Neo Calvinism And The French Revolution

The French Revolution was the scene of much intellectual and social upheaval. Its impact touched a wide range of subjects: the relationship of the church to the state, social relationships, science, literature, fashion, philosophy and theology. Although the French Revolution's momentum was felt across Europe and North America, it met a particularly interesting response in the Netherlands, at that time the scene of a burgeoning neo-Calvinist movement. In that context, the likes of Groen van Prinsterer, Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck responded to the French Revolution's ideals and influence in a variety of intellectual and practical ways.This book approaches that Dutch response from a range of historical and theological perspectives, and in so doing explores the relationship between the French Revolution and the development of neo-Calvinism. Beginning with historical portraits of Bavinck and Kuyper in relation to the Revolution, the perspectives offered also include, amongst others, the place of multilingualism in neo-Calvinism and the Revolution, neo-Calvinist and Revolutionary approaches to fashion, a dialogue between Kuyperian theology and Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy, and a contemporary neo-Calvinist critique of French laïcité. This book forms part of a wider Project neo-Calvinism supported by the Theologische Universiteit Kampen and the VU University Amsterdam.

The French Revolution was the scene of much intellectual and social upheaval. Its impact touched a wide range of subjects: the relationship of the church to the state, social relationships, science, literature, fashion, philosophy and theology. Although the French Revolution's momentum was felt across Europe and North America, it met a particularly interesting response in the Netherlands, at that time the scene of a burgeoning neo-Calvinist movement. In that context, the likes of Groen van Prinsterer, Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck responded to the French Revolution's ideals and influence in a variety of intellectual and practical ways.This book approaches that Dutch response from a range of historical and theological perspectives, and in so doing explores the relationship between the French Revolution and the development of neo-Calvinism. Beginning with historical portraits of Bavinck and Kuyper in relation to the Revolution, the perspectives offered also include, amongst others, the place of multilingualism in neo-Calvinism and the Revolution, neo-Calvinist and Revolutionary approaches to fashion, a dialogue between Kuyperian theology and Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy, and a contemporary neo-Calvinist critique of French laïcité. This book forms part of a wider Project neo-Calvinism supported by the Theologische Universiteit Kampen and the VU University Amsterdam.

Discover the rich theology of Neo-Calvinism. Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck sparked a theological tradition in the Netherlands that came to be known as Neo-Calvinism. While studies in Neo-Calvinism have focused primarily on its political and philosophical insights, its theology has received less attention. In Neo-Calvinism: A Theological Introduction, Cory C. Brock and N. Gray Sutanto present the unique dogmatic contributions of the tradition. Each chapter focuses on a distinct theological aspect, such as revelation, creation, salvation, and ecclesiology. Neo-Calvinism produced rich theological work that yields promise for contemporary dogmatics. This book invites readers into this rich theological trajectory. "This book is the sign that [Neo-Calvinist] theology has now passed beyond the Dutch fairway. It has reached the international waters." —George Harinck

Neo-Calvinism critically advances Reformed orthodoxy for the sake of modern life. Birthed in the Netherlands at the turn to the twentieth century, initiated by Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) and Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), it argued that a life before God entailed the leavening of faith over all human existence. While the movement originated in the Netherlands, the tradition now has a global reach, with practitioners and thinkers applying its insights in diverse ways and in their own contexts. This handbook is a genealogical introduction to this lively and modern branch of the Reformed tradition, with contributors that reflect its global reach. Its four sections chart the theological roots, important original figures, historical contours and the contemporary influence of neo-Calvinism across a diversity of fields.

This series of lectures was delivered by Abraham Kuyper at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1898. Over the course of the lectures, he discusses Calvinism and the way it pertains to many aspects of life including politics, science, and art. According to Kuyper, Calvinism has a natural affinity for scientific investigation, because like scientific inquiry, Calvinism seeks to unify the cosmos under universal laws. Predestination, he says, proves that a set of laws exist to govern the world, and science is merely trying to figure them out. When it comes to art, Kuyper launches into a defense of Calvinism, which is often maligned as a religion that seeks to stamp out art and its significance. Readers will find here a thorough and elegant explanation of Calvinism and its particular outlook on life. Anyone wanting to know how the religion is unique among the many Christian sects will find it an enjoyable and informative read. Dutch theologian ABRAHAM KUYPER (1837-1920) was prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905. He developed Neo-Calvinism, which emphasizes the sovereignty of Jesus over all mental pursuits and supports the idea that there exists a grace given by God to all things in order to sustain the continued unfolding of creation. Kuyper wrote a number of books including Conservatism and Orthodoxy (1870), The Social Question and the Christian Religion (1891), and Common Grace (1902).

Although the French Revolution is associated with efforts to dechristianize the French state and citizens, it actually had long-term religious--even Christian--origins, claims Dale Van Kley in this controversial new book. Looking back at the two and a half centuries that preceded the revolution, Van Kley explores the diverse, often warring religious strands that influenced political events up to the revolution. Van Kley draws on a wealth of primary sources to show that French royal absolutism was first a product and then a casualty of religious conflict. On the one hand, the religious civil wars of the sixteenth century between the Calvinist and Catholic internationals gave rise to Bourbon divine-right absolutism in the seventeenth century. On the other hand, Jansenist-related religious conflicts in the eighteenth century helped to "desacralize" the monarchy and along with it the French Catholic clergy, which was closely identified with Bourbon absolutism. The religious conflicts of the eighteenth century also made a more direct contribution to the revolution, for they left a legacy of protopolitical and ideological parties (such as the Patriot party, a successor to the Jansenist party), whose rhetoric affected the content of revolutionary as well as counterrevolutionary political culture. Even in its dechristianizing phase, says Van Kley, revolutionary political culture was considerably more indebted to varieties of French Catholicism than it realized.

Calvinism, also known as Reformed Tradition, Reformed Faith, or Reformed Theology, is both a Protestant religious movement and a biblical theological system with roots in the Protestant Reformation initiated by Martin Luther and developed by John Calvin in Geneva in the 16th century. One of the great preachers of Calvinism in the early 20th century was Abraham Kuyper. As one of the leading figures of the so-called Neo-Calvinism, Kuyper was a brilliant Dutch journalist and theologian who also had a strong political presence, serving as a member of parliament and as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905. In "Calvinism," Abraham Kuyper reveals the richness of Calvinism, not only as a set of theological doctrines but primarily as a foundation for a comprehensive worldview. These texts, compiled from lectures given by Kuyper, impress with their great human value and life lessons presented, bringing messages of faith that are extremely useful and relevant in today's world.

What explains the rapid growth of state power in early modern Europe? While most scholars have pointed to the impact of military or capitalist revolutions, Philip S. Gorski argues instead for the importance of a disciplinary revolution unleashed by the Reformation. By refining and diffusing a variety of disciplinary techniques and strategies, such as communal surveillance, control through incarceration, and bureaucratic office-holding, Calvin and his followers created an infrastructure of religious governance and social control that served as a model for the rest of Europe—and the world.