Reformed Dogmatics
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Geerhardus Vos' Reformed Dogmatics (5 vols.) represents the early theological thought of one of the premier Reformed thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Originally self-published in five volumes in 1896, under the title Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, this important piece of Reformed theology has never before been available to an English audience. Throughout his life, Vos was connected with a number of important Reformed institutions. He was the first alumnus of Calvin Seminary (then Theological School) to earn a doctoral degree and also the first Calvin Seminary faculty member to have an advanced degree. Before his appointment at Calvin, Vos was invited by Abraham Kuyper to take the chair of Old Testament Theology at the newly formed Free University (Vrije Universiteit) in Amsterdam. After teaching at Calvin, Vos accepted a position at Princeton during the days of the Old Princeton Theologians. He held the chair of Biblical Theology there from 1892 until 1932. Vos is perhaps best known to English speakers for his books Pauline Eschatology, published in 1930, and Biblical Theology: Old and New Testament, published in 1948. Vos' strong grounding in biblical scholarship and biblical theology makes his Reformed Dogmatics unique, bringing a fresh biblical perspective. Though these five volumes are systematic in nature, Geerhardus Vos brings the skills and acumen of a biblical theologian to the task. - Publisher.
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This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader, and yes, it covers the set as a whole, but I'm posting it to each volume here on Goodreads ‘cuz I'm not clever enough/too lazy to write up something on each volume.
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Why am I talking about this as a set instead of individual volumes? That's a decent question, but I guessed when I finished Volume 1 that I'd end up saying the same things each time. And now looking back on the set, I think I agree. Sure, I could've talked some in some more detail about each one, but I'm not sure there'd have been a lot of profit in that for anyone reading this.
Honestly, what I should do here is just post a link to Lane Tipton's review/article, Vos's Reformed Dogmatics and be done with it. Lipton says in two paragraphs, what I would flail around for 10-12 paragraphs to say:
Richard B. Gaffin Jr.'s editorial oversight of the translation of Geerhardus Vos's Gereformeerde Dogmatiek has brought to light yet another theological treasure from perhaps the finest Reformed theologian since Calvin. The sustained depth of penetration of the traditional loci of systematic theological discussion is coupled with the warmth of a theological reflection pursued in vital communion with the absolute, triune God through Spirit-gifted, faith-union with Christ. This renders it ideal for both seminary instruction and devotional reading.
On the one side, Vos's work displays the proper, and it seems to me necessary, task of retrieving creedal doctrine in the preservation of Christian theology. On the other side, his work displays the proper, and it seems to me equally necessary, task of reforming that creedal doctrine in the formulation of a confessionally constructive, Reformed theology, tethered to its preceding creedal and confessional expressions, yet advancing organically beyond both, through biblical and systematic theological methods of interpreting the inerrant Scriptures. Vos not only expounds orthodox creedal theology in a faithful way, but, within the boundaries of confessionally Reformed theology, he advances that confessional theology with unparalleled insight. His work presents us with an orthodox, yet constructive, expression of the truth of the Scriptures that faithfully serves to instruct the church in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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