Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction

This "short and personal introduction" to Abraham Kuyper is a bit too short and too personal. Kuyper was not only a theologian but a political figure. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands and was a founder of the Anti-Revolutionary Party, a forebear of today's Christian Democratic Appeal in the Netherlands and of European Christian Democracy. Mouw's book shortchanges Kuyper's place as a politician and political theorist.Kuyper's theological conception of "sphere sovereignty" is inextricably bound to his opposition to the radical Enlightenment vision of the French Revolution. The French revolutionary government "issued decrees against the religious orders and passed laws abolishing trade unions and other social bodies, pressing further and further into the corporate and communal structures of religion, work, and family life. In this context, labor associations and religious associations were similarly excluded from the law and denied communal sovereignty in their respective realms [spheres] of work and spiritual development." {Lew Daly, "The Church of Labor," Democracy Journal, Fall 2011} Kuyper rejected such an all-encompassing role for the state. Instead, he promoted a corporatist structure in which social groups such as churches, trade unions, and employer associations would have assigned legal roles.In this brief volume Mouw touches on all these issues, but he does little to connect Kuyper's political activities and his theological views. Mouw's introduction to Kuyper is excellent as far as it goes but seems incomplete. For a more thorough introduction to Kuyper, choose  Religion, Pluralism, and Public Life , a collection of 20 essays, including one by Mouw.

Mouw’s brief portrayal of Kuyper’s theology was so clear and practical! I find myself really energized toward helping friends and colleagues engage with their culture and community. We can do this because we recognize the there is not a square inch . . .

While Mouw discusses Kuyper's racism, he does not address Kuyper's Anti Semitism.Serious omission given Kuyper wanted to make Jews second class citizens. Not exactlyan example of sphere sovereignty. I finished this book wanting much more information.Far too superficial even for a brief introduction.Lee

Richard Mouw has done a beautiful job encapsulating the essence of this one man whose imprint on Dutch and North American culture can not be overstated. Mouw's books are insightful, pleasant to read, and always good at capturing the nuggets of the subject he tackles. He has done it again.

I would rate more of these if there wasn't a required amount of words that I have to type out.

This book helped me understand the brutal choice of the older Dutch Reformed Whalers who chose to cannibalize the young boy in 'The Heart of the Sea.'Strange that a book on theology by a Seminary president would have few footnotes and no references. It's sort of a personal justification for using a brutal Christian faith to define all of life and even dominate others. It undermines the words of Jesus in the beatitudes and even such political ideas of the separation of church and state using the thought of a man cited by today's U.S. conservative capitalistic Calvinists like the nominee for Secretary of Education DeVos.But it is empty and unsatisfying for use by an outsider. Notably Kuyper panned the renaissance as liberal humanism...quite the contrast of most who believe the renaissance developed from a high enough view of God that Christianity could foster and be challenged by the truth of science and celebrated by art.

As far as introductions to neo-Calvinism go, this is the most lucid. Prof Mouw goes beyond the standard "take every square inch" models of Neo-Calvinism and asks us to reflect on what it means to be created for many-ness.His chapter on “Filling the Earth” is standard Kuyperian treatment, so I won’t spend much time on it here. His chapter “Celebrating Many-ness” was pure gold. Contrary to state-church claims, the church of Christ doesn’t depend on only one form and that being manifested in a national church. Indeed, we should celebrate a “multiplicity of institutions” (16). Pluriformity means “created complexity” (17). We have to be careful, though. Affirming many-ness without insisting on an integrated whole leads only to the nihilistic void of postmodernism.Sphere SovereigntySo what counts as a “creational sphere”? Mouw notes Kuyper wasn’t always clear. In fact, what is a sphere? Let’s call them structures where “interactions take place” and “authority is exercised” (23). Each structure has a “point” and to that point corresponds an authority-pattern (24).Per Kuyper, Christians must form collective entities within each “sphere.” The many-ness of mediating structures, per Peter Bellah, protects from both individualism and statism. It strengthens social bonds.The part I particularly enjoyed was the section on neo-Kuyperianism and the Holy Spirit. As a continuationist and a Kuyperian, I’ve often sensed that the two streams could merge quite fruitfully, yet I haven’t really seen how it is to be done. Mouw’s (or Kuyper’s) suggestions were interesting. The Holy Spirit is to prepare creation for God’s glorious future (88-89).PoliticsIndeed, we need a crowded, public square. Not a naked one. A pluralism under secularization but not secularism (110, Mouw quoting James Bratt). Mouw correctly notes how the term “Constantinian” has been so over-used to be useless (113). Kuyper is not a Constantinian (whatever that word means).ReflectionsI am not sure how Kuyper's correct insights on the antithesis give him any grounds on thinking a secular government will protect the "spheres." I agree with Kuyper that we should have a "crowded public square," and perhaps this "crowd" will make it difficult for the government to take away our liberties. Perhaps.All in all, an outstanding work.