Richard Mouw, Author at Kuyperian Commentary

On May 16, 2016 By Richard Mouw In Theology 4

In Praise of Klaas Schilder

The work of Klaas Schilder (1890-1952) is not very well known in North America, but I hope that will change soon. He was a brilliant theologian—a courageous voice for Calvinist orthodoxy in the Netherlands for over four decades—who, while upholding the “cultural mandate” perspective that provides the basis for Dutch neo-Calvinist thought, disagreed with Abraham Kuyper on some key points. He sets forth his overall case in a concise manner in his little book, Christ and Culture, which has been available to the English-speaking world since 1977. Now, however, the folks at the Canadian Reformed Seminary in Hamilton, Ontario, have produced a much more readable translation, with helpful explanatory notes, which deserves careful attention from those of us in the Kuyperian camp. (Full disclosure: I wrote the Foreword to this new edition.)

As a Kuyper devotee, I do have some serious disagreements with the way Schilder makes his case. But on several key points he offers helpful words of caution to those of us who follow Kuyper. He rightly observes, for example, that Kuyper makes more than one “rather large leap” in claiming a biblical basis for the idea of sphere sovereignty. Even though I am convinced that a biblically sound Kuyperian-type case for diverse creational spheres can be developed, Schilder rightly pushes me to exercise considerable care in making the proper biblical moves.

For all of his criticisms of Kuyper, though, Schilder does not lose sight of the kinds of foundational emphases that Kuyper drew upon from the Reformed tradition. Schilder has his own criticisms of Anabaptist and Barthian perspectives, insisting—in formulations that any Kuyperian will find inspiring—that Christ is indeed the Lord of culture, and his followers must submit to his Lordship in all aspects of life. And while Schilder is not fond of the notion of common grace—such a key theological concept for many of us—Schilder nonetheless insists that we must not lose sight of the reality that all human beings, elect and non-elect, share a created “being together,” a sunousia, that has not been erased by the radical effects of the Fall. (more…)

On December 1, 2015 By Richard Mouw In Culture Like

Van Til and “the Real Estate Signs”

William Harry Jellema was a legendary philosophy professor at Calvin College. His students included Nicholas Wolterstorff, Alvin Plantinga, and William Frankena. He was also Cornelius Van Til’s teacher.

Van Til and Jellema came to represent two very different strands within the Dutch Calvinist community in the 20^th century. Jellema is known to have told his students that he fully expected to meet Socrates in heaven—not the kind of verdict that sat well with Van Til’s strong emphasis on the antithesis between biblically grounded presuppositions and those based on non-Christian worldviews.

As someone who often found myself being pulled back and forth between the two perspectives—and as an admirer of both Van Til and Jellema—I was delighted by a story that John R. Muether told in his fine biography of Van Til. Toward the end of his life, Van Til returned to Grand Rapids and visited Jellema, who was close to death. On this occasion Van Til thanked his former teacher for what he had learned from him. Jellema responded: “Yes, but Kees, it was you who at times kept us from going too far.”

While I never went as far as Jellema in my own views on common grace, I certainly went further than Van Til would have liked. But I might have gone even further if it was not for Van Til’s influence on my thinking. His 95 page book, Common Grace, was the first serious theological work that I read, as third year college student, and I went on to read extensively in Van Til’s writings. (more…)