Reformed Dogmatics

Warning:  the contents of the first paragraph are hearsay.  Some details may be incorrect due to the imperfections of my memory.

Back in the middle of the last century the young seminarian Robert Howard Clausen was finishing up a paper but found to his dismay that the library was closed.  So he did was any sensible student would do:  he invented a theologian to cite in a footnote.  At that time the theological world was dominated by German men whose names began with the letter "B" (Barth, Bultmann, Bruner, etc.).  So he named his fake theologian Franz Bibfeldt.  Eventually the ruse was exposed, but the joke caught on.  You can even find the book The Unrelieved Paradox:  Studies in the Theology of Franz Bibfeldt.

But there was a real life 20th century theologian named Herman Bavinck.  His last name began with a "B," but as he was Dutch rather than German, orthodox rather than liberal, and most of his works were not quickly translated into English, he spent decades under the radar.  In the last few years, however, his masterpiece four volume Reformed Dogmatics has been translated into English.  It has since become clear that Bavinck was one of the greatest theologians of the last hundred years.

I've made it through one and a half volumes so far.  They are dense and demanding but well worth the effort.  Bavinck reminds me of my teacher Henri Blocher:  thoroughly competent in systematic theology, biblical exegesis, and contemporary philosophical trends (to say nothing of personal godliness).  Look no farther for the best of Reformed theology.

But if 3008 pages is a little much for you, you miserable lightweight, there's now a one volume abridged version coming at a more family friendly 912 pages.

You are without excuse.