oa Vrijgemaakte vragensteller

Rev. B. Telder served the Reformed Church (liberated) of Breda in de mid-twentieth century, and came into trouble with ecclesial authorities because of his opinions on the afterlife. He was somewhat critical of the authority the Reformed confessions had in his denomination, and focused strictly on the text of the Bible. He concluded that body and soul belonged together even after death. Until Jesus Christ’s second coming the dead were not with Christ yet, but in a state of sleep. This opinion conflicted with the Reformed confessions, and Telder was sued. Geert van Dijk situates Telder’s conflict in the wider context of tensions within his denomination. In the end Telder was not deposed, but he left the denomination in 1964 with a part of his congregation.