Tommaso Manzon: On the Patristic roots of Reformed Theology: Herman Bavinck's reading of the Church Fathers on the attributes of God

Herman Bavinck's The Doctrine of God stands as a landmark of Calvinist theology and a synthesis of reformed thought. Nonetheless, and in spite of its markedly confessional character, Bavinck's - a great historian as well as a distinguished systematic - does not renounce to draw on sources predating the Reformation. Accordingly, his work results to be ecumenical in fashion, and able to pay attention to the different traditions of the Universal Church.In particular, Bavinck is often eager to underline the Patristic roots of doctrines and debates he is engaging with in his discussion of God's nature. Hence, his work carries the merit of tracing a clear connection between the standards of theological discussion laid down by Reformed theology and their origins in the Church Fathers.This is evident at its most in the sections of The Doctrine of God which deal with God's attributes. Presenting the classic Reformed distinction between communicable and incommunicable attributes alongside a number of alternative classifications, Bavinck argues for their common source in the Patristic distinction between positive and negative theology.Therefore, making particular reference to St. Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius, Bavinck develops the notion that the Fathers' way of theologizing by affirmation and negation set the background for theirs and any subsequent discussion of God's attributes.The goal of this short paper, is that of reconstructing Bavinck's discussion of the topic of the Patristic origin of any classification of God's attributes, together with a brief evaluation of his argument and analysis of the Church Fathers.