Herman Hoeksema

Herman Hoeksema (12 March 1886, Hoogezand – 2 September 1965, Grand Rapids) was a Dutch Reformed theologian. Hoeksema served as a long time pastor of the First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. In 1924 he refused to accept the three points of common grace, which became official church dogma of the Christian Reformed Church. The result of this controversy was that he and some other ministers with their congregations were put out of the CRC. These men then established the Protestant Reformed Churches. He also was professor of theology at the Protestant Reformed Theological School in Grandville, Michigan for 40 years.

Hoeksema was born in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands and immigrated to the USA in 1904. After studying at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he began his ministerial career in 14th St. Christian Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan (1915-1920) and then accepted the call to serve the Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids (1920-1924/5)- by this time one of the largest Reformed congregations in the United States. He finished out his career in the dual role of pastor of 1st Protestant Reformed Christian Church (1924/5 - 1965) and Professor of NT Studies and Reformed Dogmatics at the PRTS.

In February 1918, Hoeksema refused to allow the American flag in the sanctuary 14th St CRC (Holland, MI) during worship. This decision received strong opposition. The Michigan Tradesman, for example, suggested that any preacher who barred the flag from his church had "forfeited the right to exist among decent people". He also led the debate and 1918 CRC Synod in condemning the dispensational premillennialism of one Rev. Harry Bultema of Muskegon, MI as denying that Christ is King of his church. Hoeksema and his close colleague Henry Danhof also worked on behalf of the Seminary Curatorium in a study committee that led the 1922 CRC Synod to produce a report that after examining the teachings of Seminary Professor Ralph Janssen about Scripture and miracles, subsequently decided that Janssen's views on Scriptures denied that Holy Writ was infallible and inspired in all it parts.

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