This is the first full English-language biography of Kuyper (1837-1920), the Dutch polymath who moved from the pastorate to the Dutch parliament. Many readers of The Banner need no introduction. However, for those who desire a comprehensive, overview of Kuyper’s extraordinary legacy, Calvin College historian James Bratt has painted a story, “warts and all,†of a career that Mark Noll has called “as filled with noteworthy achievements as that of any single individual in modern Western history.â€
Bratt expertly traces the origin and development of Kuyper’s signature concepts—common grace, Christian worldview, sphere sovereignty, and Christian engagement with contemporary culture—in the dynamic context of a life story. “Kuyper stood consciously and proudly in the extroverted, Puritan, New-School tradition of political activism and cultural engagement.†As such, is a laboratory study in Calvinism, showing how faith works out in someone who is self-conscious in working out his religion. (Eerdmans)
About the Author
Robert N. Hosack is Executive Editor for Baker Publishing Group, and he is a member of Church of the Servant CRC in Grand Rapids, Mich.