Review: Christian Worldview by Herman Bavinck

Herman Bavinck. Christian Worldview.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, October 21, 2019.  144 pp.

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

5 out of 5

This is the much anticipated first time English translation of Dutch Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck’s Christian Worldview.  For those who are unfamiliar with Bavinck he was the chief systematic theologian of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century and whose contribution to theology has enjoyed greater appreciation today.  This book addresses the constant changing late modern world and also the disharmony that unbiblical worldviews were causing, namely a disharmony between our thinking and feeling, will and acting, religion and culture and science and life.  I found it amazing that the first and second edition of this work was written over a hundred years ago, in 1904 and 1913 respectively.  Yet some of the philosophical issues and competing worldview that Bavinck addressed in this work are still with us today.

After the editor’s introduction and Bavinck’s preface to the second edition and the book’s introduction the meat of the book is its three chapters which explores the problem of autonomous thinking.  By autonomous thinking we mean thinking and worldview that does not begin with God’s revelation in Scripture but one that operates independently and contrary to Scripture and the Christian worldview.  In rejecting God the problems that confront the thoughts of man is the relationship between thinking and being which is discussed in chapter one, the relationship between being and becoming which is discussed in chapter two and the problem of becoming and acting that’s discussed in chapter three.

Those who are familiar with Cornelius Van Til’s apologetics and theology would appreciate reading this book because there’s a lot of ideas and materials that Bavinck gives that Van Til later expanded and build upon.  Likewise with Schaeffer’s apologetics.  As an example of “proto-Van Tillian” concept here’s a quote from Bavinck: “If we reject Christianity because it does not suit us, it instantly proves at the very same time that Christianity is indispensable for us.”  There’s other quotes like this that would make a Presuppositionalist jubilant.  Of course to say Bavinck was “proto-Van Tillian” might be disrespectful to some because Bavinck came first and Van Til used a lot of ideas from Bavinck.  Also Bavinck idea isn’t fully that of Van Til; still it is a treat to see Bavinck as the source for Van Til but also to read Bavinck’s discussion about world and life view in his own right.

There’s a refutation of the mechanical and materialist worldview in chapter two of the book that I really enjoyed.  I especially enjoyed Bavinck’s point that divine energy in creation isn’t blind but led by God’s wisdom but in a mechanical worldview there’s no place of “development” since there’s nothing that need or must “become.” Thus the idea of progress and direction makes no sense in such a worldview within itself.

I also enjoyed the discussion about morality and ethics in chapter three.  He makes an interesting observation after discussing how morals are always binding that people do often give excuses to not obey morals but then those excuses are rarely permitted by the same individual for others to not abide by them.  Chapter three also have an excellent discussion about the problem of Kant’s dualism, and this discussion is important seeing how much of Western philosophy today has been impacted by Kant’s thinking.  I also thought Bavinck was quite insightful into what was the future will be like ahead of his time when he said “Individualism turns into socialism, autonomy into heteronomy, nominalism into monism, autoism into pantheism, anarchy into despotism, the sovereignty of the people into the power of the state, freedom into the tyranny of the majority, not because of ethical necessity but rather because of practical motives and economical factors.”  That’s quite what happen and this insight was written before the outbreak of world war one!

Just to show you the impact of Bavinck to theology today we can see the international flavor of those who translated and edited this book.  Nathaniel Gray Sutanto is an Indonesian Chinese scholar on Bavinck while James Eglinton is a lecturer on Reformed theology in England and Cory C. Brock is an American specializing in modern dogmatic theology.  Together these guys span three continents!  They were not only helpful in providing an English translation of this book but also an editor’s introduction to the book discussing Bavinck’s understanding and conception of world and life view along with editorial footnotes explaining and providing biographical information of whom Bavinck was quoting or referring to and also other helpful explanation.

NOTE: This book was provided to me free by Crossway and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.