Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial ReaderAbraham Kuyper (1837 - 1920) is a significant figure in the history of the Netherlands and one of the most remarkable figures in the annals of Calvinism. Kuyper celebrated the Reformed founders, subscribed heart and soul to their teachings, and worked ceaselessly to restore their authority in an age that had either forgotten them or contradicted their word. From their theology, Kuyper extruded a whole worldview, and by that worldview he hoped to refashion the politics, scholarship, art, and social arrangements of his time. "Calvinism" was his soul and system, the purest form of Christianity, the treasure of the past, the hope of the future. This anthology, published in the centennial year of Kuyper's famous Stone Lectures, gathers sixteen key writings by Kuyper never before available in English. Included are his definitive statements on politics, education, culture, and the religious currents and social problems of his time. Also included are Kuyper's own conversion narrative, his critiques of Modernism and of Holiness theology, his proposals on common grace and Calvinist politics, his reflections on a culture in thrall to pantheism and evolution, and his classic address on "sphere sovereignty." In his introduction, editor James Bratt sets Kuyper's work in its 19th century context and shows the relevance of his ideas to contemporary debates on modernism, evangelicalism, and fundamentalism. Bratt also provides helpful explanatory notes and a brief introduction to each piece. Photographs, cartoons, and short excerpts from some of Kuyper's better-known works make this an attractive volume that will stand as the definitive Kuyper anthology for years to come. |
Contents
Abraham Kuyper His World and Work | 1 |
The Curse of Modern Life 1869 | 19 |
Confidentially 1873 | 45 |
False and True Preservation 1870 | 65 |
A Fata Morgana in the Christian Domain 1871 | 87 |
It Shall Not Be So Among You 1886 | 125 |
Perfectionism 1879 | 141 |
Common Grace 19024 | 165 |
Our Instinctive Life 1908 | 255 |
Source and Stronghold of Our Constitutional Liberties 1874 | 279 |
The South African Crisis 1900 | 323 |
The Blurring of the Boundaries 1892 | 363 |
Evolution 1899 | 403 |
Common Grace in Science 1904 | 441 |
Sphere Sovereignty 1880 | 461 |
Selected Bibliography | 491 |
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Kuyper Amsterdam animals Antirevolutionary become Beesd believe Boers boundary Brielle called Calvinism Calvinist century Christian church of Christ circle cites common grace confession conscience conservatism creation Darwin death divine Dutch earth England English eternal ethics everything evolution existence eyes fact faith false France freedom French French Revolution German glory God's Haeckel heart Heidelberg Catechism higher holy honor Huguenots human idea ideal instinctive Jesus king Kuyper note labor Liberals liberty living Lord mind Modernism Modernist moral national church nature Netherlands never organization original pantheism party person philosophy political precisely principle question reality Reformed religion remain root Scripture Secession of 1834 sense social society soul South Africa sovereign special grace sphere sovereignty spirit struggle theology theory things thinking thought tion true uniformity unity Utrecht whole wisdom Word