When Dutch immigrants
of Reformed Churches in the Netherlands [GKN] background visit the "old
country," they often find it hard to understand the liberal trends
and the many changes in their once solid and strict Reformed denomination.
And in turn family and friends find the immigrants from North America
rather conservative. As an immigrant myself I can identify with these
feelings. And as a graduate of the Free University, having stayed in close
touch with the GKN developments, I am deeply saddened by their new theology
and its negative impact. Yet, the story of the dismantling of the GKN
needs to be told as a reminder that no denomination is immune to liberal
infiltration.
The Reformed scene
in the Netherlands is not rosy. On the one hand, some outsiders equate
the Reformed faith with "black stockings and legalism". On the
other hand, other outsiders think of Kuitert, declining church attendance,
and modernism. And the younger generation of GKN members of orthodox persuasion
identify themselves as "Christian" rather than "Reformed."
In the late sixties a GKN housewife complained, "I do not wish to
hear from the pulpit that we must learn love from the hippies nor about
the left oriented degenerating infiltration of the P.v.d.A. (the Dutch
Labour Party)."
Rev. A.W.W. de Ruiter,
president of the conservative Reformed Confessional Council in the GKN
recently protested Prof. C.J. den Heyer's denial of the classical doctrine
of the atonement (reconciliation with God through the substitutionary
death of Jesus Christ on the cross). De Ruiter asked, "How is it
possible for a church to have two totally different views on the Lord
Jesus Christ?" To add insult to injury, Prof. Dr.H.M. Kuitert argues
that mature Christians do not need church membership or church attendance!
Prof. Dr. G. Dekker said that "we should not so stubbornly cling
to the church service. In the past this was the only way to hear the Word
of God. Today radio and T.V. can fill the need," It seems that the
gathering of the communion of saints is no longer important.
These attitudes are
certainly different from what I was taught and experienced in my youth.
I remember walking for more than an hour in the early 1950s to attend
a youth service with Rev. J. Overduin as the guest minister in the Nassau
church in Amsterdam, the city where I was born and raised. The church
was packed, standing room only. Compare this experience with a relatively
recent one. Dr. Hans Reinders describes in 's Zondags ga ik naar de kerk
("On Sunday 1 go to church") 20 services he attended in different
churches in Amsterdam. On September 26, 1993, he went to the Keizersgracht
church, the church where my parents were married in 1928 by Rev. S.G.
de Graaf (1889-1955), well known author of the monumental work "Promise
and Deliverance." The service Dr. Reinders attended had less than
one hundred worshippers. A banner on one of the walls featured the Brazilian
bishop Helder Camara and archbishop Romero of El Savador and Daniel Ortega,
the leader of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, surrounded by a large group
of poor Indians. The theme of the service was that the God of yesterday
must be explained differently today. Everyone can find his own way to
God. Faith does not begin with tradition but with experience. The candidate
who preached was apprehensive about the recurring interest in Christian
tradition and identity. When you want to believe you dare to doubt. When
you want to save the church, you must lose her. The celebration of the
Lord's Supper is the sign that the man Jesus is restlessly searching for
a place where people can find justice. In other words, the 1993 Keizersgracht
service is a far cry from the orthodox GKN church in my parents' time.
MEMBERSHIP LOSSES
Until the 1960s GKN
membership increased yearly by 10 to 12 thousand. By 1973 the increase
was only four souls. On the first of January 1975, the first decline was
noted, a total of 1000, afterwards the decline became a flood of departures.
In 1993 Prof. Dr. A.P. Bos of the Free University stated that 10,000 leave
the GKN yearly for other pastures, some as sheep who no longer have shepherds
in their own denomination and no longer view their church as mother but
as stepmother. In 1997 the GKN suffered a loss of 13,031 members out of
a membership of 708,814. Many former GKN have not joined any church. They
believe that they have better things to do than to keep themselves busy
with outdated "time-bound" stories of primitive authors. Others
have left for other denominations. They did not secede like their forebears
in 1834 and 1896. Rev. A.M. Lindeboom reports that the weekly exodus of
faithful GKN members to Pentecostal, Baptist, Free Evangelical, Free Reformed
and other churches continues unhindered. He also observes that as far
as evangelism is concerned, the positive developments are seen outside
the official established churches. Fifty to sixty mission organisations
are actively ministering in the Netherlands. Hundreds of Dutch Christians
are also involved in missions work worldwide. One would think that there
would be more co-operation between me the Reformed and the evangelicals.
The Dutch Evangelical Alliance notes that in the Dutch post-Christian
society both evangelicals and Reformed are thrown back to the last fundamentals
of the faith. But unfortunately, many Reformed churches still consider
evangelicalism as a threat instead of a wake-up call.
THE DISMANTLING PROCESS
The dismantling of
the GKN did not happen overnight. It was such a slow and quiet process
that many scarcely realised what was happening in their denomination.
It did not become public until the Synod of Sneek (1970-71), which chose
not to discipline Kuitert and his followers who denied Adam's fall into
sin. This synod opened the door to complete freedom from confessional
commitments. And in the year 2000 even the substitutionary atonement of
Christ has become a topic for debate and controversy. How sad! When a
church permits theologians to question fundamental Gospel truth, how can
she lead sinners to the foot of the cross to find forgiveness and reconciliation
with God?
Where did the ruin
of the GKN originate? Many point to intellectualism. Of course, intellectualism
can be combined with a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And
often it is so. A classical example is Dr. Abraham Kuyper. This great
theologian, author, and Christian statesman was also a humble child of
God. His devotional articles are spiritual gems. When Kuyper's contemporary
the Christian statesman and nobleman A. F. De Savornin Lobman died in
1924, his last words were, "I wish to see Him Whom I have loved all
my life." However, it has been noted that in the process of time
intellectualism progressed and faith in Jesus became more a matter of
the mind than of the heart. The result was the gradual estrangement from
true Biblical piety. Catechism classes concentrated on doctrine and rightly
so, but piety did not get sufficient attention. In practise, this piety
means to claim Jesus as your Saviour, Lord, and Guide in your life, to
pray for your parents, brothers and sisters, family and friends, to have
a quiet time, to get together with fellow believers for prayer and Bible
study, to know what to expect from the Lord's Supper attendance, to be
involved in church and kingdom activities.
THE THEOLOGIANS LED
THE WAY
Who is to blame for
the changed moral climate in the Netherlands? The Dutch Reformed (NHK)
Drs. K. Exalto blames the theologians. Filled with indignation he exclaimed,
"The theologians are the main culprits. All insights and conceptions
can be traced to theologians." And already before World War II, Dr.
H. Colyn told theologians at a meeting of the Free University that theologians
should have their discussion in Latin so that the churches would not become
bewildered. Prof. Dr. K.J. Popma (1903-1986) once told the GKN's prominent
theologian Dr. G. Berkouwer that according to him it would be better to
return from complicated theology to the simplicity of faith and of the
confessions - a path upon which the church could walk without confusion.
In his lengthy and
insightful book De Theologen gingenvoorop: Eenvoudig verhall van de ontmanteling
van de Gereformeerde Kerken ("The Theologians led the way: A simple
story of the dismantling of the Reformed Churches"), retired GKN
minister A.M. Lindeboom stated that through the many irresponsible and
at times reckless statements made by theologians, pluralism in the GKN
greatly increased. He said the GKN has become not only a dialogue church
but also a pluralistic church, which means that every viewpoint receives
equal treatment and acceptance. Some theologians promote feminist, black,
liberation, or homosexual theology. Lindeboom notes that a new theology,
filled with old heresies, conquered hearts; a bureaucratic development
arose; doctrinal latitude became widespread; local congregations came
under pressure - the fundamentals of the faith were undermined. He comments
that he can't escape the impression that with all the theologizing and
preoccupation with church affairs, and also in many sermons, the contact
with Jesus Himself has vanished. His greatest wish is to have his church
back - a church which does not permit heresy, but teaches sound doctrine;
a church which stops confusing youth; a church which is one in the Christ
of the Scriptures and which builds on that foundation. But Lindeboom believes
that the liberals have won the battle. The binding to the confessions
is gone. In many important cases the authority of Scripture has been pushed
aside. Discipline is no longer exercised. Some churches allow non-baptized
children to partake of the Lord's Supper, and the list goes on.
CONCLUSION
Proponents of the
new theology in the GKN call those who resist the new trends - believers
in the traditional way. Of course, the Bible clearly teaches that we should
believe in this traditional manner. The apostle Paul urges the church
of Christ "to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles
in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned" (Rom.
16:17). And Jude calls upon the church "to contend for the faith
that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (vs.3).
But all is not gloom
and doom. There are still thousands in the GKN, who with heart and soul,
long for a truly Reformed Church, a church which has learned her lessons
from the past, a church which bows before the authority of the Scripture
and recognizes and honours the creeds and the confessions They yearn for
a Sunday when they can attend church with joy. singing:
How
lovely, Lord of hosts, to me
The tabernacles of thy grace!
O how I long, yes, faint to see
Jehovah's courts, His dwelling place!
My heart and flesh with joy draw nigh
As to the living God I cry. (Ps.84:1).
JOHAN D. TANGELDER
("Christian
Renewal," [PO BOX 777, Jordan Station, LORISO, Canada], September
11, 2000, with permission]
