Hendrik Kraemer (born 17 May 1888 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, died 11 November 1965 in

Driebergen Driebergen is a former village and municipality in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is first mentioned as Thriberghen in 1159. The former municipality of Driebergen existed until 1931, when it merged with Rijsenburg, to create the new municipali ...

) was a

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

missiologist and figure in the ecumenical movement from

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He encouraged the Dutch to allow the spread missionary activities outside of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

-restricted area in eastern Indonesia to the rest of the archipelago.Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume set by Hans J. Hillerbrand

Biography

Kraemer lost his parents when he was 12 years old, so he stayed in an orphanage. At the age of 16, he decided to become a missionary.. Kraemer married in 1919. He learned the Bible by himself, and he never entered theological seminary. On the question of

theology of religions The theology of religions is the branch of theology (mostly represented by Christian, Hindu, Islamic and Jewish theology) and religious studies that attempts to theologically evaluate the phenomena of religions. Three important schools within Chri ...

, Kraemer supported an exclusivist understanding of religion.

References

1888 births 1965 deaths Missiologists People from Amsterdam Dutch Protestant missionaries Christian Peace Conference members Dutch Reformed Church missionaries World Christianity scholars {{Christianity-bio-stub