The relationship between Christianity and politics is vexed, and for many (regardless if they know it or not) has been shaped by the thinking of Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) who served as the 20th Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1901-1905. A journalist, neo-Calvinist theologian and statesman, his political and theological views continue to be influential, especially in Reformed circles, and his thinking has impacted the views of Francis Schaeffer, Cornelius van Til, Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Chuck Colson and Tim Keller – to name a few. Sadly his influence can also been seen in the rise of Christian Nationalism in South Africa, which in turn led to the Apartheid idealogy- a reminder that things do not always turn out just as we might imagine.
Here are some of Kuyper’s insights…
- He is your friend who pushes you nearer to God – Abraham Kuyper
- When the principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then the battle is your calling, and peace has become sin. You must at the price of dearest peace lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy with all the fire of your faith – Abraham Kuyper
- What right does anyone have to restrict [the growth of the kingdom] to the spiritual realm alone? Rather, are we not obliged to apply this process of the kingdom’s forces to human society as a whole? Has the kingdom’s force not made itself felt in every area of our life – in the spiritual, the social and the material?… Christianity [is] being carried forth into the world, coming into contact with the elements and laws of human life and through that contact modifying and changing life entirely – Abraham Kuyper
- God is not honoured by those who close the second book of nature to ponder Scripture alone, but by those who in quiet obedience zealously study the two books of Scripture and nature – Abraham Kuyper
As always, nice chatting…
