Barend Bartholomeus Keet (1885–1974) was an Afrikaner theologian. He is best known for his rejection of the theological basis of separate development and

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

policies. (Others in this category included Albert S. Geyser, Ben Marais, Ben Engelbrecht and C. F.

Beyers Naudé Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (10 May 1915 – 7 September 2004) was a South African Afrikaner Calvinist Dominee, theologian and the leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist. He was known simply as Beyers Naudé, or more colloquially, ...

.) He was one of the translators of the first official translation of the entire Bible into Afrikaans, in 1933. Keet (rhymes with Fiat, not seat) was born on 20 June 1885 in the town of Alice in the Eastern Cape Province. He was the fifth of the seven children of the Reverend B.B. Keet (De Beer 1992:9,10) and his wife, Jacoba Petronella Keet (De Beer 1992:7). He attended school first in

Humansdorp Humansdorp is a small town and surrounding district in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with a population of around 29,000 during the census of 2011. It is part of the Kouga Local Municipality of the Sarah Baartman District. The town is th ...

, were his father was a preacher (c. 1894) and later in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

(De Beer 1992:10). Although Keet was an Afrikaner, English influences "were by no means outside his ken". The congregation in Humansdorp had the option of attending an evening service in English twice a month and young Bennie, as he was known, was friends with the son of the local "English preacher", despite the looming threat of the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

(Second Boer War). De Beer is of the opinion that Keet's friendship with English-speaking children, with their differing language, beliefs and habits, helped to develop his relatively liberal character (1992:14), (1992:15). Keet attended the South African College School (SACS) in Cape Town during that war and then completed studies for the degree of Bachelor of Arts at the

South African College The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS). History The process that would lead to the formation of t ...

, in the same city. In 1907 he entered a theological college, where he was involved in the management of the Afrikaans Language Union (De Beer 1992:10–21, 33). From January 1911 to 1913 Keet was enrolled at the Free University in Amsterdam, where he worked towards a doctorate under the guidance of Herman Bavinck (De Beer 1992:40–41).

Bibliography

De Beer, J.C. 1992. B.B. Keet. (1885–1974) Ongepubliseerde Proefskrif: Universiteit van Stellenbosch De Gruchy, J.W. 2005. The Church Struggle in South Africa. 25th Anniversary Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press Heine, Q.E. 1986. Die Etiek van B.B. Keet. B.Th. Skripsie, Universiteit van dei Oranje Vrystaat. (In De Beer 1992) Keet, B.B. Klasaantekeninge Dogmatiek. Ongepubliseerde aantekeninge. Keet, B.B. 1945. Sedelike Vraagstukke. Kaapstad. Keet, B.B. 1955. Suid-Afrika – Waarheen? ’n Bydrae tot die bespreking van ons Rasseprobleem. Stellenbosch: Die Universiteits-uitgewers en Boekhandelaars. Periodieke publikasies: Die Burger: Verskeie Uitgawes Die Kerkbode: Verskeie uitgawes The Rand Daily Mail: 3 Februarie 1956 {{DEFAULTSORT:Keet, Bb South African Calvinist and Reformed theologians Afrikaner people 1974 deaths 1885 births 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians