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The Historical Volume of what was originally called Reformed Dogmatics now appears with a new title, namely, History of Christian Doctrines. Works on the gradual development of theological truth in the Church of Jesus Christ usually appear alongside of those which deal with the systematic reproduction of it, and thus stand out as separate works. It was thought best to follow this practice, since this will stress the fact that, after all, the history of the development of Christian thought in the Church is a separate study.
- Sales Rank: #2283843 in Books
- Published on: 2014-01-31
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .71" w x 6.00" l, .92 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 282 pages
About the Author
(1874-1957) He taught for thirty-eight years at CalvinTheological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
The History of Christian Doctrines
By Sam Adams
The copyright on this book is 1939. On the title page we are told: "This volume is a companion volume to the author's "Systematic Theology" and contains the historical material to be used with that work." In a preface dated 1949, Berkhof says that this book was the "Historical Volume of what was originally called "Reformed Dogmatics"." So it sounds like "Reformed Dogmatics" was repackaged into the two books "The History of Christian Doctrines" and "Systematic Theology".
The book under review is a synopsis of the positions held by "Christian" intellectuals on topics foundational to Christianity, i.e. dogma. It is as much an overview of the unorthodox as the orthodox.
"The task of the History of Dogma is, briefly stated, to describe the historical origin of the dogma of the Church and to trace its subsequent changes and developments; or, in the words of Seeberg [Textbook of the History of Doctrines, Philadelphia, 1905, 2 vols., tr. Charles E. Hay], 'to show how the Dogma as a whole and the separate dogmas have arisen and through what course of development they have been brought to the form and interpretation prevailing in the churches of any given period'." (20)
In the Prolegomena, Berkhof distinguishes between dogma and doctrine. "A doctrine is often the direct, naive, expression of a religious truth. It is not necessarily formulated with scientific precision and when it is, may be merely the formulation of a single person. A religious dogma, on the other hand, is a religious truth based on authority and officially formulated by some ecclesiastical assembly." (16) Dogmas, in this sense, are not found in Scripture. "They are the fruit of human reflection, the reflection of the Church, often occasioned or intensified by theological controversies." (16)
In summary: "A dogma may be defined as a doctrine, derived from Scripture, officially defined by the Church, and declared to rest upon divine authority. This definition partly names and partly suggests its characteristics. Its subject-matter is derived from the Word of God and is therefore authoritative. It is not mere repetition of what is found in Scripture, but the fruit of dogmatic reflection. And it is officially defined by a competent ecclesiastical body, and declared to rest upon divine authority. It has social significance, because it is the expression, not of a single individual, but of a community. And it has traditional value, since it passes the precious possessions of the Church on to future generations." (19)
Differences in determining dogma arise between the Roman Catholic Church and the churches of the Protestant Reformation.
For the Reformers, "all truly religious dogmas derive their material contents from Scripture and from Scripture only. They do not recognize the unwritten word or tradition as a source of dogmas." (17) Dogma arises from the reflection on the "truths of revelation" by the "body of believers" and through the formulations of "competent representative bodies" of the Church. (17) "Since the reflection of the Church is often determined and deepened by doctrinal controversies, the formulations to which Church Councils or Synods are finally led under the guidance of the Holy Spirit often bear the earmarks of past struggles. They are not infallible but yet have a high degree of stability. And they are authoritative, not merely because they are proposed by the Church, but *formally* as defined by the Church and *materially* as based on the Word of God." (17)
In contrast, the Roman Catholics "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. Whenever a new form of error arises, this teaching Church, that is the clerus, which now has its infallible spokesman in the Pope, after careful examination, formulates the doctrine taught in Scripture or by tradition, declares it to be revealed truth, and imposes its acceptance on all the faithful." (16)
The Encyclopaedia Britannica puts it this way:
"Each theory of development has had its own distinctive prescription for doctrinal stability and doctrinal change. [ ...] Roman Catholicism relies on the magisterium (teaching authority) of the church, which is directed by the bishops as a "college" (collegium episcoporum) and supremely by the bishop of Rome as their collegial head. Protestantism has sought to bind both tradition and the church to the authority of Holy Scripture, with the resulting problem of specifying what is to be regarded as truly authoritative interpretations of Scripture."
From "doctrine and dogma" in Encyclopaedia Britannica from the Encyclopaedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD.
The history of dogma is conceivable from a Protestant point of view because the Protestant view of dogma is that even though it is "characterized by a high degree of stability", dogma arises out of controversy and a deliberate reflection upon Scripture, and is thus "subject to change". The Roman Catholic view is that "they have an unchangeable dogma" and so there is some question of the intelligibility of the idea of a history of dogma from a Catholic point of view. (quotes, 20) Berkhof, not being Catholic, does not pursue this Catholic view beyond a brief mention of a proposal of J. H. Newman, which found some favor but not official approval, and which put forward that "many of the doctrines of the Church were only germinally present in the original deposit." (22) After a period of historical development they reach a formulation that the Church hierarchy can proclaim to be "divinely revealed truths". Although Berkhof gives no reference for this idea, according to the Encyclopeadia Britannica (in its "doctrine and dogma" article), the essay where Newman proposed this was "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine", published in 1845.
Berkhof's method of treatment of dogmas is vertical not horizontal. The distinction is that in a vertical method each topic within the history of dogma is studied chronologically in separation from the others, whereas in a horizontal method, the chronology of history, rather than of topics, is strictly followed, with all topics studied as they occur in a specific period, and then studying how these topics occur together in the subsequent period, and likewise through each period of history. (26)
The Table of CONTENTS is very detailed. An abbreviation of it is as follows:
Prolegomena
I. The Subject-Matter of the History of Dogma
II. The Task of the History of Dogma
III. Method and Divisions of the History of Dogma
IV. History of the History of Dogma
Preparatory doctrinal development
I. The Apostolic Fathers and Their Doctrinal Views
II. Perversions of the Gospel
III. Reform Movements in the Church
IV. The Apologists and the Beginnings of the Church's Theology
V. The Anti-Gnostic Fathers
VI. The Alexandrian Fathers
VII. Monarchianism
The doctrine of the Trinity
I. The Trinitarian Controversy
II. The Doctrine of the Trinity in Later Theology
The doctrine of Christ
I. The Christological Controversies
II. Later Christological Discussions
The doctrine of sin and grace and related doctrines
I. The Anthropology of the Patristic Period
II. The Pelagian and Augustinian Doctrines of Sin and Grace
III. The Anthropology of the Middle Ages
IV. The Anthropology of the Period of the Reformation
V. Anthropological Views of Post-Reformation Times
The doctrine of the atonement or of the work of Christ
I. The Doctrine of the Atonement before Anselm
II. The Doctrine of the Atonement from Anslem to the Reformation
III. The Doctrine of the Atonement in the Period of the Reformation
IV. The Doctrine of the Atonement after the Reformation
The doctrine of the application and appropriation of Divine Grace
I. The Soteriology of the Patristic Period
II. The Soteriology of the Scholastic Period
III. Reformation and Post-Reformation Soteriology
The doctrine of the Church and the Sacraments
I. The Doctrine of the Church
II. The Doctrine of the Sacraments
The doctrine of the last things
I. The Intermediate State
II. The Second Advent and the Millennial Hope
III. The Resurrection
IV. The Last Judgment and Final Awards
In the full CONTENTS, each roman-numeraled section has subsections and some of those subsections also have subsections. Additionally, within the main text, marginal notations indicate the subject being discussed at that point in the book.
If Berkhof's "Systematic Theology" is written with the same philosophical proficiency and intellectual precision as this book, it would be pleasure to read, regardless of my stance on the author's conclusions.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Great Concise Survey of Historical Theology
By spence3338
It must be mentioned at the onset what the scope of this work appears to be, and that is to provide an brief and succinct overview of the major topics in theology through the history of the church, and in my estimation, this work succeeds in reaching this goal. It is apparent that the author is well studied and read in history and theology, and with this foundation he goes on to provide a very limited but clear distillation of all consulted sources. This is invaluable for the student who just wants a survey with clear and solid statements on theological positions as they have developed in the history of the church. The work is limited, because of its scope, therefore the theological views that developed during certain time periods through certain proponents are presented in a very summary fashion, but again with very clear historical and theological summary statements.
The weaknesses of this book are related to the scope, and with this understood do not incline me to rate it lower than five stars. The work is clearly limited in scope, not going into a great depth of detail describing theological positions, the lives of historical proponents, or the general historical setting of the varying time periods; but again, this is not necessarily the intention of the work.
The positive is that the book is a very helpful survey/introduction to historical theology, and is a nice launching pad to start interacting with other historical/theological works. This book is like historical theology cliff notes and can be referred to when other works on historical theology/theology written by primary proponents in the past do not make sense. The book is well laid out and structured, from the table of contents, to the headings in the chapters, to the short summary statements contained in the margins. The book also offers a nice bibliography at the end each chapter, and at the end of the book, to further historical theological studies, although none of the works are more recent than 1937, when the book was published.
Overall I recommend this book to anyone looking for a well organized and concise survey/introduction to historical theology.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
A Sharp History of What Christians Have Believed
By Gaboora
A whole section of this history is devoted to the History of the History of Dogma. This is a generous way of introducing the reader to the subject matter that the author is about to take up, especially since one could be led by this charitable gesture to bail out, and jump into, instead, one of the many attractive histories advertised there. But Berkhof’s contribution is a perfect place to start: something to lead into rather than exchange, or something to keep as an introduction to a more thorough handling of the same. Though prior acquaintance with theological terms, if not a theological dictionary, may be necessary, this light production is an easy entry point into the history of doctrines. It can be no simple task to maintain historical flow in a subject about which so many lines of thought must be brought from start to finish each in turn. Because Berkhof manages to invest a sense of continuity against formidable odds, the reader not so used to studying networks of dogma is less apt to get bogged down. But probably because there are few anecdotes, the content is dry enough. It took me two tries before I could stick with it.
The approach is declared to be subjective; that is, not so detached and merely objective as to be without judgment through the prism of the writer’s particular creed (p.28.) In spite of this declaration, this history feels quite disinterested. What Berkhof believes to be the correct position on a doctrine is usually presented in a subtle way. For instance, he might show one position over another by emphasizing how one of them falls short (p. 173.) Or (he only does this once), when a position is farfetched enough to need no refutation to disprove, he sets the unbelievable beliefs up for a fall by a piece of wit: “Thomas Aquinas seemed to have special information on the subject” (p. 265.) Soft sarcasm like this is effective, precisely because it is not done that frequently. You just get a sense that he wouldn’t come across well if he did more of that kind of thing here. This instance of deadpan is perhaps the only moment of humor allowed by the man. The book is not for comedy addicts who need their dogmas dosed with banter.
A book containing centuries of divergent points of view on multitudes of doctrines naturally obliges the reader to take the author’s word for what he says was dogmatically held. To check every thing out would have no end. But whenever I did doubt, closer inspection both vindicated him and relieved me. Even the sweeping statements carried me away. “It is in this field [the doctrine of sin] that the chief lines of demarcation between the great divisions of Christianity are found” (p. 127.)
The good guys and bad guys, however, are not always easily identified. It depends how much orthodoxy you require for a person to wear the white hat. It never ceases to be shocking, no matter how many times the thing is encountered, how off-the-mark Church Fathers could be on matters of doctrinal importance. Baptismal regeneration, the restoration of Satan, and salvation by mortification are just a few of the sinful dogmas that respected pillars of the ancient Church once espoused. Legal moralism (any form of obedience believed to merit something toward a pardon from God) seems to be the most pervasive heresy among early Church leaders. Hence another sweeping statement: Obedience to God was sought more than knowledge of him (p. 39.) Familiarity with the lives of saints in the early years of God’s Church will confirm that this is a fact. It is perhaps the main reason for so much error among the Church Fathers. The same applies to the medieval mystics.
It should be obvious by the progress of theology put on view in this volume that there is no excuse today for not being clear on cardinal doctrines that the Fathers were wrong about. In that helpful introduction called the Prolegomena, a scholar named Thomasius is mentioned for his careful effort to distinguish between ‘central and peripheral dogmas.’ Lutheran perspective may not be the absolute best, but my guess is that this work would be much better than what your average pastor is relying on for sorting out what the essentials are. We might think disparagingly of Church Fathers being muddled on monumental doctrines like grace and regeneration. The truth is, your run-of-the-mill pastor does much worse, and with much less obedience to speak of! Rather than try his hand at figuring out the essentials like a real man would, he shows himself the juvenile by ignoring them and insisting upon his own opinion concerning some peripheral issue like the Millennium. The statement on page 262 is yet another sweeping one, and may be the best one of all because if it’s true, then it means that not only are these small-minded evangelicals wrong to place more emphasis on the periphery than the cross, but that their favorite argument used to convince us of one of their hiked-up dogmas is not only flawed but not even partially a fact. Renald Showers in There Really is a Difference!—: “This examination of early Church leaders indicates that they were, indeed, Premillennial by conviction” (p. 126.) Can this be the case if, as Berkhof shows, Church Fathers of note, like Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, Ignatius, Polycarp, and Athenagoras left no trace of Pre-Millennialism in their writings? (p. 262.) Berkhof must have something there since these Fathers are the very ones not included in Showers’ list of early Pre-Millennarians. Showers just states who advocates his pet dogma, conveniently leaves out who does not advocate it, and thus leads us to believe that all do. In spite of his carefulness to avoid being caught by a comprehensive statement, as in ‘the early Church leaders’ or ‘all early Church leaders,’ you can tell by his presentation that he counts on what he says being taken that way. Your average reader will indeed take it just like that.
The History of Christian Doctrines calls attention to the main doctrinal features that the Church has had to wrestle with in its attempt to come as close as possible to the Scriptural sense. It doesn’t dwell on matters of inferior import; nor does it amplify them beyond the measure they deserve. The theological concepts are paraphrased well enough that no doubt is left as to what this or that theologian actually taught. The style is below that of Warfield, but not so low as to be deflated and flat. It’s right about where 1937 is. This book is a sharp summary of the history of doctrines; it is tight but not too stodgy; it is not so partisan as to turn a blind eye. For a quick overview or for a reference guide, it could be hard to beat. It will not shame you on the shelf. It is a little dry. That’s my sticking point.
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