Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader

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Abraham 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.