The Banner and Me and Us

James Schaap

Who my age will forget a pair of wooden shoes blazing away on the cover, set there by an immigrant preacher/editor who may well have been more Dutch than most of his readers? People cared deeply about issues, probably too deeply. Words counted. The Banner put ’em out there, and people read The Banner.

An even higher percentage of denominational readership read the magazine from 1928 well into the 1950s, when Rev. H. J. Kuiper—a preacher who came as close as anyone to being a CRC pope—was editor. I was a kid in the 50s, too young to care about any magazine or editor, but my parents read The Banner eagerly and loved editor Kuiper, who, said James Bratt in his Dutch Calvinism in Modern America, was “the authority on all matters of truth and morals, a voice whose every word was to be eagerly awaited, treasured, and—most of all—heeded.”

 

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About PaulVK

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1 Response to The Banner and Me and Us

  1. Rob Braun's avatar Rob Braun says:

    This is interesting to me. I joined the CRC in 1992. I was born a Lutheran. Became a Charismatic minister then along the way became a fan of the CRC. Even taught the Heidelberg Catechism. It all started with Berkouwer’s “Studies in Dogmatics” that first came out in English in the late 70’s. Then Calvin, Berkhof, Bavink, Vos, R.B Kuiper and more. I devoured their books. I thought that in these writers I had finally found my theological home. Well, it didn’t take long before I found out that the CRC neighborhood I had moved to had changed its address. Just as Schaap said the church I was longing for was of another era. I still wrestle with that.

    I didn’t grow up CRC. It is probably because of this that I don’t take for granted the wonderful legacy of theological depth it developed in the olden days. Even now, it continues to spiritually resonate with me. Yet ever since I’ve joined I often feel as if I’m being humored by those who grew up CRC and supposedly know better. I really wish more people could appreciate from a far, as I did, the wonderful theological heritage that is the CRC. Look at it with new eyes. Savor the biblical riches it has to offer without having jaded feelings like, “Yea, I know about that, but that’s not contemporary enough for me.”

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