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oa Neocalvinisme en gereformeerde jodenzending
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: DNK : Documentatieblad voor de Nederlandse kerkgeschiedenis na 1800, Volume 45, Issue 97, Dec 2022, p. 199 - 210
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- 01 Dec 2022
Abstract
Neo-Calvinism and the Jewish Mission of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.
Neo-Calvinism stimulates the communication of the Christian message under the conditions of a modern democracy, where citizens enjoy the privilege of free speech. At first sight, Jewish mission would seem to fit well into this general purpose. As it is, the Jewish Mission of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands between 1896 and 1966 seems to belong to those select elements of the Neo-Calvinist legacy that are retrospectively deemed problematic even by Protestants themselves, as demonstrated by the Synod of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands in its declaration of 2020. This article analyzes the possible reasons for this ambivalence, and their bearing on the appreciation of the Neo-Calvinist legacy. In looking for answers, we focus on the principle of sphere sovereignty, and the distinction between Calvinist attitudes during the Republic and the activist spirit that was actively promoted by Neo-Calvinists in their Jewish Mission during the early twentieth century.