Neo-Calvinism
Encyclopedia
Neo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch
Calvinism
, is the movement initiated by the theologian
and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper
.
has identified a number of different types of Dutch Calvinism: The Seceders—split into the Reformed Church “West” and the Confessionalists; and the Neo-Calvinists—the Positives and the Antithetical Calvinists. The Seceders were largely infralapsarian and the Neo-Calvinists usually supralapsarian.
Neo-Calvinism has been described in the following way:
Kuyper wanted to awaken the church from what he viewed as its pietistic slumber. He declared:
This refrain has become something of a rallying call for Neo-Calvinists.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
, is the movement initiated by the theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuijper generally known as Abraham Kuyper, was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian...
.
Introduction
James BrattJames Bratt
James Donald Bratt is a scholar of Abraham Kuyper, and is currently a full-time professor at Calvin College.An alumnus of Calvin, Bratt received his PhD from Yale University after writing his dissertation, Dutch Calvinism in Modern America. He is currently working on a biography of Kuyper...
has identified a number of different types of Dutch Calvinism: The Seceders—split into the Reformed Church “West” and the Confessionalists; and the Neo-Calvinists—the Positives and the Antithetical Calvinists. The Seceders were largely infralapsarian and the Neo-Calvinists usually supralapsarian.
Neo-Calvinism has been described in the following way:
Neocalvinism is postmodern Calvinism. Neocalvinism is a global cultural movement that is the result of people motivated by the religious dynamic of the Reformation trying to get to grips with the historical consequences and implications of modernity.
Kuyper wanted to awaken the church from what he viewed as its pietistic slumber. He declared:
No single piece of our mental world is to be sealed off from the rest and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’
This refrain has become something of a rallying call for Neo-Calvinists.
Emphases of Neo-Calvinism
- Jesus is Lord over all of creation. Jesus’ Lordship extends through every area and aspect of life it is not restricted to the sphere of church or of personal piety.
- The idea that all of life is to be redeemed. The work of Jesus on the cross extends over all of life no area is exempt from its impact. All knowledge is effected by the true knowledge of God through redemption in Christ.
- Cultural MandateCultural mandateThe cultural mandate or creation mandate is the divine injunction found in Genesis 1:28, in which God , after having created the world and all in it, ascribes to humankind the tasks of filling, subduing, and ruling over the earth...
. Genesis 1:26-28 has been described as a cultural mandate. It is the mandate to cultivate and develop the creation. There is a historical development and cultural unfolding. Some Neo-Calvinists hold that the Cultural Mandate is as important as the Great CommissionGreat CommissionThe Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism...
.
- Creation, fall and redemption. God’s good creation has been disrupted by the fall. Redemption is a restoration of creation.
- Sphere sovereigntySphere sovereigntyIn Neo-Calvinism, sphere sovereignty is the concept that each sphere of life has its own distinct responsibilities and authority or competence, and stands equal to other spheres of life. Sphere sovereignty involves the idea of an all encompassing created order, designed and governed by God...
(Soevereiniteit in eigen kring). Each sphere (or sector) of life has its own distinct responsibilities and authority as designed by God for instance, communities dedicated to worship, civil justice, agriculture, family, etc. and no one area of life is sovereign over another. Hence, neither faith-institutions nor an institution of civil justice (that is, the state) should seek totalitarian control or any regulation of human activity outside their limited competence.
- A rejection of dualism. Dualisms are (purportedly false) bifurcations, dichotomies, contrasts, or oppositions, such as the dualism between nature and grace that [allegedly] dominated much of ScholasticismScholasticismScholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
. In the Neo-Calvinist view, nature is the God-created and sustained cosmic order, not a "non-supernatural" category, and grace is God's means of renewing the cosmic order, it is not something "non-creational" added onto nature (albeit eschatological in consummated glorification of bodily resurrection to eternal life and cosmic transformation of the new heavens and earth).
- Structure and direction. Structure denotes created laws and norms for (other) created things. Direction denotes relative deviation or conformity to norms; primarily regarding the central orientation of the human heart toward or away from God in Christ.
- Common graceCommon graceCommon Grace is a theological concept in Protestant Christianity, primarily in Reformed and Calvinistic circles, referring to the grace of God that is either common to all humankind, or common to everyone within a particular sphere of influence...
. God providentially sustains the created order, restraining of possible evils and giving non-salvific good gifts to all humanity despite their fall into sin, God's curse, and his eventual condemnation of the unredeemed.
- Presuppositional apologeticsPresuppositional apologeticsIn Christian theology, presuppositionalism is a school of apologetics that presumes Christian faith is the only basis for rational thought. It presupposes that the Bible is divine revelation and claims to expose flaws in other worldviews...
. The only framework in which any fact about the world is intelligible is the Christian worldview in general, and the theologically Reformed worldview in particular. The principles of logic and the use of reason assume the existence of God. Presuppositionalism is a reductio ad absurdumReductio ad absurdumIn logic, proof by contradiction is a form of proof that establishes the truth or validity of a proposition by showing that the proposition's being false would imply a contradiction...
approach to Christian apologeticsChristian apologeticsChristian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world views...
, in that it attempts to demonstrate that all non-Christian worldviews are internally inconsistent.
- The antithesis. There is a struggle in history and within every person between submission to and rebellion against God; between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness; between the age to come (already inaugurated in Christ) and this present evil age (of sin).
- World viewWorld viewA comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
s. Neo-Calvinists reject the notion that theoretical thought can be religiously neutral. All thinking and practice is shaped by world views and religious ground motivesReligious ground motiveReligious ground motive is a conceptual construct of the reformational philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd. Dooyeweerd saw four great distinct value-systems that contested the general formative power over Western culture and civilization for within - in comparison, say, to an Islamic RGM...
. For the Neo-Calvinist, life in all its aspects can be shaped by a distinctively Christian world view.
- The role of law. For Neo-Calvinists, "Law" is more than the Mosaic DecalogueTen CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, or even the entire abiding moral will of God. Law is, rather, the order for creation (or creation ordinances) established by God and includes a variety of types of cultural norms including physiological, psychological, logical, historical, linguistic, social, economic, aesthetic, juridical, and faith norms.
Key individuals associated with Neo-Calvinism
- Guillaume Groen van PrinstererGuillaume Groen van PrinstererGuillaume Groen van Prinsterer , Dutch politician and historian, was born at Voorburg, near the Hague.-Overview:...
- Abraham KuyperAbraham KuyperAbraham Kuijper generally known as Abraham Kuyper, was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian...
- Herman BavinckHerman BavinckHerman Bavinck was a Dutch Reformed theologian and churchman.-Background:Bavinck was born in the town of Hoogeveen in the Netherlands to a German father. He first went to theological school at Kampen, but then moved on to Leiden for further training...
- Herman DooyeweerdHerman DooyeweerdHerman Dooyeweerd was a Dutch juridical scholar by training, who by vocation was a philosopher and the founder of the philosophy of the cosmonomic idea. He received early support for his work from his brother-in-law D. H. Th. Vollenhoven...
- Albert Wolters
- Richard MouwRichard MouwRichard J. Mouw is currently President at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also holds the post of Professor of Christian Philosophy.- Education and career :...
- Craig BartholomewCraig BartholomewCraig Bartholomew is the H. Evan Runner Professor of philosophy at Redeemer University College. He has published a great number of works, and is involved in a number of different Academic communities...
- Alvin PlantingaAlvin PlantingaAlvin Carl Plantinga is an American analytic philosopher and the emeritus John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, and Christian apologetics...
- Nicholas WolterstorffNicholas WolterstorffNicholas Wolterstorff is an American philosopher and currently the Noah Porter Emeritus Professor of Philosophical Theology at Yale University...
- George MarsdenGeorge MarsdenGeorge M. Marsden is an historian who has written extensively on the interaction between Christianity and American culture, particularly on Christianity in American higher education and on American Evangelicalism...
- Cornelius PlantingaCornelius PlantingaCornelius "Neal" Plantinga, Jr. was president of Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan from 2002 through 2011....
- D. H. Th. VollenhovenD. H. Th. VollenhovenDirk Hendrik Theodoor Vollenhoven was with Herman Dooyeweerd the first generation of reformational philosophers, an intellectual movement with which Vollenhoven worked communally from his election in 1936 as President of the newly-organized group formed to advance the movement; the organization is...
- E. L. Hebden TaylorE. L. Hebden TaylorRevd Eustace Lovatt Hebden Taylor was a Reformational Anglican vicar. He was the son of missionaries and born in Katanga, Belgian Congo....
- H. Evan RunnerH. Evan RunnerHoward Evan Runner, often referred to as H. Evan Runner, was professor of philosophy at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA from 1951 until his retirement in 1981....
- Hans RookmaakerHans RookmaakerHenderik Roelof "Hans" Rookmaaker was a Dutch Christian scholar, professor, and author who wrote and lectured on art theory, art history, music, philosophy, and religion....
- Auguste Lecerf
Neo-Calvinist institutions and organizations
- Arrowhead Christian AcademyArrowhead Christian AcademyArrowhead Christian Academy is a private junior high and secondary school located in Redlands, California.-History and Campus:Co-founded in 1979 by Dr. Larry W. Poland Arrowhead Christian Academy is a private junior high and secondary school located in Redlands, California.-History and...
in Redlands, CaliforniaRedlands, CaliforniaRedlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :... - Calvin CollegeCalvin CollegeCalvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism...
, Grand Rapids, Michigan - Cardus (formerly known as The Work Research Foundation), Hamilton, Ontario
- The Center for Public JusticeCenter for Public JusticeThe Center for Public Justice is a Christian think tank which undertakes to bring a Christian worldview to bear on policy issues.It is rooted in the European Christian-political tradition of such Dutch figures as Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Abraham Kuyper, and Herman Dooyeweerd. James W...
- The Christian Labour Association of CanadaChristian Labour Association of CanadaThe Christian Labour Association of Canada is a labour union which represents workers in the construction, health care and food industries. The association was established in 1952 to represent workers on the basis of "Christian social principles"...
- CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach), Pittsburgh, PA
- Dordt CollegeDordt CollegeDordt College is a private, Christian, liberal arts college located in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was founded in 1955 and is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church. The college name is a reference to the Synod of Dort....
, Sioux Center, Iowa, USA. - Free UniversityVrije UniversiteitThe Vrije Universiteit is a university in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch name is often abbreviated as VU and in English the university uses the name "VU University". The university is located on a compact urban campus in the southern part of Amsterdam in the Buitenveldert district...
in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... - Institute for Christian StudiesInstitute for Christian StudiesThe Institute for Christian Studies Toronto, Ontario is one of several unrelated institutions bearing that name.ICS Toronto is an independent graduate school of inter-disciplinary philosophy. At ICS, Junior Members and Senior members take part in shared learning through participatory seminars,...
, Toronto, Canada - Kuyper CollegeKuyper CollegeKuyper College is a ministry-focused Christian leadership college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, that educates and trains Christian leaders for ministry and service...
- Kuyper Foundation
- Redeemer University CollegeRedeemer University CollegeRedeemer University College is an undergraduate Christian Liberal Arts and Science University located in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1982, Redeemer stands in the Reformed Tradition and offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, and Bachelor of Science degrees.-History:The college...
, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada - Trinity Christian CollegeTrinity Christian CollegeTrinity Christian College is a liberal arts college located in Palos Heights, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago. The college was founded in 1959 by a group of Chicago businessmen who wanted to establish a college providing students with a Christian higher education in a Reformed tradition...
, Palos Heights, IL - The Kings CollegeKing's University College (Edmonton)The King's University College is a private liberal arts college, located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The University was founded by members of the Christian Reformed Church who saw a need for a regional, trans-denominational, Christian college in Western Canada...
, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
External links
- Kuyper Foundation
- Information About Neocalvinism
- Dutch Neo-Calvinism and the roots for transformation: an introductory essay (PDF file)
- Derek Melleby’s series on Neo-Calvinism: Neocalvinism 101
- All of life redeemed
- Al Wolters “What is to be done ...towards a neocalvinist agenda?”
- The Center for Public Justice
- Dutch Treat - A Neocalvinist commentary
- Friend of Kuyper - Neo-Calvinist Resources