The Decline and Retrieval of Divine Incomprehensibility in Modern Reformed Theology

Abstract

This article explores the way in which two modern Reformed theologians, Charles Hodge and Herman Bavinck, articulate their theologies of divine incomprehensibility and the knowability of God in radically different ways, against the backdrop of post-Kantian epistemology. This contrast will draw attention to why the doctrine of divine incomprehensibility has diminished in influence in modern Reformed theology, while also making some suggestions as to how it can be retrieved in order to supplement and strengthen contemporary discussions on the doctrine of God in the Reformed tradition.