Clarence Bouma (November 30, 1891 in Harlingen, Friesland – August 12, 1962 in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

) was a theologian and professor at

Calvin Theological Seminary Calvin Theological Seminary is a private Christian Reformed Church seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is closely tied to Calvin University, though each institution has its own board. History The seminary was founded in 1876 with the purpo ...

Early life and education

Bouma was born Klaas Bouma in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1891 as the son of Doeke Bouma and Trijntje de Jong. The family immigrated to the United States in May 1905. He earned his

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

(1917) at

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed (Calvinist) ...

, and his B.D. (1918) at

Princeton Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly o ...

, where he was awarded the Gelston-Winthrop Fellowship in

Apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

. He went on to earn his A.M. (1919) from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

, and his Th.D. (1921) from

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, go ...

Academic career

After briefly serving as a pastor in the Summer Street Christian Reformed Church in

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69, ...

, Bouma joined the faculty at

in 1924. His first role was as Chair of Dogmatics, but shortly thereafter moved to a new role as Chair of Apologetics and Ethics. He was succeeded in Dogmatics by

Louis Berkhof Louis Berkhof (October 13, 1873 – May 18, 1957) was a Dutch-American Reformed theologian whose works on systematic theology have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States, Canada, Korea and with individual Christian ...

, author of ''

Systematic Theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topi ...

''. In 1935, he became the editor of ''The Calvin Forum'', and continued to serve in that role the rest of his career. Bouma also served for one semester in 1940 as visiting professor at Gordon College and Divinity School. He was a member of the Reformed Ecumenical Synods of 1946 and 1949. Throughout his tenure, Bouma opposed liberal and modernist movements in Christianity, and became a key member in the mid-twentieth century development of American evangelicalism. Bouma was influential in the 1942 formation of the

National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an association of evangelical denominations, organizations, schools, churches and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than 45,000 local churches ...

, and in 1949 was elected the first president of the

Evangelical Theological Society The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students "devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "dedicated to the oral exc ...

Health decline and death

The conflict between traditional and progressive theologies escalated in 1951 to the point that Bouma suffered a "nervous breakdown that left him in a psychiatric hospital for the ten remaining years of his life." He died on August 12, 1962, survived at the time by his wife.

Publications

*''Theism and Personalism'' (1921)

(doctoral thesis) *''A Theological Bibliography'' (1925) Grand Rapids Printing Company *''The Word of God and the Reformed Faith'' Addresses delivered at the 2nd American Calvinistic Conference, editor (1943) Baker Book House *''Calvinism in Times of Crisis'' with G. Charles Aalders, Gerrit C. Berkouwer, Stephanus du Toit, and H.G. Stoker, editors (1947) Baker Book House * *''God-Centered Living: or, Calvinism in Action, a Symposium'' by Calvinistic Action Committee, introduction by Clarence Bouma (1951) Baker Book House

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouma, Clarence 1891 births 1962 deaths Dutch emigrants to the United States Calvin University alumni Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Princeton University alumni Harvard Divinity School alumni American theologians People from Harlingen, Netherlands