The History of Christian Doctrines

by Louis Berkhof

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1949

Overview

Doctrinal truths cannot be studied apart from their historical background. The History of Christian Doctrines covers the development of doctrine. In it, Berkhof attempts to recover an appreciation for the development of the doctrines in their present form. His investigation is detailed, covering all the ground in his Systematic Theology in a more concise format. This book is essential reading for historical theologians.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Religious doctrines are found in Scripture, thought not in finished form, but dogmas in the current sense of the word are not found there. They are the fruit of human reflection, the reflection of the Church, often occasioned or intensified by theological controversies. Roman Catholics and Protestants differ somewhat in their description of the origin of dogmas. The former minimize, if they do not exclude, the reflection of the Church as the body of believers, and substitute for it the study of the teaching Church or the hierarchy.” (Page 18)

“The Meaning of the Word ‘Dogma’. The word ‘dogma’ is derived from the Greek dokein, which in the expression dokein moi meant not only ‘it seems to me’, or ‘it pleases me’, but also ‘I have definitely determined something so that it is for me an established fact’. The last meaning gradually predominated, so that the word ‘dogma’ became the designation of a firm, and especially a public, resolution or decree. It was applied to the self-evident truths of science, to well established and admittedly valid philosophical convictions, to government decrees, and to officially formulated religious tenets.” (Page 17)

“The Apostolic Fathers are the Fathers who are supposed to have lived before the last of the apostles died, of whom some are said to have been disciples of the apostles, and to whom the earliest Christian writings now extant are ascribed. There are especially six names which have come down to us, namely, Barnabas, Hermas, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Papias, and Ignatius.” (Page 41)

Product Details

• Title: The History of Christian Doctrines
• Author: Louis Berkhof
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 1949
• Logos Release Date: 2010
• Era: era:modern
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Reformed Church › Doctrines--History; Theology, doctrinal › History
• Resource ID: LLS:HISTCHRDOCT
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T08:26:13Z

About Louis Berkhof

Louis Berkhof (1873–1957) was a Reformed theologian whose works remain highly influential. He taught at at Calvin Theological Seminary from 1906 and served as its president from 1931–1944.

Berkhof’s writings, including his Systematic Theology, presented Reformed thought in the tradition of John Calvin, Abraham Kuyper, and Herman Bavinck. Throughout his tenure at Calvin, he stressed the importance of orthodoxy, a focus shown in his works.