Creating a Christian Worldview

by Heslam, Peter Somers; Kuyper, Abraham

• ISBN13: 9780802843265
• ISBN10: 0802843263
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-04-01
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Chapter One: Introduction	1	(26)
1. Kuyper's Significance	2	(7)
2. Why the Lectures on Calvinism?	9	(2)
3. Historical Context	11	(7)
3.1. Princeton	11	(4)
3.2. The Netherlands and Europe	15	(3)
4. Secondary Literature	18	(8)
4.1. Works in English	18	(3)
4.2. Works in Dutch	21	(3)
4.3. Literature on Verzuiling	24	(2)
Conclusion	26	(1)
Chapter Two: The Kuyper of the Stone Lectures	27	(30)
1. Childhood	28	(1)
2. Student	29	(3)
3. Beesd	32	(3)
4. Utrecht	35	(2)
5. Amsterdam	37	(2)
6. Member of Parliament	39	(1)
7. Brighton and Breakdown	40	(3)
8. Organization of Forces	43	(3)
9. University Founder	46	(3)
10. 1880-1898	49	(8)
Chapter Three: Kuyper's Visit to the United States of America	57	(28)
1. Preparations for Princeton	58	(5)
2. Visit to Princeton	63	(3)
3. American Tour	66	(8)
4. Kuyper's Vision of America	74	(9)
4.1. The Product of Dutch Calvinism	74	(4)
4.2. The Hope of the Future	78	(2)
4.3. The Struggle in America	80	(3)
Conclusion	83	(2)
Chapter Four: First Lecture: Calvinism a Life-System	85	(28)
1. Calvinism	85	(3)
2. Worldview	88	(8)
3. Modernism	96	(15)
3.1. The French Revolution	97	(4)
3.2. Pantheism	101	(3)
3.3. Evolutionism	104	(7)
Conclusion	111	(2)
Chapter Five: Second Lecture: Calvinism and Religion	113	(29)
1. The Fundamentals of Religion	114	(18)
1.1. Religion Is for God's Sake	114	(1)
1.2. Religion Operates Directly	115	(2)
1.3. Religion Is Comprehensive	117	(6)
1.4. Religion Is Soteriological	123	(9)
2. The Church	132	(7)
2.1. Organic	133	(2)
2.2. Democratic	135	(1)
2.3. Pluriform	136	(3)
Conclusion	139	(3)
Chapter Six: Third Lecture: Calvinism and Politics	142	(25)
1. Sovereignty in the State	143	(11)
1.1. The Calvinist Position	143	(4)
1.2. The Modernist Position	147	(7)
2. Sovereignty in Society	154	(7)
2.1. The Organic Nature of Society	155	(2)
2.2. The Mechanical Nature of Government	157	(1)
2.3. Sphere-Sovereignty and Verzuiling	158	(3)
3. Sovereignty in the Church	161	(4)
Conclusion	165	(2)
Chapter Seven: Fourth Lecture: Calvinism and Science	167	(29)
1. What Is Science?	169	(2)
2. Love for Science	171	(4)
2.1. Leiden University	171	(1)
2.2. The Doctrine of Decrees	172	(3)
3. The Domain of Science	175	(4)
3.1. Cosmic Redemption	175	(1)
3.2. Common Grace	176	(3)
4. The Liberty of Science	179	(2)
5. The Conflict in Science	181	(5)
6. The Conflict and Solution in Context	186	(8)
6.1. Warfield	186	(4)
6.2. The Warfare Metaphor	190	(2)
6.3. The Secularization of the University	192	(2)
Conclusion	194	(2)
Chapter Eight: Fifth Lecture: Calvinism and Art	196	(28)
1. The Democratization of Art	198	(3)
2. The Prejudice	201	(2)
3. Art, Religion, and Symbolism	203	(6)
4. The Place of Art in the Calvinistic Worldview	209	(6)
4.1. Calvin's Aesthetics	210	(1)
4.2. Calvinistic Aesthetics versus Idealism and Empiricism	211	(4)
5. Calvinism's Contribution to the Development of the Arts	215	(5)
5.1. The Principle: Common Grace	215	(3)
5.2. In Practice: Painting	218	(2)
Conclusion	220	(4)
Chapter Nine: Sixth Lecture: Calvinism and the Future	224	(27)
1. Malaise	226	(2)
2. Diagnosis	228	(1)
3. Ineffective Remedies	229	(8)
3.1. Protestantism	229	(5)
3.2. Roman Catholicism	234	(3)
4. The Only Effective Solution	237	(6)
5. Optimistic or Pessimistic?	243	(6)
Conclusion	249	(2)
Chapter Ten: Conclusion	251	(20)
1. Reception of the Lectures	251	(7)
1.1. Warfield	251	(5)
1.2. American Reviews	256	(2)
2. Final Conclusions	258	(13)
2.1. The Modernization of Calvinism	258	(3)
2.2. The Elimination of a Prejudice	261	(1)
2.3. A Fundamental Tension	262	(1)
2.4. An Originator of Verzuiling?	263	(1)
2.5. Further Research	263	(3)
2.6. The Question of Christianity and Culture	266	(5)
Bibliography of Cited Material	271	(24)
Index	295