Creating a Christian Worldview: Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism

by Peter Heslam

Overview

Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) dominated the religious and political life of the Netherlands for nearly half a century, and his ideas continue to inspire an international school of thought. This book by Peter Heslam discusses Kuyper's ideas in their context by providing a historical commentary on the book in which they receive their most significant expression, Lectures on Calvinism — a series of six lectures that Kuyper delivered at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1898.

Heslam begins by reviewing Kuyper's importance in the history of ideas and explaining why Lectures on Calvinism is still of special interest. In the main body of the book Heslam provides a probing analysis of each of the six lectures in turn. Central to Heslam's analysis is a discussion of the motivation of Kuyper's thought: why did he maintain the standpoints he did, and what did he hope to achieve by doing so? In answering this question, Heslam explores Kuyper's position relative to others of his time and in connection with the events of his own career.

Published in the centennial year of Abraham Kuyper's famous Stone Lectures, this volume offers a valuable study of Kuyper's thought and the abiding worldview that is his legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802843265
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/30/2012
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Peter Heslam is director of the Capitalism Project andlecturer in social and economic ethics at the LondonInstitute for Contemporary Christianity and tutor at RidleyHall, Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction

1. Kuyper's Significance
2. Why the Lectures on Calvinism?
3. Historical Context

3.1. Princeton
3.2. The Netherlands and Europe

4. Secondary Literature

4.1. Works in English
4.2. Works in Dutch
4.3. Literature on Verzuiling

Conclusion

Chapter Two: The Kuyper of the Stone Lectures

1. Childhood
2. Student
3. Beesd
4. Utrecht
5. Amsterdam
6. Member of Parliament
7. Brighton and Breakdown
8. Organization of Forces
9. University Founder
10. 1880-1898

Chapter Three: Kuyper's Visit to the United States of America

1. Preparations for Princeton
2. Visit to Princeton
3. American Tour
4. Kuyper's Vision of America

4.1. The Product of Dutch Calvinism
4.2. The Hope of the Future
4.3. The Struggle in America

Conclusion

Chapter Four: First Lecture: Calvinism a Life-System

1. Calvinism
2. Worldview
3. Modernism

3.1. The French Revolution
3.2. Pantheism
3.3. Evolutionism

Conclusion

Chapter Five: Second Lecture: Calvinism and Religion

1. The Fundamentals of Religion

1.1. Religion Is for God's Sake
1.2. Religion Operates Directly
1.3. Religion Is Comprehensive
1.4. Religion Is Soteriological

2. The Church

2.1. Organic
2.2. Democratic
2.3. Pluriform

Conclusion

Chapter Six: Third Lecture: Calvinism and Politics

1. Sovereignty in the State

1.1. The Calvinist Position
1.2. The Modernist Position

2. Sovereignty in Society

2.1. The Organic Nature of Society
2.2. The Mechanical Nature of Government
2.3. Sphere-Sovereignty and Verzuiling

3. Sovereignty in the Church
Conclusion

Chapter Seven: Fourth Lecture: Calvinism and Science

1. What Is Science?
2. Love for Science

2.1. Leiden University
2.2. The Doctrine of Decrees

3. The Domain of Science

3.1. Cosmic Redemption
3.2. Common Grace

4. The Liberty of Science
5. The Conflict in Science
6. The Conflict and Solution in Context

6.1. Warfield
6.2. The Warfare Metaphor
6.3. The Secularization of the University

Conclusion

Chapter Eight: Fifth Lecture: Calvinism and Art

1. The Democratization of Art
2. The Prejudice
3. Art, Religion, and Symbolism
4. The Place of Art in the Calvinistic Worldview

4.1. Calvin's Aesthetics
4.2. Calvinistic Aesthetics versus Idealism and Empiricism

5. Calvinism's Contribution to the Development of the Arts

5.1. The Principle: Common Grace
5.2. In Practice: Painting

Conclusion

Chapter Nine: Sixth Lecture: Calvinism and the Future

1. Malaise
2. Diagnosis
3. Ineffective Remedies

3.1. Protestantism
3.2. Roman Catholicism

4. The Only Effective Solution
5. Optimistic or Pessimistic?
Conclusion

Chapter Ten: Conclusion

1. Reception of the Lectures

1.1. Warfield
1.2. American Reviews

2. Final Conclusions

2.1. The Modernization of Calvinism
2.2. The Elimination of a Prejudice
2.3. A Fundamental Tension
2.4. An Originator of Verzuiling?
2.5. Further Research
2.6. The Question of Christianity and Culture

Bibliography of Cited Material
Index