The Logos of God

Welkom op de boekpresentatie/minisymposium
maandag 10 november 2025 in Zeist, Bethelkerk, van 14:30 uur tot 16:30. Lees meer

What does it mean for church and theology that the Logos has been identified with Jesus Christ? This study compares the Reformed epistemology of Alvin Plantinga with the Anglican metaphysics of Catherine Pickstock.

When the first missionaries arrived in Central- and East-Africa at the end of the nineteenth century, they didn’t introduce God. God was already there, and the people knew him. Belief in God is not expressed in written words, especially not in academic conceptual language. Mostly when people talk about God it is about daily life events in which God speaks to them: miracles that happen, a powerful song, unexpected help in a difficult situation. God is in the stories they tell. The missionaries came to Africa and told them about Jesus Christ, as the Word of God.

This study, based in systematic theology, contributes to the reflection on Logos, the Word of God as connection between God and the world. What does it mean for church and theology that the Logos has been identified with Jesus Christ? By comparing the Reformed approach of Alvin Plantinga with the Anglican approach of Catherine Pickstock this study is in conversation with, what in modern times, both in Africa and elsewhere, have been considered as ‘scientific’ worldviews, like secularism, materialism, metaphysical naturalism, dualism, and nihilism.

The Rev. dr. Rik Mager (1981) is pastor in the Protestant Church of the Netherlands and worked via GZB as missionary pastor and theological trainer in the Anglican Church of Rwanda. This book is the result of a PhD-program at Uganda Christian University. Currently, as IZB missionary pastor, he trains and equips local congregations to enact the gospel of Jesus Christ within their context.