Summary of Christian Doctrine

by Louis Berkhof

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1938

Overview

Summary of Christian Doctrine is a concise revision of Manual of Reformed Doctrine, with technical terms and unfamiliar terms removed. Berkhof wrote this abridged edition with detailed explanations and controversial material omitted, and he added questions for further study.

Contents

Top Highlights

“He exists in three Persons, called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are not three persons in the ordinary sense of the word; they are not three individuals, but rather three modes or forms in which the Divine Being exists.” (Page 42)

“Some think of religion primarily as a sort of knowledge, and locate it in the intellect. Others regard it as a kind of immediate feeling of God, and find its seat in the feelings. And still others hold that it consists most of all in moral activity, and refer it to the will. However, all these views are one-sided and contrary to Scripture, which teaches us that religion is a matter of the heart. In Scripture psychology the heart is the central organ of the soul. Out of it are all the issues of life, thoughts, feelings, and desires, Prov. 4:23. Religion involves the whole man, his intellectual, his emotional, and his moral life. This is the only view that does justice to the nature of religion.” (Page 10)

“In the most restricted sense it denotes that act of God by which the principle of the new life is implanted in man, and the governing disposition of the soul is made holy.” (Page 127)

“The decree of God is His eternal plan or purpose, in which He has foreordained all things that come to pass.” (Page 46)

“If God had not revealed Himself, religion would have been impossible. Man could not possibly have had any knowledge of God, if God had not made Himself known.” (Page 13)

Product Details

• Title: Summary of Christian Doctrine
• Author: Louis Berkhof
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 1938
• Logos Release Date: 2009
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Reformed Church › Doctrines; Christian education › Textbooks for young people--Reformed; Theology, doctrinal
• ISBNs: 9780802815132, 9780851510552, 0802815138, 0851510558
• Resource ID: LLS:SUMMCHRDOCT
• Resource Type: Systematic Theology
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:14:35Z

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.

Sample Pages from Summary of Christian Doctrine