Confessionele hermeneutiek. Vermittlungstheologie tussen belijden als opdracht en erfenis (1845-1855)

The reformed traditon features a tension between the historical confessions and the duty of confessing in response to God's revelation, which asks for a hermeneutics that understands the relation of contemporary Christians to ancient confessions. This article analyses the role of German theological movement of Vermittlungstheologie in this debate. After a sketch of the historical setting, the essay describes this movement’s theories on the matter of a common protestant confession (among others, the dual principle), of the necessity of differentiation, and the resulting practical consequences for the church the last aspect on the basis of the Acts of the Generalsynode of 1846. The article concludes with a brief discussion of this movement’s thought as a ‘confessional hermeneutics’.