Reformed Piety in the Theology of Herman Bavinck (1854-1921)

This work uses historical and theological approaches to address a critical aspect of neo-Calvinism and studies focused on Herman Bavinck. Guerrero highlights the relevance of how an experiential fellowship with God helps to understand the holistic approach of Bavinck’s neo-Calvinism. Despite the considerable growth of research on Bavinck’s theology in recent years, there has yet to be a detailed investigation of the place of piety in Bavinck’s neo-Calvinism. This erudite work fills that gap in Bavinck’s studies, prompted by the reality that piety has been a significant element of the Reformed tradition from its earliest stages. For Bavinck, every human being has a feeling of divinity that is previous to all rational proof of God. However, humans need more than a general feeling of absolute dependence on God; they need a saving communion with the triune God revealed in the Scripture. Bavinck’s retrieval, and contextualization of Reformed piety can be helpful both for further scholarly understanding of Bavinck’s neo-Calvinism project, and for contemporary projects based on neo-Calvinistic ideas.