Lyle D. Bierma
Jean and Kenneth Baker Professor of Systematic Theology
A.B. (Calvin College, 1973)
B.D. (Calvin Theological Seminary, 1976)
Ph.D. (Duke University, 1980)
Lyle Bierma joined the faculty after nineteen years of teaching doctrine and church history at Reformed Bible College (now Kuyper College) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a child, he spent several years in Nigeria as part of a missionary family, and more recently he has done short-term teaching stints at seminaries in Nigeria, Brazil, India, and Serbia.
Lyle is the editor of the Calvin Theological Journal, the translator or co-translator of seven German and Dutch books, and the author of The Covenant Theology of Caspar Olevianus (2d ed., 2005) and An Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism: Sources, History, and Theology (2005). His current research projects include a book on the theology of the Heidelberg Catechism and a translation of a 1576 Latin work on the covenant of grace by Heidelberg theologian Caspar Olevianus.
Lyle is married with two grown children and one grandchild. His interests include reading, travel, tennis, and playing ping pong with Calvin Seminary students half his age.
Speaking Topics (show | hide)
- On Being Reformed:
- A Reformed Critique of the "Left Behind" Series
- What is Calvinism?
- Reformed Creeds & Confessions:
- The CRC, Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 80, and the Roman Catholic Mass
- Heidelberg Catechism
- Belgic Confession
- Canons of Dort
- Contemporary Testimony
- Sacraments:
- Infant Baptism
Curriculum Vitae (show | hide)
Lyle Dean Bierma
Publications:
Books and Short Monographs
The Covenant Theology of Caspar Olevianus. Second (revised) edition of German Calvinism in the Confessional Age: The Covenant Theology of Caspar Olevianus (1996). Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2005.
An Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism: Sources, History, and Theology (with Charles D. Gunnoe, Jr., Karin Y. Maag, Paul W. Fields). Studies and Texts in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought, ed. Richard A. Muller. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005.
The Doctrine of the Sacraments in the Heidelberg Catechism: Melanchthonian, Calvinist, or Zwinglian? Studies in Reformed Theology and History, New Series, no. 4. Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1999.
German Calvinism in the Confessional Age: The Covenant Theology of Caspar Olevianus. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996.
Translations
The Honour of God and Human Salvation, by Marijn de Kroon. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2001. (Translation [with John Vriend] of De eer van God en het heil van de mens [1996]).
Marriage and Divorce in the Thought of Martin Bucer, by Herman J. Selderhuis. Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, ed. Raymond A. Mentzer, vol. 48. Kirksville, MO: Thomas Jefferson UP, 1999. (Translation [with John Vriend] of Huwelijk en echtscheiding bij Martin Bucer [1994]).
The Ecclesiastical Offices in the Thought of Martin Bucer, by Willem van't Spijker. Studies in Medieval and Reformation Thought, ed. Heiko A. Oberman, vol. 57. Leiden: Brill, 1996. (Translation [with John Vriend] of De ambten bij Martin Bucer [1970]).
“Eschatological Rationality.” In Eschatological Rationality: Theological Issues in Focus, by Gerhard Sauter, 171- 200. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996. (Translation [with David C. Steinmetz] of “Eschatologische Ration-alität”).
A Firm Foundation: An Aid to Interpreting the Heidelberg Catechism, by Caspar Olevianus. Studies and Texts in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought, ed. Richard A. Muller. Grand Rapids: Baker and Paternoster, 1995. (Translation of Vester Grundt [1567]).
The Writings of John Calvin: An Introductory Guide, by Wulfert de Greef. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993. (Translation of Johannes Calvijn: zijn werk en geschriften [1989]).
Marcion: The Gospel of the Alien God, by Adolf von Harnack. Durham, NC: Labyrinth, 1990. (Translation [with John E. Steely] of Marcion: Das Evangelium vom fremden Gott [1924]).
Articles & Chapters
“Confessions and Ecumenicity: The Christian Reformed Church and Heidelberg Catechism 80.” In That the World May Believe: Essays on Missions and Unity in Honour of George Vandervelde, ed. Michael W. Goheen and Margaret O’Gara, 145-54. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2006.
“The Structure of the Heidelberg Catechism: Melanchthonian or Calvinist?” In Melanchthon und der Calvinismus, ed. Günter Frank and Herman J. Selderhuis, 29-43. Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt: Frommann-Holzboog, 2005.
“A Relevância da Teologia de Calvino para o Século 21 [The Relevance of Calvin’s Theology for the 21st Century].” Translated into Portuguese by Alderi Souza de Matos. Fides Reformata 8, no. 2 (2003): 9-20.
“Infant Baptism in the Reformed Confessions.” In The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism, edited by Gregg Strawbridge, 230-45. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2003.
“De pedagogische strategie van de heidelbergse catechismus [The Pedagogical Strategy of the Heidelberg Catechism].” Translated into Dutch by W. J. van Asselt. Kerk en Theologie 53 (October 2002): 330-40.
“What Hath Wittenberg To Do with Heidelberg? Philip Melanchthon and the Heidelberg Catechism.” In Melanchthon in Europe: His Work and Influence beyond Wittenberg, edited by Karin Maag, 103-21.
Studies and Texts in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought, ed. Richard A. Muller, vol. 5. Grand Rapids: Baker and Paternoster, 1999.
“Law and Grace in Ursinus' Doctrine of the Natural Covenant: A Reappraisal.” In Protestant Scholasticism: Essays in Reassessment, edited by Carl R. Trueman and R. Scott Clark, 96-110. Carlisle (UK): Paternoster, 1999.
“Remembering the Sabbath Day: Ursinus's Exposition of Exodus 20:8-11.” In Biblical Interpretation in the Era of the Reformation, edited by Richard A. Muller and John L. Thompson, 272-91. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.
“Vester Grundt and the Origins of the Heidelberg Catechism.” In Later Calvinism: International Perspectives, ed- ited by W. Fred Graham, 289-309. Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, ed. Charles G. Nauert, Jr., vol. 22. Kirksville, MO: Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, 1994.
Articles on Edward Leigh, Caspar Olevianus, and Gisbert Voetius in Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith, edited by Donald K. McKim. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1992.
“How Should Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 60 Be Translated?” Calvin Theological Journal 26 (April 1991): 125-33.
“The Role of Covenant Theology in Early Reformed Orthodoxy.” Sixteenth Century Journal 21 (Fall 1990): 453-62.
Covenant or Covenants in the Theology of Olevianus?” Calvin Theological Journal 22 (November 1987): 228-50.
“Lutheran-Reformed Polemics in the Late Reformation: Olevianus's 'Proposal'.” In Controversy and Conciliation: The Reformation and the Palatinate, 1559-1583, edited by Derk Visser, 51-71. Pittsburgh Theological Monographs, New Series, ed. Dikran Y. Hadidian, vol. 18. Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1986.
“Federal Theology in the Sixteenth Century: Two Traditions?” Westminster Theological Journal 45 (Fall 1983): 304-21.
“Olevianus and the Authorship of the Heidelberg Catechism: Another Look.” Sixteenth Century Journal 13 (Winter 1982): 17-27.