Barend Bartholomeus Keet (1885–1974) was an

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

theologian. He is best known for his rejection of the theological basis of separate development and apartheid policies. (Others in this category included Albert S. Geyser,

Ben Marais Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin (name), Benjamin, Benedict (given name), Benedict, Bennett (name), Bennett or Benson (given name), Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (Hebrew), Ben (in ...

, Ben Engelbrecht and C. F. Beyers Naudé.) He was one of the translators of the first official translation of the entire Bible into Afrikaans, in 1933. Keet (rhymes with Fiat, not seat) was born on 20 June 1885 in the town of

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Province. He was the fifth of the seven children of the Reverend B.B. Keet (De Beer 1992:9,10) and his wife, Jacoba Petronella Keet (De Beer 1992:7). He attended school first in Humansdorp, were his father was a preacher (c. 1894) and later in Cape Town (De Beer 1992:10). Although Keet was an Afrikaner, English influences "were by no means outside his ken". The congregation in Humansdorp had the option of attending an evening service in English twice a month and young Bennie, as he was known, was friends with the son of the local "English preacher", despite the looming threat of the Anglo-Boer War (Second Boer War). De Beer is of the opinion that Keet's friendship with English-speaking children, with their differing language, beliefs and habits, helped to develop his relatively liberal character (1992:14), (1992:15). Keet attended the

South African College School The South African College Schools (colloquially often known as “SACS”) is a public English medium primary and high education institution situated in Newlands - part of the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of ...

(SACS) in Cape Town during that war and then completed studies for the degree of Bachelor of Arts at the

South African College The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS). History The process that would lead to the formation of t ...

, in the same city. In 1907 he entered a theological college, where he was involved in the management of the Afrikaans Language Union (De Beer 1992:10–21, 33). From January 1911 to 1913 Keet was enrolled at the

Free University in Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

, where he worked towards a doctorate under the guidance of

Herman Bavinck Herman Bavinck (13 December 1854 – 29 July 1921) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian and churchman. He was a significant scholar in the Calvinist tradition, alongside Abraham Kuyper and B. B. Warfield. Biography Background Bavinck was bor ...

(De Beer 1992:40–41).

Bibliography

De Beer, J.C. 1992. B.B. Keet. (1885–1974) Ongepubliseerde Proefskrif: Universiteit van Stellenbosch De Gruchy, J.W. 2005. The Church Struggle in South Africa. 25th Anniversary Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press Heine, Q.E. 1986. Die Etiek van B.B. Keet. B.Th. Skripsie, Universiteit van dei Oranje Vrystaat. (In De Beer 1992) Keet, B.B. Klasaantekeninge Dogmatiek. Ongepubliseerde aantekeninge. Keet, B.B. 1945. Sedelike Vraagstukke. Kaapstad. Keet, B.B. 1955. Suid-Afrika – Waarheen? ’n Bydrae tot die bespreking van ons Rasseprobleem. Stellenbosch: Die Universiteits-uitgewers en Boekhandelaars. Periodieke publikasies: Die Burger: Verskeie Uitgawes Die Kerkbode: Verskeie uitgawes The Rand Daily Mail: 3 Februarie 1956 {{DEFAULTSORT:Keet, Bb South African Calvinist and Reformed theologians Afrikaner people 1974 deaths 1885 births 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians