Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was a Reformed pastor and theologian who dominated the religious and political life of the Netherlands for nearly half a century and whose ideas continue to inspire an international school of thought. He founded the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, organized the first major Christian political party in Europe, and served as prime minister of the Netherlands. Kuyper lectured and wrote many books on Reformed theology and generally sought to show the public relevance of Christian faith to modern life. James D. Bratt is professor of history at Calvin College.
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Reviews
Biblical Theology Bulletin "Abraham provides a helpful discussion of life after death in Christian faith traditions as grounds of hope for the believer. . . . [An] outstanding work of heart, mind and spirit: '" Church History "Bratt is a skilled editor, and his selections from Kuyper have the advantage of representing both different periods in Kuyper's development and the major themes in the Dutch conservative's thought. . . Although it has been a century since Kuyper presented his ideas to an American audience in the Stone Lectures at Princeton Seminary, many American religious historians are just beginning to appreciate his impact on American evangelicalism. Yet, much of neo-evangelical as well as present-day evangelical theology is inexplicable without Kuyper in the background. Bratt has done American religious historians a major service by publishing these texts in a single volume." Library Journal "Bratt not only sets Kuyper's work in its 19th-century context but shows the relevance of his ideas to contemporary debates on modernism, evangelicalism, and fundamentalism." The Weekly Standard "The appearance of a new hefty volume . . . is consequently a major event. The essays in the collection, skillfully edited and introduced by James Bratt, display the range of Kuyper's intellectual contributions. . . Kuyper's writings deserve sustained attention. . . As a successful politician, Abraham Kuyper may provide a model of Christian statesmanship. But it is as a thinker that he offers what we need most: a way for theologically informed Christians to grasp both what they should seek, and what they should not seek, from politics in a democracy."