Kuyper / Flikkema Pro Rege (Volume 3)

Living Under Christ's Kingship
1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68359-312-6
Verlag: Lexham Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 576 Seiten

Reihe: Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology

Abraham Kuyper believed that Jesus is King of all creation, making it absurd to distinguish between Christian life inside and outside the church. In previous volumes of Pro Rege, Kuyper examined Christ's universal kingship and its implications for the life of the church and the family; in this third volume, he extends his analysis of Christ's kingship and rule to areas of society not encompassed by the family and the churchâ?'specifically, culture and the arts, civil society, and government. Created in partnership with the Abraham Kuyper Translation Society and the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty, the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology marks a historic moment in Kuyper studiesâ?'one that will deepen and enrich the church's public theology. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Acton Institute is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to the study of free-market economics informed by religious faith and moral absolutes.

Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was a leading Dutch figure in education, politics, and theology. He was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, was appointed to Parliament, and served as prime minister. Kuyper also founded the Free University (VU) in Amsterdam, a political party, and a denomination, in addition to writing on a dizzying array of subjects.#Jordan J. Ballor (ThD, University of Zurich; PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is a research fellow at the Acton Institute and serves as executive editor of the Journal of Markets and Morality. He is also associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary.#Melvin Flikkema (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is Senior Advisor at the Acton Institute. He coordinated the translation of the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology. He was previously the Provost of Kuyper College.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kuyper, Abraham

Flikkema, Melvin

Leseproben

IV.1

AN INDEPENDENT SPHERE

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

MATTHEW 5:14

§ 1 When we discuss Christ’s kingship, we cannot pass directly from the family to the state. Between them lies what is usually called social life, and it has become very important especially in our days to give as clear as possible an account of what Jesus’ kingship means for society. It cannot be denied that in the previous century, as well as in the present one, social issues have increasingly attracted the attention of many. In this context, the word “social” should not be misconstrued as referring exclusively to the relationship between labor and capital. Instead we must insist that this relationship is just one of the many strands in the rich cord that holds social life together, and that the concept “social” includes everything, whatever it is called or looks like, that goes beyond the borders of the family, is not bound within the stays of the state, and still forms an integral part of the life of the world. Family, society, and state are indeed three independent factors in human life, to which is added the church as a fourth and extra factor. The first three are of creation, and to them the church was added as a fourth factor arising from the domain of grace, because of sin.

If we leave the church, which we treated separately above, to the side, and restrict ourselves here to what arises inevitably as a necessary part of our human life by virtue of creation—regardless of the presence or absence of sin—human life begins with the family, and finds in it its first original organization. Then it aims at a permanent, comprehensive organization in the kingdom or state, by virtue of the power of the law. But then between the family and the state lies the social organization of our human life, which we may simply refer to as the life of the world. This final factor of social life tends in general to be the last of the three to develop fully. The family is always there in and of itself, and usually, where multiple families live together, a certain form of governmental authority soon develops in a patriarchal, despotic, or more open fashion. But the organization of social life, which is wedged between them, has on the whole been very slow to develop. Among the tribes in Africa there is even now no social development to speak of in a comprehensive sense. Among the people of antiquity social life remained at a very low pitch, and even during the Middle Ages and after the Reformation there was hardly a hint of the heights that society has attained in our day. A variety of reasons contributed to society’s incredible growth especially in the nineteenth century, and this in turn helps to explain why there is currently a growing interest in nearly every question that pertains to the development of society and social life.

It cannot be denied that as these social issues came to occupy center stage, both family and state were put under pressure. Society now wants to lay down the law for the family and state as well. It ultimately wants to conquer all of human life and subject it to itself. The call for liberty and freedom is starting to mean more and more that neither the bond of the family nor the bond of the state ought to hinder the world in any way in its entirely open social development. Anarchy is the goal toward which this overpowering development of social life is heading. All bonds must be broken. People should be allowed to live according to the dictates of their nature. And this free natural life is to celebrate its triumphs in the uninhibited development of our lives—not in the family, nor in the state, but in society. If you eliminate the family and the state, so it is said, society will organize itself, and only in that free and independent social organization of human life will humanity be able to develop in such a way as to obtain the greatest happiness.

We hear this cry especially among the nihilists, anarchists, and socialists, but it can actually be heard throughout the modern world. The result is that family and state are being threatened in their existence more and more. That is why it is so important for us also as Christians to give a clear account of the limits within which social life is to remain. We too must work to promote and facilitate the development and organization of society, but we may never allow its aspirations to infringe on the family or to undermine the authority of the state. Accordingly, it goes without saying that we cannot be content to highlight merely the importance of Christ’s kingship for the family and the state, but must also inquire into what the significance of his kingship ought to be for social life.

§ 2 The life of the world comes to expression above all in society. What Scripture calls “the world” also penetrates the heart, causes turmoil in the family, and attempts to overpower the state, and yet it is especially in society that the world attempts to erect its throne. Whoever talks about the life of the world refers in the first place to the development of our human life as it is established in a free society. The word “world” can also be understood in many other ways; that is true in Scripture as well. But wherever we encounter in Scripture the contrast between the world and Christ’s kingdom, the “world” refers to a dangerous spirit that prevails and that leads human life as it freely discloses itself. Through its fixed structure, the family is as a matter of course accompanied by rules governing family life. And just like the family, so too the state obtains a fixed structure and fixed rules through its laws. But society does not have such a fixed organization or structure; fixed rules and laws are lacking here. And that is why the spirit that seeks to corrupt our life turns to society as its first object, attempts to bring it to its knees, and tries to establish its rule over it.

What that unholy spirit meets is an empty terrain. Imperceptibly it enters what we call “public opinion,” which is actually nothing but the perspective and viewpoint that manages to set the tone for social life in every one of its aspects. It is the world understood in this sense that Christ opposes with his kingdom. His very goal is to drive the spirit of the world out of our world, and to give our world the life of his spirit instead. It is the Holy Spirit who goes to battle against the unholy spirit of the world with that end in view. Even before Jesus went to Gethsemane, he announced to his disciples: “Take heart; I have overcome the world” [John 16:33]. Of course, this was not actually true; when Jesus died on the cross, the world remained what it was. Therefore, Jesus could only have meant that he had overcome the world in principle, and that the battle he had launched against the world would bring about its total downfall and destruction in the end. But this is why the battle against the world had to be continued after he ascended into heaven, making the rest of the history of God’s kingdom nothing but an endless struggle between the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of the world.

For that reason, it simply cannot be true that Jesus as our King concerns himself with his church alone, and leaves society to its own lot. Rather, the battle against the world only began for real after Jesus ascended into heaven. As King, Christ will fight for this kingdom in his church and in the family, but he will no less fight for his kingdom on the terrain of social life.

The fact of the matter is that you will not understand the struggle of Christ our King, to subject his enemies under his feet over the centuries, if you remove human society from his kingship. We admit, of course, that the power with which Christ seeks to rule society as well is often exercised by virtue of his influence on individual hearts, on the family, and on his church; and yet, this power is not enough. Social life forms a terrain of its own, and it too is a terrain that Christ enters with his kingly majesty in order to rule it. This is extremely important for us as Christians because we too live in society and are our King’s fellow warriors and soldiers. It was with a view to this that Jesus told his disciples: “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” [Matt 5:14].

Our King does indeed work directly on society, without our input, but it cannot be denied that he similarly exercises his kingly dominion through us—and this is something we also need to acknowledge with a view to our life in society. Jesus did not pray that the Father might take us out of the world. Our destiny as Christians was not to withdraw as an isolated group from the world and into the desert. Jesus only prayed that the Father would keep us in the world [see John 17:15]. Our place, therefore, is in society, and we must occupy this place honorably. Every sect that has ever attempted to withdraw from society and live for Jesus outside it discovered that, in the end, it drifted away from its King. But because this is so, we may never allow ourselves to think that when we enter society we are actually leaving our King, and that we need to flee to the church in order to find him back again.

Christ’s kingship extends over all things, extends to every part of human life, also in society. Only when we recognize and honor the fact that Christ’s kingly dominion extends also over society can we stand strong in it. It goes without saying that this is the most difficult part of our service to our King. Our service to Jesus as our King is much easier in church and family, and even in the state. There we find paths that have already been trodden, and we can follow them with calm and steady feet. In fact, we may even...