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.

One theme that Schilder develops in a particularly helpful manner for our efforts to think biblically about contemporary cultural patterns is his insistence that we take seriously the “man of lawlessness” prophecy of 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Many of us in the Reformed community have reacted so strongly against the abuses of “Bible prophecy” schemes that we ignore the very clear apostolic warning that prior to the Return of Christ there will be an unprecedented manifestation of evil.

The Kuyperian framework provides an insightful framework for understanding this revelation about the end-times. For Kuyper, the history of creation is, among other things, a process of an ongoing differentiation of cultural spheres. An obvious example is the tribe, which is an undifferentiated cultural entity: the tribal chief is the leader of a kinship system, but also has authority over economics, the military, cultic religious practices, the arts, the games, agriculture, and the like. But in historical development these spheres become differentiated. In his 1898 Stone Lectures, Kuyper made this point with specific reference to the sphere of art. In ancient Greece and Rome, art was intimately interwoven with temple practices, and during the medieval era the church was the primary patron of the arts. In the Reformation and Renaissance eras, however, artistic activity began to come into its own as a distinct sphere of cultural production. And this, Kuyper insisted, was a good thing.

The problem in contemporary life, however, is that the complex sphere-diversity of present day culture is not seen as having unifying connections. Postmodern thinkers recognize this when they celebrate the fact that there is no integrating “meta-narrative” to the complex diversity of contemporary human life. In our individual lives this takes the form of increasing role-fragmentation. How do I integrate my life as a parent, a spouse, a consumer, a sports fan, a worker, and he like?

The Christian answer to this problem of sphere- and role-fragmentation is, of course, the supreme Lordship of Jesus Christ. I must view the complexity of my life in the light of a biblical worldview that recognizes that he holds all things together. The same Lord who calls me to sexual fidelity also calls me to submit to his will in the sphere of political life. To fail to realize the unifying power of the Gospel in our lives is to face the real likelihood of joining the Gadarene demoniac in his soul-wrenching cry: “We are legion for we are many.”

The increasing fragmentation of human life, both collectively and in our individual selves, suggests that a time is fast arriving when the results of fragmenting will be so extreme that the positive effects of the operations of common grace will be greatly reduced and the full reality of fallenness will be revealed. Thus the coming reign of “the man of lawlessness.” At that point, the only hope for human culture—as well as for individuals—is that the Savior will return to make all things new, and Christ will be “all in all.”

While none of that is cause for pessimism, it does call us to a Kingdom realism. Schilder pays more attention than many Kuyperians do to why a proper understanding of “Christ and culture” requires careful and detailed theological concentration on the person and work of the Christ whose cultural authority we are attempting to discern. And these days that attentiveness may require us to pray with renewed fervor, “Come quickly Lord Jesus!”

covenant, Kuyper, Kuyperian, Life, Schilder, Sphere Sovereignty