Dutch theology and history

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Sam Jer

Puritan Board Freshman
What would be a good overview of what happened in the Dutch Churches between the council of Dort and our day?
I often hear Dutch movements (such as niedere reformatia) and theologians (such as Herman Bavnick or Van Maastricht) referenced on spaces like this and don't know where to place even the most recurring names and works. I remember one of them (forgot which) I was thinking of as someone who is probably a contemporary of Owen if not Calvin, only to find out he is in very recent history.
I also hear some arguments from people who distinguish Dutch theology and practice from the Presbetyrians and don't even begin to be able to understand what the extent of the diffrences were.

Also, this would be a good place to explain where the church in the Netherlands is today.
 
There's a lot of stuff out there but, predictably, a lot of it is in Dutch. As you get further along, there are more and more splinters and this is reflected in the historiography -- it becomes increasingly parochial, especially the popular stuff in English.

A few examples:

Marvin Kamps, 1834: Hendrik DeCock's Return to the True Church (about the Secession of 1834 from a Protestant Reformed POV)
W.W.J. VanOene, Patrimony Profile: Our Reformed Heritage Retraced (1795-1946) (developments from a Canadian Reformed POV)
Hendrik Bouma, Secession, Doleantie, and Union, 1834-1892 (some key events from a Vrijgemaakt/Liberated POV)

As to the situation in the Netherlands today, it's pretty grim. There are some faithful Reformed churches, but there are far more that have apostatized in various ways.
 
Sam Jer said:
niedere reformatia
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I think it is Nadere Reformatie

Dr Joel Beeke is a scholar on the Puritans (including Presbyterianism) and the Dutch theologians.

He has an excellent essay in VanderGroe's commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, on the Dutch Second Reformation and its theological implications. VanderGroe was one of the last pastors in the Nadere Reformatie.

Also I enjoyed Dr Beeke's chapter on the Dutch Second Reformation, comparing it to Puritanism in his book 'Puritan Reformed Spirituality'. I loved that book too.
 
A very brief overview:

The Nadere Reformatie which in English is called the Dutch Second Reformation is a movement which lasted more than a century. It’s first representative is usually considered to be Willem Teelinck (1579-1629) and its last Theodorus van der Groe (1705-1784). It is not possible to give a complete list of names and books, and it still amazes me which books got translated in English and which not. For example in the Netherlands you will not find a new edition of Witsius; and similarly a book written by Aegidius Francken or Franciscus Ridderus can’t be found in English. The best advise I can give concerning unknown writers is to google them. Well known representatives besides the already mentioned are Gisbertus Voetius, Jacobus Koelman, Wilhelmus à Brakel, his father Theodorus à Brakel, Johannes à Marck (or Marckius), Abraham Hellenbroek and Justus Vermeer.

In the second half of the 18th century the enlightment happened and the Netherlands entered a dark age. The reformed faith survived in small groups (conventicles) led by exhorters (oefenaars). In the 19th century there was revival: In this century we have the Dutch Réveil (a revival movement of which Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer and Isaäc da Costa were prominent members), and two major splits from the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk: the secession of 1834 led by Hendrik de Cock and the Doleantie of 1886 led by Abraham Kuyper. In 1892 the churches of the Secession and of the Doleantie merged into the “Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland”. Ca. 8% of the Dutch population would be part of this denomination.

In the first half of the 20th century there were already some shifts hapening in this denomination. The tampering with article 36 of the Belgic Confession in 1905; Geelkerken was deposed in 1926 because he couldn’t tell if the snake in paradise really talked – this caused a minor split; the synod decided to introduce new hymns in 1931. Just a generation later in In the 60’s and 70’s the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland became liberal. This caused the rise of two new movements in the Dutch religious landschape: the evangelical movement and the reformatorical.

A large split had happened in 1944 – ca. 10% of the members liberated themselves from synodical tiranny. So in the 70’s the liberated churches already had their own organisations and kept ouside the aformentioned evangelical and reformatorical movements. However in the 90’s they started to collaborate with the evangelicals; and this caused their demise. A situation was created in which people started to devaluate the confessions, charismatic influences got a foothold and contemporary worship became allowed. In 2017 the denomination was completel lost: they allowed women in the offices of minister, elder and deacon.

This same struggle for contemporary worship and women in office is currently happening in the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken and in the Protestantse Kerk in Nederland in congregations who have ties to the Gereformeerde Bond (the Gereformeerde Bond is since 1906 a confessional movement first within the Nederlands Hervormde Kerk and since the merger of 2004 of the NHK and GKN in the liberal PKN). Needless to say that in such environment there would also be more openness to evolution and intelligent design.

The situation in the reformatorical denominations is less clear. But there are some things changing. We saw reformatorical baptists appearing in the last decade. And the role of women is changing. Nowadays they would even allow women in politics (at least in the local government).
 
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Claes Jacob Heijndericksz said:
A very brief overview:

The Nadere Reformatie which in English is called the Dutch Second Reformation is a movement which lasted more than a century. It’s first representative is usually considered to be Willem Teelinck (1579-1629) and its last Theodorus van der Groe (1705-1784). It is not possible to give a complete list of names and books, and it still amazes me which books got translated in English and which not. For example in the Netherlands you will not find a new edition of Witsius; and similarly a book written by Aegidius Francken or Franciscus Ridderus can’t be found in English. The best advise I can give concerning unknown writers is to google them. Well known representatives besides the already mentioned are Gisbertus Voetius, Jacobus Koelman, Wilhelmus à Brakel, his father Theodorus à Brakel, Johannes à Marck (or Marckius), Abraham Hellenbroek and Justus Vermeer.

In the second half of the 18th century the enlightment happened and the Netherlands entered a dark age. The reformed faith survived in small groups (conventicles) led by exhorters (oefenaars). In the 19th century there was revival: In this century we have the Dutch Réveil (a revival movement of which Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer and Isaäc da Costa were prominent members), and two major splits from the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk: the secession of 1834 led by Hendrik de Cock and the Doleantie of 1886 led by Abraham Kuyper. In 1892 the churches of the Secession and of the Doleantie merged into the “Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland”. Ca. 8% of the Dutch population would be part of this denomination.

In the first half of the 20th century there were already some shifts hapening in this denomination. The tampering with article 36 of the Belgic Confession in 1905; Geelkerken was deposed in 1926 because he couldn’t tell if the snake in paradise really talked – this caused a minor split; the synod decided to introduce new hymns in 1931. Just a generation later in In the 60’s and 70’s the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland became liberal. This caused the rise of two new movements in the Dutch religious landschape: the evangelical movement and the reformatorical.

A large split had happened in 1944 – ca. 10% of the members liberated themselves from synodical tiranny. So in the 70’s the liberated churches already had their own organisations and kept ouside the aformentioned evangelical and reformatorical movements. However in the 90’s they started to collaborate with the evangelicals; and this caused their demise. A situation was created in which people started to devaluate the confessions, charismatic influences got a foothold and contemporary worship became allowed. In 2017 the denomination was completel lost: they allowed women in the offices of minister, elder and deacon.

This same struggle for contemporary worship and women in office is currently happening in the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken and in the Protestantse Kerk in Nederland in congregations who have ties to the Gereformeerde Bond (the Gereformeerde Bond is since 1906 a confessional movement first within the Nederlands Hervormde Kerk and since the merger of 2004 of the NHK and GKN in the liberal PKN). Needless to say that in such environment there would also be more openness to evolution and intelligent design.

The situation in the reformatorical denominations is less clear. But there are some things changing. We saw reformatorical baptists appearing in the last decade. And the role of women is changing. Nowadays they would even allow women in politics (at least in the local government).
Click to expand...
Are you sure they are called "reformatorical" in English? Tried to google them to no avail.

It is defenitely interesting if English speaking Calvinists are interested in diffrent Dutch writers than the Dutch speaking ones. Do you think it is just happenstance or is there something in Witsius that appeals to churches that are a product of English and Scottish puritanism more than it would appeal to a Dutch context, and something in Francken and Ridderdus that appeals to the Dutch in a way it dosen't to English speaking Presbetyrians?

Also, regarding the current situation I kind of lost track at some point. Who are the more Orthodox guys? Do they have their'e own denominations as American and Scottish Presbetyrians do?
 
Sam Jer said:
Also, regarding the current situation I kind of lost track at some point. Who are the more Orthodox guys? Do they have their'e own denominations as American and Scottish Presbetyrians do?
Click to expand...
These days there are two churches that would be counted among the more orthodox: Gereformeerde Kerken Nederland and De Gereformeerde Kerken (Hersteld). They're both mostly made up of believers who left the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (Vrijgemaakt) -- a church federation which no longer exists, having merged with another church. The GKN and DGK are in discussions to merge. There are other faithful Reformed churches outside of these federations, especially on a local level. The Geformeerde Gemeenten (Reformed Congregations, known as Netherlands Reformed in North America) are also quite conservative, but they have other issues (in my opinion).
 
You've mentioned GKN and DGK, both of which are very small denominations in the ecclesiastical landscape. Of the larger federations the orthodox (experimental Reformed) would be the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk (Restored Reformed Church) and the Gereformeerde Bond (Reformed League) within the PKN (Protestant Church of the Netherlands). The Gereformeerde Gemeenten and (GGiN) are also a very strong presence, but they have more hypercalvinistic tendancies than the Reformed stream. Comparable to the Strict Baptists in England in terms of preaching, theology and culture.

Another commendable denomination is the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk, which has great extremes within it of orthodox and liberal. But the more conservative congregations and pastors are very sound.

I wouldn't describe the general situation as "very grim". There has certainly been a certain amount of apostasy and movement in a liberal direction (where in the world is that not the case?) But there is still a vast amount of faithful confessional churches where the gospel is fervently proclaimed and spiritual life is present.
 
Sam Jer said:
Are you sure they are called "reformatorical" in English? Tried to google them to no avail.

It is defenitely interesting if English speaking Calvinists are interested in diffrent Dutch writers than the Dutch speaking ones. Do you think it is just happenstance or is there something in Witsius that appeals to churches that are a product of English and Scottish puritanism more than it would appeal to a Dutch context, and something in Francken and Ridderdus that appeals to the Dutch in a way it dosen't to English speaking Presbetyrians?

Also, regarding the current situation I kind of lost track at some point. Who are the more Orthodox guys? Do they have their'e own denominations as American and Scottish Presbetyrians do?
Click to expand...
Reformatorical is a literal translation. In Dutch we have two words for reformed: gereformeerd and hervormd. In a situation where the word ‘gereformeerd’ lost its meaning, as happened in the 70’s, new organisations, like schools and newspapers styled themselves ‘reformatorisch’ i.e. reformatorical. The word Hervormd already had a bad sound since the 19th century.

These new organisations were usually founded by people who are Experiental Reformed. The Joel Beeke kind of people. These people are in the Netherlands divided in several denominations. Several stripes of Gereformeerde Gemeenten, the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk, parts of the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken and parts of the Gereformeerde Bond in the Protestantse Kerk in Nederland. (Historically they could also be found in the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland). Up until the 60’s the existing reformed organizations , which were mostly founded by members of the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, would still cover for their needs.

Sociologists tend to divide the Reformed people in the Netherlands into 3 groups. The Experiental Reformed, Orthodox Reformed and Modern Reformed. Both Experiental Reformed and Orthodox Reformed are confessional. Modern Reformed is just a nickname for liberal/evangelical.

Since the beginning of the 21th century we see a shift of orthodox reformed denominations and congregations towards modern reformed. This shift is already completed within the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt), which stem from the liberation of 1944. Parts of the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken and parts of the Gereformeerde Bond, which are also orthodox reformed, are now in trouble.
 
Just to wrap up the current denominations discussion, these are the ones that were brought up thus far, listed in the order of how many congergations they have according to Wikipedia:
- PKN: Protestant Church in the Netherlands (Protestantse Kerk in Nederland)*
- Christian Reformed Church in the Netherlands (Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland)
- Reformed Congergations (Gereformeerde Gemeenten)
- Gereformeerde Kerken Nederland†

* includes Lutherans, allows female ordination
† no wikipedia page in English
 
seems the Dutch Reformed Churches (Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken) were kind of forgotten during this thread but that's another contemporary one. I wonder how come it was forgotten by people on here
 
Sam Jer said:
seems the Dutch Reformed Churches (Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken) were kind of forgotten during this thread but that's another contemporary one. I wonder how come it was forgotten by people on here
Click to expand...
Probably because it is the youngest, only having been formed in the last year or so. It's the result of the merger between the Gereformeerde Kerken (Vrijgemaakt) and the Nederlands Gereformeerde Kerken.
 
Sam Jer said:
Who then would be the larger denomination that is still orthodox and morally conservative?
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In terms of Dutch Denominations that are large and morally Conservative you would have the:

Hersteld Hervormde Kerk which has over 50,000 members with congregations in the Netherlands and 1 in Canada.

The Gereformeerde Gemeenten which has congregations all over The Netherlands, and their corresponding sister church The Netherlands Reformed Congregations in the US and Canada. The GG has over 100,000 members.

The Gereformeerden Gemeenten in Nederland which has sister churches in Canada called the Reformed Congregations of North America, they have got nearly 30,000 members. They also have a group that split from the GGiN but I am not sure of size.

The Oud Gereformeerde Gemeenten which has around 20,000 members, last I heard. They are a bit more disorganised and there are also different brands of "Old Reformed" including Free Old Reformed which are different than the OGGiN (the main denomination) but I don't know much about them. There is also an Old Reformed Unconnected but I have no idea how large they are.

There is the already mentioned CGK, but it has many perspectives within it. Lastly there would be the the Gereformeerde Bond in the PKN but I have no idea how large they are.

I can't really speak to anyone else. The denominations I mentioned are all on the Experimental side of things, and far from perfect. I will say though I have met some excellent Christians among them though. Sincere, Godly people.
 
The Original Secession said:
In terms of Dutch Denominations that are large and morally Conservative you would have the:

Hersteld Hervormde Kerk which has over 50,000 members with congregations in the Netherlands and 1 in Canada.
Click to expand...
Is that the same as Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (hersteld)? Seems to be the ones who left the Vrijemaacht.
The Original Secession said:
The Gereformeerde Gemeenten which has congregations all over The Netherlands, and their corresponding sister church The Netherlands Reformed Congregations in the US and Canada. The GG has over 100,000 members.

The Gereformeerden Gemeenten in Nederland which has sister churches in Canada called the Reformed Congregations of North America, they have got nearly 30,000 members. They also have a group that split from the GGiN but I am not sure of size.

The Oud Gereformeerde Gemeenten which has around 20,000 members, last I heard. They are a bit more disorganised and there are also different brands of "Old Reformed" including Free Old Reformed which are different than the OGGiN (the main denomination) but I don't know much about them. There is also an Old Reformed Unconnected but I have no idea how large they are.
Click to expand...
Is there a significant diffrence between these?
The Original Secession said:
There is the already mentioned CGK, but it has many perspectives within it. Lastly there would be the the Gereformeerde Bond in the PKN but I have no idea how large they are.

I can't really speak to anyone else. The denominations I mentioned are all on the Experimental side of things, and far from perfect. I will say though I have met some excellent Christians among them though. Sincere, Godly people.
Click to expand...
What is "experimental" and why do you say (/imply?) that's a bad thing?
 
Sam Jer said:
Is that the same as Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (hersteld)? Seems to be the ones who left the Vrijemaacht.

Is there a significant diffrence between these?

What is "experimental" and why do you say (/imply?) that's a bad thing?
Click to expand...
Experimental is a good thing. I have no problem with it, though some are not very fond of it. My wife came from the HHK.
 
After some extensive wikipediaing (some in dutch with google translate), I got this summary. Please correct anything that I misunderstood or wikipedia got wrong, several efits have been made already.

in 1834, 215 years after the Synod of Dort, the liberalizing church caused the Afscheiding of 1834 by disciplining a minister named Hendrik de Cock for teaching sound doctrine. The resulting church was named Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland.
52 years later, in 1886, Abraham Kuyper would be involved in another schism from the mainline church over liberalizing. Those involved in that joined with the CGKN to form the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (GKN).
Three "municipalities" (google translate's term) in the Christelijke, however, remained outside the merger, maintaining their'e name. English Wikipedia tells nothing more. Dutch wikipedia with google translate says they had concerns about Kuyper's theology of presumpive regeneration.
The GKN had another schism, with a group of heretics forming a denomination where the historicity of Adam and Eve can be denied. The orthodox remained in the GKN.

In the GKN, 110 years after the Afscheiding, in 1944, the Vrijmaking accoured — the GKN started enforcing Kuyperian views relating to the covenant and presumptive regeneration quite strictly, causing those opposed to those doctrines to form the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt).

In 1967, after several discipline cases in the vrijgemaakt, the Nederlands Gereformeerde Kerken (NGK) was formed, wanting to allow greater variance from the confessions on several weighty matters.
Afterwards, however, the vrijgemaakt liberalized on issues of the sabbath, and introduced new hymns that became controversial because of their content. Other issues emerged locally. This caused a schism in 2003, creating the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (hersteld) (DGK).
In 2023 the residual vrijgemaakt and the NGK reunited into the aformentioned Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken, both now ordaining women.



In 1907 the Gereformeerde Gemeenten (GerGem) formed from smaller groups remaining from various events. It split in 1953, with the Gereformeerden Gemeenten in Nederland (GGiN) denying the free offer of grace.

In 2004, various churches, including the GKN and Lutherans, united with the state church to form the PKN. Those in the state church who opposed this formed the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk.

Those from the Christelijke who remained seperate still exist.

I have edited and will edit the post if I am made aware of any serious errors.
 
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Sam Jer said:
After some extensive wikipediaing (some in dutch with google translate), I got this summary. Please correct anything that I misunderstood or wikipedia got wrong.

in 1834, 215 years after the Synod of Dort, the liberalizing church caused the Afscheiding of 1834 by disciplining a minister named Hendrik de Cock for teaching sound doctrine. The resulting church was named Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland.
52 years later, in 1886, Abraham Kuyper would be involved in another schism from the mainline church over liberalizing. Those involved in that joined with the CGKN to form the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (GKN).
Three "municipalities" (google translate's term) in the Christelijke, however, remained outside the merger, maintaining their'e name. English Wikipedia tells nothing more. Dutch wikipedia with google translate says they had concerns about Kuyper's theology of presumpive regeneration.
Click to expand...
This church still exists with the same name, counting 69.000 members as of january 2023 and180 congregations.
 
Sam Jer said:
After some extensive wikipediaing (some in dutch with google translate), I got this summary. Please correct anything that I misunderstood or wikipedia got wrong.

in 1834, 215 years after the Synod of Dort, the liberalizing church caused the Afscheiding of 1834 by disciplining a minister named Hendrik de Cock for teaching sound doctrine. The resulting church was named Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland.
52 years later, in 1886, Abraham Kuyper would be involved in another schism from the mainline church over liberalizing. Those involved in that joined with the CGKN to form the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (GKN).
Three "municipalities" (google translate's term) in the Christelijke, however, remained outside the merger, maintaining their'e name. English Wikipedia tells nothing more. Dutch wikipedia with google translate says they had concerns about Kuyper's theology of presumpive regeneration.
The GKN had another schism, with a group of heretics forming a denomination where the historicity of Adam and Eve can be denied. The orthodox remained in the GKN.

In the GKN, 110 years after the Afscheiding, in 1944, the Vrijmaking accoured — the GKN started enforcing Kuyperian views relating to the covenant and presumptive regeneration quite strictly, causing those opposed to those doctrines to form the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt).

In 1967, after a discipline case in the vrijgemaakt, the Nederlands Gereformeerde Kerken (NGK) was formed. Dutch wikipedia with google translate suggests the vrijgemaakt got overly exclusive and zelous, causing wrongfull discipline, but I would not trust wikipedia for that sort of information.
Either way, the two merged in 2023 into the aformentioned Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken, after they were both already ordaining women.

Prior to the union, the vrijgemaakt liberalized positions on divorce and the sabbath, having already introduced women's ordination a few years prior, and therefore another split was caused in 2003, creating the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (hersteld) (DGK).



In 1907 the Gereformeerde Gemeenten (GerGem) formed from smaller groups remaining from various events. It split in 1953, with the Gereformeerden Gemeenten in Nederland (GGiN) denying common grace.

In 2004, various churches, including the GKN and Lutherans, united with the state church to form the PKN. Those in the state church who opposed this formed the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk.
Those from the Christelijke who remained seperate still exist.

I will edit the post if I am made aware of any serious errors.
Click to expand...
The GGiN would deny the free offer of grace, not common grace.
 
Sam Jer said:
In 1967, after a discipline case in the vrijgemaakt, the Nederlands Gereformeerde Kerken (NGK) was formed. Dutch wikipedia with google translate suggests the vrijgemaakt got overly exclusive and zelous, causing wrongfull discipline, but I would not trust wikipedia for that sort of information.
Either way, the two merged in 2023 into the aformentioned Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken, after they were both already ordaining women.
Click to expand...

The issue in 1967 was mainly about confessional binding, i.e. how tightly do we hold on to the confessions? The folks who left to form the NGK wanted a looser connection to the confessions, the GKV a tighter. How did they resolve their differences to merge/reunite in 2023? It wasn't because the NGK changed their thinking.
 
Guido's Brother said:
The issue in 1967 was mainly about confessional binding, i.e. how tightly do we hold on to the confessions? The folks who left to form the NGK wanted a looser connection to the confessions, the GKV a tighter. How did they resolve their differences to merge/reunite in 2023? It wasn't because the NGK changed their thinking.
Click to expand...
Thank you. What confessional issues specifically?
 
Sam Jer said:
Thank you. What confessional issues specifically?
Click to expand...

There were several. L.E. Oosterhoff was teaching that every one baptized receives not only the covenant promises, but also the substance of what is promised. So every baptized child already possesses the forgiveness of sins and justification, for example. He also taught that Christ died to make salvation possible for everyone. B. Telder taught the doctrine of soul-sleep. G. Visee and J.O. Mulder taught a form of antinomianism.
 
Guido's Brother said:
There were several. L.E. Oosterhoff was teaching that every one baptized receives not only the covenant promises, but also the substance of what is promised. So every baptized child already possesses the forgiveness of sins and justification, for example.
Click to expand...
I thought the Conclusions of Utrecht adopted in 1905 by the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands addressed this? That said I have not looked at this issue for a while but Herman Bavinck's 'Saved by grace' has a helpful discussion on these matters.
 
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