Directory of Kuyper, Abraham Resources

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Any paper or book on Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) worth its weight begins with this, perhaps his most famous quote, taken from his inaugural address at the opening of the Free University of Amsterdam, which he founded in 1880: "There is not an inch in the entire domain of our human life of which Christ, who is sovereign of all, does not proclaim 'Mine!'" In this simple but powerful assertion Kuyper summarizes both his world view and life passion. Abraham Kuyper was an extraordinary figure uniquely capable of wearing several hats throughout his long public career as pastor, theologian, scholar, journalist, educator and statesman. Although he began in the parish ministry, he moved on to become editor of two periodicals; to found the Antirevolutionary Party, the first Dutch political party and the first Christian Democratic party in the world; and to establish the Free University, a Christian university established on Reformed principles. He was first elected to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament in 1874 and eventually served as Prime Minister from 1901 to 1905. Kuyper's thought was introduced to North America in 1898, when he delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Seminary. Although Kuyper was not an academic political theorist, he nevertheless laid the foundations for a highly original approach to politics that would come to be labelled "Kuyperian." Its originality consisted in the fact that he sought to articulate a consistently Christian view of the place of politics in God's world free from the distortions of various non-Christian ideologies. The most characteristic feature of Kuyper's political thought is the principle of "sphere sovereignty." Sphere sovereignty implies three things: (1) ultimate sovereignty belongs to God alone; (2) all earthly sovereignties are subordinate to and derivative from God's sovereignty; and (3) there is no mediating earthly sovereignty from which others are derivative. Current efforts at rehabilitating what is often called "civil society" owe something to this principle.

Resources in This Category

• Abraham Kuyper

  http://www.members.shaw.ca/jgfriesen/Mainheadings/Kuyper.html
  Article which shows the effect of Franz von Baader on the thinking of Kuyper

• Abraham Kuyper

  http://www.allofliferedeemed.co.uk/kuyper.htm
  A set of links to works by Kuyper, books and articles about him, biographies and organizations relating to his life.

• Abraham Kuyper - Christian Cultural Activist

  http://thebigpicture.homestead.com/abrahamkuyper.html
  Article stressing his political work.

• Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism

  http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/lecture.html
  Six lectures delivered at Princeton University, 1898 under the auspices of the L. P. Stone Foundation.

• Abraham Kuyper, Developer and Promoter of Common Grace

  http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/reading/article.cgi?ID=11
  Article on the Common Grace doctrine of Abraham Kuyper, by Rev. Charles J. Terpstra

• Abraham Kuyper: A Christian Worldview

  http://www.opc.org/new_horizons/NH99/NH9901d.html
  A discussion of Kuyper as a journalist, a politician, an educator and a theologian.

• Abraham Kuyper: Dutch Calvinist

  http://www.prca.org/books/portraits/kuyper.htm
  Biography of Kuyper with sections on his preaching, his writing, his work as church reformer, as politician, as educator and as theologian.

• Christian Politics according to Abraham Kuyper

  http://www.ucalgary.ca/~nurelweb/papers/irving/kuyperp.html
  A discussion of the Christian politics of the Dutch statesman and philosopher Abraham Kuyper.

• Introduction To Kuyper's Thought

  http://kuyperian.blogspot.com/2004/08/introduction-to-kuypers-thought.html
  An analysis of Kuyper's work.

• The Kuyper Foundation

  http://www.kuyper.org/
  A foundation promoting a Renaissance of Christian culture, with links to online books and essays, publications and the Christianity and Society Journal.

• The Lordship of Christ over the Whole of Life

  http://www.dbu.edu/naugle/pdf/abraham_kuyper.pdf
  An introduction to the thought of Abraham Kuyper by David Naugle.

• The Work of the Holy Spirit

  http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html
  Online text of American edition of this 1888 book.

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