On Education
Kuyper on the Divine Purpose for Education
Among Abraham Kuyper’s many accomplishments was his founding of the Free University of Amsterdam, where he also served as president and professor of theology. This collection of essays and speeches presents Kuyper’s theology and philosophy of education, and his understanding of the divine purpose of scholarship for human culture. Included are convocation addresses given at the Free University, parliamentary speeches, newspaper articles, and other talks and essays on the topic of education. Much of the material deals with issues still being debated today including the roles of the family and state in education, moral instruction, Christian education, and vouchers.
Praise for On Education
Kuyper’s clear and consistent thinking on education, developed during a challenging time in his country when the negative effects of secularism “eclipsed” (to use Charles Taylor’s term) the Christian worldview, is needed in the twenty-first century. Kuyper articulates a robust, coherent, and consistent biblical framework centered in the Lordship of Jesus Christ to guide and transform culture, including schooling. The modern reader will appreciate how timely Kuyper’s arguments related to family, faith, teaching, learning, formation, and funding are for today as many confront secularism with the grace that restores nature.
–James L. Drexler, Dean of Education, Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Georgia
We live in restless educational times. People worldwide grapple with questions of identity, social place, technological change, climate, and their futures, all of which spurs their quest for meaningful education. For such a time as this, we are blessed to learn from Abraham Kuyper whose Christian voice about the goals of education still rings true. Kuyper probes a deep theology of creation, human life, motivated learning, and educational purpose. Editors Flikkema and Ballor with their team have given us an immense gift with which to generate effective Christian education in our global context.
–Shirley Roels, Executive Director, International Network for Christian Higher Education
On Education provides readers with an open door into Abraham Kuyper’s brilliant work on the philosophy and theology of Christian education. Applause and congratulations are in order for the editorial and translation team of Wendy Naylor, Melvin Flikkema, Jordan Ballor, and Harry Van Dyke for their wonderful work in making this superb volume available to a new generation of educators and Christian leaders. It is a genuine joy to recommend this magnificent resource for anyone interested in Christian education.
–David S. Dockery, President, Trinity International University/Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
This valuable collection illuminates Kuyper’s approach to educational policy and practice founded on the conviction that differences in basic beliefs are ineradicable and must be honored in the context of schooling. It allows us a glimpse into the particular commitments and struggles that helped forge Reformed thinking about schooling in its Kuyperian version, and in doing so provides helpful perspective as we consider present-day impasses.
–David I. Smith, Director, Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning
Top Highlights
“Kuyper argued that it was impossible to teach and learn outside a worldview which tied facts together into meaning” (Page xx)
“Kuyper argued that the child is an organic unity whose healthy development requires that the nurture he receives in home, school, and church spring from the same core beliefs. Only in this way could the child develop strength of character.” (Page xxiii)
“National unity is in danger precisely when justice is denied, when liberty is abridged, when our citizens are hurt in their deepest convictions. That is what sows bitterness; that is what divides a nation.” (Page 310)
“He insisted that the state was neither called nor equipped to discern, much less enforce, religious truth. As such, the only way to guarantee liberty of conscience to all parents was to allow for a variety of schools, each with an equal claim (per child) on the resources of the state.” (Page xviii)
“You point to David? Realize that the accuracy of David’s slingshot was also the fruit of much practice. ‘He who does not work shall not eat’ [see 2 Thess 3:10] is a saying that applies to more than one situation.” (Page 255)
The Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology
Lexham Press is pleased to announce the publication of a major series of new translations of Kuyper’s writings in public theology. Created in partnership with the Abraham Kuyper Translation Society and the Acton Institute, the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology will mark a historic moment in Kuyper studies, and we hope it will deepen and enrich the church’s interest and engagement in public theology.
- Editor’s Introduction
- Volume Introduction by Charles L. Glenn
- Part 1: Entering the School Struggle
- The Society “for the Common Good”
- Teaching Immortality in the Public School
- Part 2: Christian Education and Its Counterfeits
- Government Funding or Citizen Initiative
- Iron and Clay
- Bound to the Word
- Scholarship: Two Convocation Addresses
- Part 3: A Pluralistic Program for National Education
- Ideas for a National Education System
- Grievances against the School Law
- Is the Restitution Model Impracticable?
- The Remedy
- Speeches as a Member of Parliament
- Speeches as Prime Minister in Parliament
- Part 4: The People’s Voice and Victory
- An Appeal to the Nation’s Conscience
- The Struggle
- The People’s Petition
- As Sheep among Wolves
- Speech Marking the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Christian Teachers Association
Product Details
- Title: On Education
- Author: Abraham Kuyper
- Translator: Harry Van Dyke
- Volume Editor: Wendy Naylor
- Series Editors: Melvin Flikkema & Jordan J. Ballor
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Publication Date: 2018
- Pages: 496
- Format: Logos Digital, Hardcover
- Trim Size: 7x10
- ISBN: 9781577996774
Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920) was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905. He founded the Free University in Amsterdam and served as a professor of theology. At the invitation of B. B. Warfield, Kuyper traveled to the United States to deliver the Stone Lectures at Princeton and address Reformed congregations in Michigan and Iowa.
Kuyper studied at the University of Leiden, and received his doctorate there in 1863. He became a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church in 1863, and consistently called for the separation of church and state. He also led a secession from the Dutch Reformed Church and united several disparate Reformed churches in the Netherlands.
Kuyper also led an active political life. He served as a member of Parliament in the Netherlands beginning in 1874 and served as prime minister from 1901–1905.
Abraham Kuyper was instrumental in the development of Neocalvinism, and is remembered for his articulation of common grace and for popularizing the notion of a Reformed worldview. He has influenced such notable figures as Francis Schaeffer, Cornelius Van Til, Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, and Chuck Colson.
Some of Kuyper’s publications, which are available in Logos, include Wisdom & Wonder: Common Grace in Science & Art, The Antithesis between Symbolism and Revelation, and Encyclopedia of Sacred Theology: Its Principles.