God and Knowledge

This monograph is the fruit of Sutanto's doctoral work at the University of Edinburgh, where James Eglinton supervises some of the most rigorously constructive works on Bavinck. * Themelios *
This is an outstanding piece of work. It contributes to our knowledge of Herman Bavinck in a new and significant way, bringing previously unknown archival sources to the fore. It explores Bavinck's epistemological concerns within a wider context of recent studies on his use of organicist thought, and makes a convincing argument that Bavinck's account of human knowing also follows an organicist paradigm. On that front, God and Knowledge manages to bring Bavinck into conversation with important figures past (Aquinas), then contemporaneous (Abraham Kuyper), and present. * James Eglinton, The University of Edinburgh, UK *
God and Knowledge is an important contribution to the retrieval of Herman Bavinck's theology. Nathaniel Gray Sutanto confronts the 'two Bavinck' hypothesis that depicts him as torn between modernity and orthodoxy, then draws upon his organic motif to show that Bavinck's epistemology is both fully modern and fully orthodox - united in one person, without confusion, without separation. * Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, USA *
This study reshapes our views of Herman Bavinck's epistemology. He is neither simply modern nor simply Thomistic. For Bavinck, all true knowledge is organic; it rests in God's revelation. We do not invent the truth, but recognize it by rethinking the thoughts of the triune God expressed in creation and Scripture. * Henk van den Belt, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands *
Nathaniel Gray Sutanto convincingly argues that the epistemology of Herman Bavinck and his deployment of historical sources is structured by the organic motif. He thus succeeds, in a very lucid way, in presenting Bavinck as an eclectic and creative thinker, who opened new avenues for the Reformed theological tradition in modern times. * George Harinck, The Neo-Calvinism Research Institute, the Netherlands *
The principle of unity in diversity was a vital organizing principle in Herman Bavinck's theology. Here Nathaniel Gray Sutanto skilfully explores its epistemological application to the subjective act of knowing and to the unity of the sciences as an organic whole. This is an important addition to the burgeoning secondary literature on Bavinck's work. * David Fergusson, University of Edinburgh, UK *