subordinates Bavinck to Kuyper when he refers to Bavinck as 'Dr. Kuyper's loyal and faithful henchman' (Religious Thought in Holland during the Nineteenth Century, London 1981, x-xi). 4. This is the English language designation for the Neo-Calvinist philosophical school inspired and spearheaded by and D.H.Th. Vollenhoven and known in the as Wijsbegeerte der Wetsidee. See Herman Dooyeweerd, A New Critique of Theoretical Thought, 4 vols. translated by D.H. Freeman and W .S. Young, /Philadelphia 1953-1958). 164 J. BOLT

Bavinck raised theological questions that continued to play a crucial role in mainstream theology after he had gone. '5 As we shall see, the situation in North America parallels this characterization though the details are of course different. We can begin our consideration of this difference by taking note of a difficulty in tracing the course of Neo-Calvinist theology which I take to mean essentially dogmatics. Therein lies the problem. Herman Bavinck's magisterial summation of classic Reformed theology in conversation with late nineteenth-century contemporary learning did have an impact on the theology taught at Calvin Theological Seminary as well as Western Theological Seminary, the school of the Reformed Church in America.6 However, both in the Netherlands and in North America during the twentieth century, Neo-Calvinism not only failed to develop a constructive and distinct theological movement or school,7 it was often, particularly among its North American follow­ ers, hostile to the theological enterprise itself as traditionally under­ stood.8 The one exception here is Gordon Spykman's Reformational Theology about which more later.9 The primary theological influence of neo-Calvinism on the North American Reformed community, it must be noted, was indirect, upon a Reformational 10 worldview that

5. G.C. Berkouwer, A Half Century of Theology. Movements and Motives, trans. and ed. L.B. Smedes, Grand Rapids 1977, 13. 6. See the Grand Rapids section of this paper below, especially note 33. 7. Such as Neo-Orthodoxy, the Scottish theology, or the theology of hope/liberation. 8. See the discussion on '' later in this paper. In the Netherlands the most eloquent (and playful) member of the Calvinistic Philosophy movement who was critical of traditional theology and of some attempts to recast it along philo­ sophic lines was K.J. Popma, especially in his seven-volume commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, Levensbeschouwing (Amsterdam 1958-1965). Also see O.C. Broek-Roelofs, 'Popma's Wijsgerige Benadering van de Theologie' in: Het Leven Beschouwd: Facetten van het Werk van Prof Dr. K.J. Popma, Amsterdam/Kampen 1974, 128-147. 9. Published by Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1992. See note 88 below. This assertion does need some qualification. Though Spykman's work is the only self-consciously Neo-Calvinist attempt to produce a complete work of dogmatic theology, both Ba­ vinck and Kuyper did influence the teaching and writing of Calvin Seminary pro­ fessors such as Henry Stob, Fred Klooster, and Anthony Hockema. The work of Stob and Klooster was influenced by the philosophic work of Neo-Calvinist Her­ man Dooyeweerd though neither man was an uncritical disciple of the Wijsbegeerte der Wetsidee and other important influences also shaped their thought and teaching. Hoekema's teaching and published dogmatic monographs such as The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids 1979) include numerous references to Bavinck and show many influences of his thought. 10. The term 'Reformational' has come to mean the general allegiance to the Neo-