In Our Program, Abraham Kuyper presents a Christian alternative to the secular politics of his day. At that time, the church and state were closely tied, with one usually controlling the other. But Kuyper's political framework showed how the church and state could engage with each other while remaining separate. His insights, though specific to his time and place, remain highly relevant to Christians involved in the political sphere today.
This new translation of Our Program, created in partnership with the Kuyper Translation Society and the Acton Institute, is part of a major series of new translations of Kuyper's most important writings. The Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology marks a historic moment in Kuyper studies, aimed at deepening and enriching the church's development of public theology.
Abraham Kuyper was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian. He founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party and was prime minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905.
This was a waste of my time. If you want to read about Netherlandic Puritan political ideology as it happened over a 100 years ago, this is your book. If you want anything else, be advised it's not for you.
This was fantastic, and overwhelming, and encouraging, and motivating.
Kuyper wrote to show that his Antirevolutionary Party had specific, concrete policy answers that would help the nation flourish. He addressed the nature of the government's authority, taxation, education, relationship with the church, laws and the justice system, national budgets, public hygiene, and a lot more.
So much in Holland in the late 1800s does not apply today, and yet Kuyper shows how a Christian can (and should) approach loving our neighbors in the public square.