Barend Bartholomeus Keet (1885–1974) was an

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

theologian. He is best known for his rejection of the theological basis of separate development and

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

policies. (Others in this category included Albert S. Geyser, Ben Marais, Ben Engelbrecht and C. F. Beyers Naudé.) 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 Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

in the

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Province. He was the fifth of the seven children of

the Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

B.B. Keet (De Beer 1992:9,10) and his wife, Jacoba Petronella Keet (De Beer 1992:7). He attended school first in Humansdorp, were his father was a preacher (c. 1894) and later in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, 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 (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

(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 A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

at the South African College, 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 Alumni of South African College Schools