Hendrik Gerhardus Stoker (1899–1993), born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, South Africa, was a leading

Calvinist 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 ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

who taught at

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier ( Afrikaans for "pretty ri ...

. He studied there and the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

, and he completed his

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

dissertation on "Nature and the forms of

conscience Conscience is a cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's moral philosophy or value system. Conscience stands in contrast to elicited emotion or thought due to associations based on immediate sens ...

" under

Max Scheler Max Ferdinand Scheler (; 22 August 1874 – 19 May 1928) was a German philosopher known for his work in phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical anthropology. Considered in his lifetime one of the most prominent German philosophers,Davis, Za ...

br>
Stoker taught at

Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (abbreviated as PU for CHE) was a South African university located in Potchefstroom. Instruction was mainly in Afrikaans. In 2004, the university was merged with other institutions to c ...

from 1925 to 1970. He developed a unique strand of Calvinistic philosophy called "Wysbegeerte van die skeppingsidee" or translated in English "Philosophy of the creation-idea". He's disagreed with

Herman Dooyeweerd Herman Dooyeweerd (7 October 1894, Amsterdam – 12 February 1977, Amsterdam) was a professor of law and jurisprudence at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam from 1926 to 1965. He was also a philosopher and principal founder of Reformational phil ...

and D. H. Th. Vollenhoven who called their philosophy " Wijsbegeerte van die Wetsidee" or translated " philosophy of the cosmonomic idea", because the creation was more encompassing principle for Stoker than the laws of creation. The name had the further benefit for Stoker that it was distinctly Christian, while the use of the term "law" instead of "creation" was preferred by Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven. Stoker is however not remembered for his unique variation of

Christian philosophy Christian philosophy includes all philosophy carried out by Christians, or in relation to the religion of Christianity. Christian philosophy emerged with the aim of reconciling science and faith, starting from natural rational explanations w ...

but for his defence of

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

in South Africa. He was a member of the Gereformeerde Kerke van Suid Afrika and a friend of the theologian and poet Totius. He advocated educational segregation for Africans, whites and Coloured people.Richard Elphick, T. R. H. ''Christianity in South Africa: A Political, Social, and Cultural History''. University of California Press. Davenport. pp. 373-373 He was imprisoned during 1942 to 1943 for his anti-England stance and his pro-

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...

and pro-German sympathies.

Work

* ''Een en ander oor menslike vrijheid''. In: ''Festschrift für H.J. de Vleeschauwer''. 1960, S. 150−172.

References

*John Van Der Stelt (1996) 'History of Christian philosophy: Lectures' (Dordt College) 1899 births 1993 deaths Calvinist and Reformed philosophers Academic staff of North-West University University of Cologne alumni {{SouthAfrica-academic-bio-stub