Ordinary labor is spiritual work when it is done in service of the Lord of Spirits
Modern Christians, conditioned into a functional gnosticism, think of serving the Lord as something that happens in church—so the ultimate version of this service is being a pastor, or maybe a missionary (mission is even in the name, after all). If they are not called to this, they think they are called to something lesser. As you now know, Scripture has a much broader and more holistic view of service...
A translation extract from "Three Little Foxes" ("Drie Kleine Vossen") 1901
This is a preliminary, provisional translation of a portion of Abraham Kuyper's work, "Three Little Foxes" (Drie Kleine Vossen), published in 1901. The book takes inspiration from Song of Solomon 2:15: "Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes" (NKJV). Kuyper uses the metaphor of foxes spoiling the vines to illustrate three negative influences on the church: intellectualism, mysticism, and activism. In this translation, we focus on the section about mysticism, which is still relevant today.
A Biography of Abraham Kuyper the Alpinist, Globetrotter, Celebrated Speaker, Scholar, Activist, Journalist and Statesman
Who was Abraham Kuyper? We know his books, we know his vast opinions, but do we know his actions? Do we know how he thought of himself? Indeed, there is a folk "history" of Kuyper alive and not-so-well here in the USA, but is what we have been told actually true to the historical record? Was Kuyper really a jerk whereas his younger co-laborer Bavinck the humble and kind man - or, was actually, contrary to popular belief, the nice guy and it was Herman Bavinck that was the disagreeable one? Was Kuyper truly genuinely disdained...
You Were Made for This
I assume that you desire many of the same things that most humans desire. I assume you often have an unquenchable thirst for things like happiness, to be attractive, to be celebrated, to have sex and to feel good, to be care-free, to be secure (health, own a home, money, etc.), to have healthy relationships (family, friends, etc.), to make your life “count”, and other things like this. These desires are about as human as you can get. So here we are, a bunch of humans, wanting to be human. For thousands of years...
God's child remains the old man's grave-digger until the hour of his own departure.
God's child remains the old man's grave-digger until the hour of his own departure. Nevertheless he dies to him so completely that at last he loses all confidence in him, thoroughly convinced that he is without excuse, an abominable wretch, a reprobate, and a deceiver, capable of all evil. And when occasionally he indulges in scornful mirth at the old man's pride and practises, it is not in boastfulness of his own work or of his fellow men, but glorying only in the gracious work of his God.
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Here are 33 short entries from on Ecclesiastes by AA van Ruler translated from the Dutch to English. There isn't much (that I know of) out there in English by van Ruler, but I have been searching every dusty corner of the internet to see what I might find abut...
The Baptist shift from Calvin’s “Feeding” to Bunyan’s “Memorial”
When it comes to baptism and the Lord’s Supper, many Baptists reject the language of sacrament. As a people of the book, the logic goes, Baptists must not let tradition supersede the Bible. So Baptists tend to view baptism and Communion as ordinances and symbols, not sacraments. But the history...
by Steve Bishop
There has been a recent surge in interest in neo-Calvinism – not least in the works of two of the fathers of neo-Calvinism Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) and Herman Bavinck (1854-1921). This is due, in part, to the recent English translations of their works. The translators are often unknown heroes. This...
Do you know you would have done otherwise?
Jonathan Edwards owned a slave. George Whitfield owned slaves and was a pro-slavery activist. Thomas Jefferson, who said “all men are created equal part,” was a slave owner. Should we cancel Whitfield, burn our “Jonathan Edwards is my homeboy” shirts, and take some dynamite to Jefferson’s face on Mount Rushmore?...
Translating Kuyper, the rise of liberalism amongst the ICS and Neo-Calvinists, and reformation not revolution.
In this episode with Harry van Dyke, we talk about translating Kuyper and Groen van Prinsterer, the liberal shift of many Neo-Calvinists and the ICS, sitting under H. Evan Runner, gun control, "Gay Christians", a new Neo-Calvinist research center, and growing up and playing on the same streets as Geerhardus...
by Steve Bishop
By Steve Bishop Almost all of Kuyper’s writings were in Dutch. Until the Abraham Kuyper Translation Project was launched in 2011 only a small selection of Kuyper’s works was available in English. Kuyper has had many translators over the years. These are often the unsung heroes of the Kuyperian tradition....
"Modernism, which denies and abolishes every difference, cannot rest until it has made woman man and man woman"
"Modernism, which denies and abolishes every difference, cannot rest until it has made woman man and man woman, and, putting every distinction on a common level, kills life by placing it under the ban of uniformity. One type must answer for all, one uniform, one position and one and the...
David is a type of Christ and "You aren't David" but is there more to the story than shadows and types?
It’s no secret that the Bible has a lot of stories; at Covenant [they] are concerned to show how it all fits with the Big Story. But what are we to do with the littler stories? We warn you about an overly simplistic approach, “be like David.” But still; might...
Unity in diversity & God's moral law
I thought it appropriate to offer a synthesis of what the Neo-Calvinist Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck argues about collisions of duties (most often called moral dilemmas or conflicts of moral absolutes). The purpose here is not to offer a position, but to offer the approach of an influential theologian to...