Book Information

Title:
Een waaier van gedachten over geloven: Hoofdlijnen in het theologisch werk van Hendrik M. Vroom. [A dispersion of thoughts on religion: Main themes in the theological works of Hendrik M. Vroom] Bibliography of Published Works by Hendrik M Vroom compiled by Annewieke L. Vroom

Book Cover

Authors
Dirk van Keulen
Annewieke L. Vroom

ISBN:
978-90-420-2871-5

Publisher:
Editions Rodopi, Amsterdam, 2010, 120 p., $29.00*
*Book price at time of review

Book Review information

Reviewer Title:
A rounded guide to the work of Hendrik M. Vroom

Reviewer:
Johann-Albrecht Meylahn1

Affiliation:
1Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria,
South Africa

email:
jmeylahn@lantic.net

Postal address:
PO Box 14885, Lyttelton 0140, South Africa

How to cite this book review:
Meylahn, J.A., 2011,’ A rounded guide to the work of Hendrik M. Vroom’, Verbum et Ecclesia 32(1), Art. #509, 1 page. doi:10.4102/ve.v32i1.509

Copyright Notice:
©2011. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.

ISSN: 1609-9982 (print)
ISSN: 2074-7705 (online)
A rounded guide to the work of Hendrik M. Vroom

This concise book written by Dirk van Keulen of the Protestantse Theologische Universiteit gives a good and useful introduction to the range of theological and religious philosophical thinking, and impact of Hendrik M. Vroom of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The book introduces Vroom to the reader by narrating a short reflection of the academic and religious journey that shaped Vroom’s work. This is performed by indicating and describing the context of his student years, the various places of ministry as well as the great mentors that influenced and shaped his thought in the exciting and turbulent times of the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland [Reformed Churches in the Netherlands].

The chapters are divided according to central themes in Vroom’s work, such as faith, Scriptures and hermeneutics, Reformed ecumenism, theology and religions, cultural and political engagement. The author discusses these themes within the content that formed and shaped them. Van Keulen does this by drawing the reader into the world of Europe, the Netherlands and more specifically the world of the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands from the early 1960s until well into the first decade of the new millennium. This context, together with the great philosophical and theological minds that shaped and responded to it, is brought into the discussion and it becomes clear how Vroom’s thoughts emerged in this dialogue of texts and contexts. Vroom was a strong believer in the importance of the context and the fusion of horizons through dialogue, something that Van Keulen remains true to.

The themes are discussed by focussing on and shortly describing a particular work, either an article or a book that best captures the specific theme under discussion, but with numerous cross references to other works.

Annewieke Vroom’s compilation of Hendrik Vroom’s published works, Bibliography of Published Works by Hendrik M. Vroom (pp. 99–120), is useful for further in-depth study of the themes and following up on the cross references.

The book is a good introduction to the range of Vroom’s work. As the title indicates, it is not intended to be a comprehensive nor an in-depth study, but a brief introduction to the main lines of thought. The book awakens the reader’s appetite to further explore the thoughts of this Dutch theologian and with the compilation of the published works the book becomes a useful tool for further in-depth study of one of the more recent modern Dutch theologians.


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