This article argues that Herman Bavinck's organic worldview allows him to use classical and modern thinkers in an eclectic yet theologically principled manner. To vindicate this claim, the article observes Bavinck's self-conscious comments regarding the task of Reformed catholicity, his use of Schleiermacher and Augustine to construct a theological account of self-consciousness, and his resituating of Thomistic motifs within an organic framework in his epistemology. In so doing, the article suggests that Bavinck's catholicity is broader than previously observed, thus generating a different way of interpreting Bavinck's use of thinkers who are often thought to be in tension.

Given the many modern and post‐modern fashions of reasoning, this contribution is a programmatic proposal for a new kind of thinking in the field of theology. It is deliberately called a “method of concordance,” and it relies in the first place on a semantic exploration and a conceptual analysis of the term ‘concordance’ itself. Hence making an appeal to the heart, this method aims at integrating all human capacities in the never‐ending search for truth. With a view to do that, a firm confidence in the unfolding of reality and an enlargement of the concept of reason are regarded both as indispensable and wise. It is further argued that the proposal for a method of concordance can rely on efforts made in the history of thought, among others, by Anselm, Jaspers, and Baader. Next to these probably unexpected references, an appeal is also made to contemporary thinkers such as Hebblethwaite, Turner, Valadier, and Desmond. The article concludes with pointing to some methodological and epistemological consequences of a method of concordance, and thereby elucidates why speaking ‘for’ truth is to be preferred over speaking ‘about’ truth.