Louis Berkhof

Louis Berkhof (October 13, 1873 – May 18, 1957) was an American-Dutch Reformed theologian whose works on systematic theology have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States, Canada, Korea and with individual Christians in general throughout the 20th century.

Louis Berkhof
Born(1873-10-13)October 13, 1873
Emmen, Netherlands
DiedMay 18, 1957(1957-05-18) (aged 83)
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Alma mater
OccupationMinister · Theologian · Author · Professor
Notable work
  • Systematic Theology (1932; rev. 1941)
Spouse(s)
    Reka Dijkhuis
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1900; died 1928)​
      Dena Heyns-Joldersma
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1933)​
      ChildrenGrace Meyer, William, Jean Stuk, and John
      Theological work
      EraLate 19th and early 20th centuries
      LanguageEnglish, Dutch
      Tradition or movementReformed Theology · Neo-Calvinism
      Main interestsSystematic Theology

      Personal life

      Berkhof was born in 1873 in Emmen in the Netherlands and moved in 1882 with his family to Grand Rapids (Michigan). About the time he graduated from the seminary he married Reka Dijkhuis. They had four children before her death in 1928. He then married Dena Heyns-Joldersma who had two daughters.

      Education and career

      Berkhof entered the Theological School of the Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids at the age of 19, in which the studies included a 4-year literary course (expanded into Calvin College) and a 3-year theological course (expanded into Calvin Theological Seminary). During this period, he learnt under Hendericus Beuker who introduced him to the works of Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck. In 1900, he graduated from the seminary in Grand Rapids after which he was appointed pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan.

      Two years later (1902), he attended Princeton Theological Seminary where he earned his B.D. in two years. He studied under B.B. Warfield and Geerhardus Vos during his time in Princeton. Subsequently, Berkhof returned to Grand Rapids to minister the Oakdale Park Church for another two years.

      In 1906, he joined the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary and taught there for almost four decades. For the first 20 years he taught Biblical Studies until in 1926 he moved into the systematic theology department. He became president of the seminary in 1931 and continued in that office until he retired in 1944.

      Publications

      Berkhof wrote twenty-two books during his career. His main works are his Systematic Theology (1932, revised 1938) which was supplemented with an Introductory Volume to Systematic Theology (1932, which is included in the 1996 Eerdman's edition of Systematic Theology) and a separate volume entitled History of Christian Doctrines (1937). He wrote a more concise version of his Systematic Theology for high school and college students entitled Manual of Christian Doctrine, and later wrote the even more concise Summary of Christian Doctrine. He also delivered Princeton Theological Seminary's Stone Lectures in 1921. These were published as The Kingdom of God. In addition to this, he worked on many papers for the Christian Reformed Church as well as collections of sermons.

      Legacy

      Berkhof was not known for being original or speculative but for being very good at organizing and explaining basic theological ideas following in the tradition of John Calvin, Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck. Theologian Wayne Grudem has called Berkhof's Systematic Theology "a great treasure-house of information and analysis [...] probably the most useful one-volume systematic theology available from any theological perspective."[1] Berkhof's writings continue to serve as systematic presentations of Reformed theology. They are organized for use in seminaries and religious education as well as individual reference, though his systematics works are demanding reads.

      One of the prominent students of Berkhof is Cornelius Van Til, whose thoughts become the major position of the tradition of Westminster Theological Seminary in terms of apologetics and epistemology.

      References
      1. Grudem, Systematic Theology, Zondervan, 1994, pg. 1225
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