Гаага

The Hague is an ancient city in Holland, rich in medieval monuments and various educational societies and institutions, among which it deserves special attention: "The Hague Society for the Defense of the Christian Religion" or simply, "The Apologetic Society in The Hague". During the period of deism or daring rationalism, which quickly began to have its destructive effect in the Netherlands, three institutions arose in Holland for the purpose of defending the truth of Christianity, among which, in addition to that established by Pastor Stolp in Leiden (1733) and the Theiler Society in Haarlem (1788), was the named Society founded by several believing theologians (1785). During the first period of its existence (1785–1810) it took a strictly orthodox and supra-naturalistic point of view. In his publications, the adaptive theory of Zemler was certainly rejected, and the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ, the personal existence of the Holy Spirit, atonement, etc., was put forward, and the inspiration of Holy Scripture was considered an indisputable fact. During the second period (1810-1835) the exegetical element came into greater prominence, and the point of view of the Society can be characterized in the sense of biblical-evangelical. The Society's publications defended the biblical teaching about angels, the miracles of Elijah and Elisha, carefully studied the dogma and ethics of the Gospel of John and, in contrast to the rationalists, supported the biblical idea of ​​Revelation. The character of the third period (1835–1860) was mainly determined by the appearance of the works of Strauss and the Tübingen school. The question was about the most fundamental truths of Christianity, and the principles for which the Society fought were quite lofty, although the struggle was carried on in a free scientific spirit. After 1860, this critical-historical program of the Society gradually moved onto a religious and moral basis, and although in its publications one can find much that is true and beautiful, its publications on slavery, war, the death penalty, the emancipation of women and other equally important issues went beyond the boundaries of Christian apologetics. Reflecting the trends of the times and trends of minds, G. Society, together with religion, is currently experiencing a crisis, the outcome of which is not yet clear; but, in any case, it continues to adhere to its principle, as expressed by the Apostle: “No one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).