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Cornelis van der Laan, Roelof
Polman and the Netherlands Foreward Evangelicalism, 11; Meteuchen, Pp. xv,
Sectarian
Birth by
Walter
364. ISBN 0-8108-2412-4.
Reviewed
by David Bundy
van
Pinkstergemeenten Churches in The Netherlands), Pentecostalism
North America. His
Flemish
speaking Belgium, Pinkstergeschiedenis 1982).
the founder
Netherlands,
Ph.D. dissertation
lation of this
English en
grooi
J. H. Kok,
1989).
The photographs
The volume makes
which
sought
Polman’s work
(Oct.
1903-Jan.
1906)
201
Against
His Will: Gerrit of
Pentecostalism in the J.
Hollenweger (Studies
in NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1991.
to EPTA Bulletin
in the Netherlands and
Churches in the The work was
presented
as a
of
Birmingham (England)
A Dutch trans-
contributions.
Firstly,
it
with context and to the revivalist
groups
in The Netherlands and
English
Polman was
deeply
influenced experience
of
spiritual
Cornelis van der
Laan,
former General
Secretary
of the
Broederschap
in Nederland
(Brotherhood
of Pentecostal
is well known to scholars of
European
because of his
insightful
contributions
and Pneuma and his participation in
scholarly
conferences in Europe and
is also co-author, with his brother Paul N. van der Laan,
of the standard
history
of Pentecostalism
Pinksteren in Beweging, Vijfenzeventig Jaar
in Nederland en Vlaanderen
(Kampen:
J. H. Kok,
In the newer
book,
van der Laan examines the life and work of
and initial leader of the Pentecostal
G. R. Polman
(1867-1932).
(1987)
at the
University
under the direction of Professor Walter J.
Hollenweger.
text was
published
as De
Spade Regen:
Geboorte
van de
Pinksterbeweging
in Nederland 1907-1930
(Kampen:
Dutch translation has fewer notes but more
and
plates.
a number of
important
describes in careful detail the
pre-history
of Dutch Pentecostalism attention both to its
socio/political
to minister and
gain
adherents
with which Polman was associated. Van der Laan
clearly
demonstrates the
Wesleyan/Holiness
roots of Dutch Pentecostalism as he describes
with the Salvation
Army
and his move to the U.S.A. to participate
in John Alexander Dowie’s Christian Catholic
Apostolic
Church in Zion, IL. The Polmans returned to Holland to take over the
leadership
of the Zionist
community
founded earlier
by A. S. Booth-Clibborn who had earlier been
supervisor
of the Polmans in the Dutch branch of the Salvation
Army.
As with
many American,
and German Holiness and
(future)
by
the Welsh revival and
longed
for an
renewal.
Pentecostalism which came to
Europe through
the medium of T. B. Barratt,
a Holiness Methodist
Episcopal
minister in Christiania
to Zurich. The Polmans’ friend and fellow former Salvation
Army
officer M. D. Voskuil went to investigate and immedi-
after his
return,
Wilhelmine Blekkink Polman
experienced glosso-
Norway
soon
spread
ately
Pentecostal
believers,
(Oslo)
1
202
lalia. The church in Amsterdam was established and a building secured. Polman founded
(April 1908)
and edited an
important periodical, Spade
Regen (Latter Rain). Secondly,
triumphant
years
chronicled. life
apparent lapse
Byposten
and Korset,r Seier.
van der Laan traces in careful detail the life of
Polman, examining
his troubled
early life,
his success in the Salvation
Army,
the
as an
internationally prominent
Pentecostal statesman and
theologian,
the
developments (some negative)
within the Pentecostal churches in The Netherlands and Polman’s involvement in each situa- tion,
the editorial and
publishing
work and he
probes
the
relationships with Polman’s nuclear
family.
Detailed attention is also
given
to the financial
profile
of the
congregation
and
family
on the basis of various financial and
legal
documents. The demise of Polman’s influence in Dutch Pentecostalism due to his adultery is carefully and
sympathetically
Every genre
of
source, including
oral
history,
related to the
of Polman has been
systematically
used.
Reports published
in Pente- costal
periodicals
in
England, Germany,
Sweden, Switzerland and the United States as well as in The Netherlands were found. The
only
is the lack of references to T. B. Barratt’s
publications,
analysis
of
Missionary
_
Indonesia
(then
raising
efforts
of the
theological posi-
Thirdly,
the reader is
provided
a detailed and
copiously
documented
the mission
programs
undertaken
by
the
fledgling
Dutch Pentecostal churches
(pp. 179-201 )
which
supplements
the material in Pinksteren in beweging.
Early participation
in Cecil Polhill’s Pentecostal
Union based in London is discussed as is the
founding
of the Dutch Pentecostal
Missionary Society (1920).
Mission efforts focused on
China,
Zaire
(then
the
Belgian Congo),
Venezuela and
the Dutch
Indies).
Extensive
prosopographical
data about
early
Dutch Pentecostal missionaries is
provided, including
dis- cussions of their
relationship
with Polman. There are references to fund
and
publicity reports
in Spade Regen,
along
with an initial assessment of the
impact
of missions and missionaries on Dutch Pentecostalism.
Fourthly,
van der Laan
proffers
an
exposition
tion of
Polman,
with
frequent
reference to the
writings
and intellectual contributions of his
wife, W.
Polman-Blekkink
(the
volume can also be read as a biography of Mrs.
Polman!).
The
ecumenical,
pacifist, eschatological
and
ecclesiological
delineated. The
negative response
of most Dutch churches to Pentecostalism as articulated
by
the Polmans is described and docu- mented. The thesis that Polman was a “sectarian
against
his will” is
thoughtfully
clearly
demonstrated.
internationalist, concerns of the Polmans are
Thus, this volume makes
significant
inquiry
related to Pentecostalism:
contributions to
many
fields of history, theology, ecumenics,
missiol-
has
implications
for and
presents
a
which Polman
came, as well as
ogy, prosopography.
As noted it also
challenge
to the earlier traditions out of
for those established churches which would
attempt
to live
consistently
2
203
their affirmed ecumenical commitments even with
regard
to the new religious
movements. In its
conception, development
and
presentation, the volume is a model of historical and
theological scholarship.
It is carefully, perhaps exhaustively,
researched and documented. A series of appendices provide primary
documents, a map locating early Pentecostal churches, statistics,
and detailed financial
reports
on the Polmans and their
ministry.
The
bibliography
is extensive. Professors
Dayton
and Rowe are to be
congratulated
for its publication in their
series,
Studies in Evangelicalism.
It is to be
hoped
that this book will stimulate more research on Pentecostal
history
and
theology.
It is also to be
hoped
that some of the
literary
monuments of
early
Dutch Pentecostalism will be reprinted
so as to be more
readily
available.
David
Bundy
is Librarian and Associate Professor of Church
History
at Christian
Theological Seminary
in Indianapolis, IN 60637.
3
