William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company is a religious publishing house based in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is th ...

. Founded in 1911 by

Dutch American Dutch Americans ( nl, Nederlandse Amerikanen) are Americans of Dutch descent whose ancestors came from the Netherlands in the recent or distant past. Dutch settlement in the Americas started in 1613 with New Amsterdam, which was exchanged with ...

William B. Eerdmans (November 4, 1882 – April 1966) and still independently owned with William's daughter-in-law Anita Eerdmans as president, Eerdmans has long been known for publishing a wide range of Christian and religious books, from academic works in

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exeg ...

biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 ...

, religious history, and reference to popular titles in

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and

cultural criticism Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...

, and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

William B. Eerdmans

William Eerdmans was born "Wiltje Eerdmans" in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded o ...

, the son of Dirkje Pars and the textile manufacturer Bernardus Dirk Eerdmans. He immigrated to the United States in 1902, heading for Grand Rapids, Michigan, a center of 19th-century Dutch immigration and

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

. In 1911 with his partner, Brant Sevensma, Eerdmans formed the Eerdmans–Sevensma book dealership, specializing in theological textbooks. In 1912, while still a student at

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed (Calvinist) ...

, he published a book in Dutch about the sinking of the ''Titanic''. In 1915, Sevensma left, and Eerdmans continued as sole owner of the renamed William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Over his career Eerdmans published books by authors including

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declar ...

, Richard J. Neuhaus,

Nicholas Wolterstorff Nicholas Paul Wolterstorff (born January 21, 1932) is an American philosopher and theologian. He is currently Noah Porter Professor Emeritus Philosophical Theology at Yale University. A prolific writer with wide-ranging philosophical and theologi ...

, Richard Mouw, Martin Marty, Rowan Williams, Joan Chittister,

Dorothy Day Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-known ...

Mark Noll Mark Allan Noll (born 1946) is an American historian specializing in the history of Christianity in the United States. He holds the position of Research Professor of History at Regent College, having previously been Francis A. McAnaney Professor o ...

, James Tunstead Burtchaell and many others. After his death in 1966, he was succeeded by his son, William B. Eerdmans Jr. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers began in 1995 as an imprint of William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, specializing in fiction and non-fiction for younger readers, from babies to young adults.

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External links

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

William B. Eerdmans (1880-1966)
at the New Netherland Institute
100 Years of Eerdmans: A Timeline of Major Events

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
{{Authority control Book publishing companies based in Michigan Christian mass media companies Christian publishing companies Companies based in Grand Rapids, Michigan Religion in Grand Rapids, Michigan Protestantism in Michigan Publishing companies established in 1911

William B. Eerdmans

See also

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