One day in the spring of 1990, I received a phone call from Professor Hendrikus Berkhof, a well-known theologian at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He was visiting Southern California and had a free day before flying out. “I would like to see Fuller Seminary,” he said. Having never spent time with Professor Berkhof, I was quite honored by his request. I had read and re-read at least five of his books, and his discussion of themes in Reformed theology had (and has) significantly influenced my thinking.
My first question upon meeting him was about what brought him to the West Coast. “I just spent three days talking theology with Robert Schuller,” he explained. The TV preacher had invited Professor Berkhof and the Evangelical scholar Clark Pinnock to spend a few days talking theology with him. I then asked Berkhof for his impression of Schuller’s ministry. His reply was memorable. Dr. Schuller had asked good questions, he said: about sin and salvation, guilt and grace, and a number of other basic theological topics. And Schuller had seemed eager to hear what his guests thought about his own application of theology in his preaching and writing.
Read Full Article »