Introduction:
“I will thus paint Kuyper warts and all – both the real ones and the ones that might seem like blemishes only to us. As a real Calvinist he would understand such a portrait, even though he might not like it.”1 James D. Bratt writes an honest and perceptive biography of the life of a very important theologian and politician in Reformed history: Abraham Kuyper. It is entitled Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat. The purpose of this book as a biography is to help the reader understand exactly who this man was. The strength of this biography may not necessarily be how concise it is, but Bratt uses the timeline of Kuyper's life as a window into his teachings, and his many roles as politician, pastor, journalist, as well as the many other hats he donned during his lifetime.
Summary/Structure:
James Bratt uses the person of Kuyper as a lens into three aspects which dominate the life and teachings of Kuyper: the contemporary nature of his efforts, his creativity, and the comprehensiveness of his work. This was a project which had massive contemporary implications: for all the intellectual pursuits. As Kuyper drew his logical lines from principle to application, he was remarkably creative and instinctive. But Kuyper large scope of work which was quite comprehensive. All things must come under the sovereignty of God: from science to art to politics and of course the church. As he himself stated with passion and vigour: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, 'Mine!'”!2 This statement has become so popular because it is essentially the thesis statement of Kuyper's life work.
In the first section of the book, 'Foundations (1837-1877)', James Bratt outlines some of the preliminary stages of Kuyper's life. He was born into a pastor's family, and into a divided political and church world. By 1863, Kuyper had a doctorate. During his education he struggled with theological discontent and was steeped in German philosophy and literature, but in 1863 he experienced his first conversion. Following this were his first years as a young pastor, his conversion to a Calvinist way of thinking, and then his budding career as a politician. This was also a time where he made contact with the Holiness Movement in England, fell in love with it, and then was disillusioned by it when his hero fell into sin. This disillusionment lead him deeper into Calvinism.
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