Catholicity, Orthodoxy, and Lordship
The great Calvinistic ambassador of the Netherlands, Abraham Kuyper, was born in 1837 and died in 1920. According to his teachers, young Abraham seemed to be a dull boy. a As time progressed, however, Kuyper was able to excel in every academic endeavor. At the age of 26, he had received a Doctorate in Sacred …
It’s all Kuyper’s fault. I have been pondering his words ever since 2003. Someone gave me a copy of his “Lectures on Calvinism” and it hit me with electrifying power. Now, mind you, I was already versed in Rushdoony, North, Van Til, Bahnsen, and Sproul, but Kuyper was from the past; an ancient past. At …
Assuming there is a legitimate place for some form of government aid in times of crisis (and notable theologians like John Frame and others agree with this), there is a fundamental temporariness to it as well. For the Dutch theologian, Abraham Kuyper, we should resist the excessive aid of government to allow the natural spheres …
For the Kuyper Lovers, here is the audio recording of his masterful Encyclopedia of Sacred Theology. Now you can carry Kuyper in your pocket!
In light of this comprehensive view of the Christian life, it is natural that another strong feature of Kuyperian thinking is an opposition to “escapism.” The Roman Church had abandoned any interest in a Biblical transformation of culture thus the holy life was equated to a monastic life,[1] since anything outside the Church was considered …
Continue reading “An Analysis of Kuyper’s Lecture: Calvinism a Life System, Part 2”
My top five are not ordinary classics but essential foundational works in the Reformed tradition. a) Martin Luther’s Catechism: https://catechism.cph.org It is known for its unique pastoral fervor in both life and practice. His distillation of the Ten Commandments is excellent. b) Calvin’s Dedication to the Prince in his Genesis commentary: https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom01/calcom01.v.html… Calvin’s prefaces are …
One well-known author wrote recently that the Christian influence could shape society’s conception of a just social order, but we shouldn’t expect policies or laws to be Christian. How is that possible? How can the Church go to the world but not expect the world to come to the Church? If members of the Church …
The talk on Thursday evening was a great way to connect with some of the young D.C. staffers and meet some veteran operatives. The intersection between religion and politics is fascinating, and I have yet to find someone with more astute insights than the Dutch Theologian/Politician Abraham Kuyper. While I disagree on a few points, …
The Church cannot function as an isolated sphere. She has a primary function that necessarily impacts the secondary function. Her liturgical cause is fundamental to her identity. She cannot be home for political partisanship. Her authority comes from on high. She is a heavenly city seeking to colonize earth (Matt. 6:4). But her worship is …
One of the greatest joys of my life was spending four years under Prof. John Frame at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL. Those four years also included an independent study with him on Abraham Kuyper. It was that one semester that cemented my affection for the Dutch theologian. Since then, I have not looked …