On the Church

Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was a leading Dutch figure in education, politics, and theology. He was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, was appointed to Parliament, and served as prime minister. Kuyper also founded the Free University (VU) in Amsterdam, a political party, and a denomination, in addition to writing on a dizzying array of subjects.

Ad de Bruijne (Ph.D., Leiden University) is full professor of Christian ethics and spirituality at the Theological University Kampen, the Netherlands. His main field of research concerns public theology, where he tries to bring the neo-Calvinist tradition into dialogue with contemporary debates and proposals concerning the public calling of church and Christians in a post-Christendom context.

Andrew M. McGinnis (Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is a research fellow at the Junius Institute. He is the author of The Son of God Beyond the Flesh: A Historical and Theological Study of the extra Calvinisticum (Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2014) and the editor of Franciscus Junius' The Mosaic Polity (CLP Academic, 2015). He has written various articles and reviews and has assisted in the compilation of several academic bibliographies.

John Halsey Wood Jr. (Ph.D., Saint Louis University) is an independent scholar from Birmingham, Alabama. His book Going Dutch in the Modern Age: Abraham Kuyper's Struggle for a Free Church (Oxford, 2013) examines the development of Abraham Kuyper's free church ecclesiology.

Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was one of the most extraordinary individuals of his time. A prolific intellectual and theologian, he founded the Free University in Amsterdam and was instrumental in the development of Neo-Calvinism. He was also an active politician, serving as a member of Parliament in the Netherlands beginning in 1874 and serving as Prime Minister from 1901 to 1905.

At this intersection of church and state, he devoted much of his writing towards developing a public theology. His passion was to faithfully understand and engage culture through a Christian worldview. The most famous example is his articulation of the doctrine of common grace. His work has influenced countless others, including Francis Schaeffer, Cornelius Van Til, and Alvin Plantinga.

Jordan J. Ballor (ThD, University of Zurich; PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is a research fellow at the Acton Institute and serves as executive editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality. He is also associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary.

Melvin Flikkema (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is Senior Advisor at the Acton Institute. He coordinated the translation of the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology. He was previously the Provost of Kuyper College.

"Many of Abraham Kuyper's insights have had a hand in guiding my ecclesiological reflection for decades. This new collection of Kuyper's essays on the church, introduced by two helpful essays that show his contemporary significance, will demonstrate his ongoing importance for today's ecclesiological discussion. Kuyper writes in a time when the church is being marginalised to the private sphere under the tidal wave of the hostile religious vision of Enlightenment modernity. He struggles to find a role for the comprehensive missional vocation of the church in the public square that embraces both the insights of Anabaptism (the church is a colony of the kingdom) and Christendom (the church has shared public responsibility for cultural development) in ways similar to Lesslie Newbigin. That is precisely what we need today."

—Michael W. Goheen, Director of Theological Education, MTC, Scholar-in-Residence, Surge Network

"Years ago as a young church planter struggling around in the dark to understand the church's proper relationship to the culture around it, I discovered Kuyper's brilliant insight that the church is simultaneously a living organism and an institution. This profound insight was like a flash of lightning illuminating the path forward. I instantly recognized it as a way of thinking about the church that would renew it and empower her members to impact and shape the culture around it. It was both inward, focused on the biblical health of the institution, and outward, giving Christians the vision to missionally engage the culture outside the walls of the church. His insight became a valuable guide shaping everything we did at the church. Years later, I am so thankful for this new volume, On the Church, where Kuyper's valuable insights are now available for a new generation of pastors and theologians and church members who desperately need a vibrant public theology to guide them in these parlous times. I can't recommend this volume highly enough."

—Jim Belcher, President, Providence Christian College

"Who was Abraham Kuyper and what did he believe? For those who want to go deeper than just a snapshot and a summary, the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series provides depth and development in a very accessible format. Kuyper was not static as a person and the writings presented illumine a Kuyper who continually addressed the culture, context and church of his day. On the Church challenges us to engage the insights presented and the categories that are defined and refined by Kuyper. You may not always agree with Kuyper's articulations or his conclusions, but his ecclesiastical insights can still serve as a vital resource for the church today!"

—Jul Medenblik, President, Calvin Theological Seminary

"The writings of Abraham Kuyper are always stimulating, combining remarkable creativity and historical self-consciousness with solid biblical and confessional commitments. His reflections on the church are central to his work to renew Calvinism, coming as they do from a man who was not only a scholar, but also the son of a pastor and a one-time pastor himself. The writings in this volume continue to challenge us today as we see Kuyper seeking to understand and reform the church according to the Bible and in light of the modern, increasingly post-Christian world."
--W. Robert Godfrey, President, Westminster Seminary California
"Years ago as a young church planter struggling around in the dark to understand the church's proper relationship to the culture around it, I discovered Kuyper's brilliant insight that the church is simultaneously a living organism and an institution. This profound insight was like a flash of lightning illuminating the path forward. I instantly recognized it as a way of thinking about the church that would renew it and empower her members to impact and shape the culture around it. It was both inward, focused on the biblical health of the institution, and outward, giving Christians the vision to missionally engage the culture outside the walls of the church. His insight became a valuable guide shaping everything we did at the church. Years later, I am so thankful for this new volume, On The Church, where Kuyper's valuable insights are now available for a new generation of pastors and theologians and church members who desperately need a vibrant public theology to guide them in these parlous times. I can't recommend this volume highly enough."
--Jim Belcher, President, Providence Christian College
"Who was Abraham Kuyper and what did he believe? For those who want to go deeper than just a snapshot and a summary, the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series provides depth and development in a very accessible format. Kuyper was not static as a person and the writings presented illumine a Kuyper who continually addressed the culture, context and church of his day. On the Church challenges us to engage the insights presented and the categories that are defined and refined by Kuyper. You may not always agree with Kuyper's articulations or his conclusions, but his ecclesiastical insights can still serve as a vital resource for the church today!"
--Jul Medenblik, President, Calvin Theological Seminary
"The writings of Abraham Kuyper are always stimulating, combining remarkable creativity and historical self-consciousness with solid biblical and confessional commitments. His reflections on the church are central to his work to renew Calvinism, coming as they do from a man who was not only a scholar, but also the son of a pastor and a one-time pastor himself. The writings in this volume continue to challenge us today as we see Kuyper seeking to understand and reform the church according to the Bible and in light of the modern, increasingly post-Christian world."
--W. Robert Godfrey, President, Westminster Seminary California