DNK : Documentatieblad voor de Nederlandse kerkgeschiedenis na 1800 - Volume 45, Issue 96, 2022

C.W.M. van de Velde, a wanderer in the Holy Land

Charles William Meredith van de Velde (1818-1898), a naval officer, cartographer and painter, was an adherent of the international evangelical Réveil movement. Leaving the Indies to prevent a (homosexual) scandal (1847), he stayed for some time in South Africa and translated pietist booklets. In 1851 and 1852 he travelled through the Near East, and published a travel journal and a map of Palestine; Le Pays d’Israel was illustrated by hundred watercolors. A friend of Henry Dunant, Van de Velde was a co-founder of the Red Cross, head of the first Red Cross ambulance in the Danish-Prussian War (1866) and of the Dutch Ambulance at Versailles (1870-1871). Unmarried, without permanent residence and employment, Van de Velde wandered around, drawing and painting. He died in a hotel at Menton.

‘… a Roman Catholic Bavinck’. Brother Sigebertus Rombouts and the pedagogy of Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck

Shortly after the death of Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), the Roman Catholic educator Brother Sigebertus Rombouts (1883-1962) published a study guide on his pedagogical writings, intended for Catholic teachers. Rombouts praised the Christian principles in Bavinck’s system of (moral) pedagogical thinking. According to Rombouts, the current Catholic pedagogy was poor and superficial. Catholic teachers would be strengthened in their religious identity if they were introduced to Bavinck’s high-quality moral pedagogical ideas. At the same time, Rombouts criticised Bavinck’s poor knowledge of everyday school practice.

This article discusses two examples of Rombouts’ critique. The Reformed theologian rejected modern research by behavioural scientists – psychologists and pedagogues – because they only examined an aspect of the child and not the whole person. Rombouts argued that tests ensured that pupils who could not keep up in class were referred to schools for special education. Bavinck was also critical of the didactic method of ‘visual education’; the use of pictures in textbooks, school wall charts, and other visual teaching aids. He argued that only words were capable of conveying knowledge. According to Rombouts, Bavinck ignored the fact that words must be supported by images. In everyday school practice, the use of school wall charts and other visual aids had been common since the second half of the nineteenth century.

The Pastoral Letter of the Dutch Reformed Church of 1941

The defeat of the Dutch army in 1940 was followed by five years of German occupation. As Dutch churches were not directly under control of the state, they retained the freedom to present their critical views to the occupier. This article analyses an early public request by the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) to withdraw antisemitic policies, followed by a public declaration of its position under German occupation in the Summer of 1941. The DRC was well aware of the successes and failures of the German church struggle. Given this background, the General Synod developed a careful but critical attitude towards the German authorities.

Arnold Albert van Ruler (1908-1970) was one of the leading theologians in the Dutch Reformed Church in the second half of the twentieth century. After having worked as a minister in Kubaard (1933-1940) and Hilversum (1940-1947) he was professor at the University of Utrecht (1947-1970). Characteristic for van Ruler is his way of networking among students and ministers. At least three examples can be given.

Several times during the years in Kubaard, theological students from the University of Groningen were invited for a conference in the parsonage. The pattern repeated itself during the years in Hilversum. Participating students called themselves the ‘Hilversumse theologenclub’ (Hilversum club of theologians); sixteen of them could be identified. From 1941-1947 they discussed texts written by Van Ruler himself. As a professor Van Ruler and his wife used to pay visits to ministers, who had graduated from Utrecht University. During a week in the summer they made a trip from parsonage to parsonage by bike.