Kuyper vs. Schilder on Culture

“Even though Kuyper and Schilder begin w/ Jesus Christ when they speak of culture, they have different views of his significance for culture. Kuyper sees Jesus Christ as savior who pours out his special grace into Greek-Roman culture, that is to say, Jesus Christ is the savior of culture. But Schilder sees Jesus Christ as the Savior of man. He works salvation in many. This work includes making disobedient people into people who serve God again in their cultural work.”

~ N. H. Gootjes
Always Obedient; Essays on the teaching of Dr. Klass Schilder — pg. 39, 40, 41

It is interesting that despite all the Kuyper did for worldview thinking he did not believe that such a thing as Christian culture existed. Kuyper saw the whole idea of culture as anthropocentric and he wanted to think theocentric so he preferred to use the term “common grace” in reference to civilizational development. So, Kuyper refused the concept of Christian culture preferring instead to speak instead of Western culture influenced by Christianity. So it appears that for Kuyper differing cultures are static realities that can be developed by more or less common grace.

Schilder, on the other hand takes a more bottom up approach. Cultures are not entirely static realities that can be influenced by larger or smaller measures of common grace but rather they can be Christian as a tipping point is reached in a given culture by the work of special grace visiting increasing number of individuals. For Schilder Christians can be Christian and when they are not Christian it is the consequence of the work of redemption being left undone among people groups.

In summary, Kuyper sees the Kingship of Christ influencing cultures through common grace as Christianity visits and influences various already developed cultural instantiations. Schilder sees culture as the outgrowth of people who are either Redeemed or un-Redeemed. If Redemption visits individuals in large enough measures then whole cultures are not merely influenced by Christianity but can be legitimately referred to as “Christian culture.”

Author: jetbrane

I am a Pastor of a small Church in Mid-Michigan who delights in my family, my congregation and my calling. I am postmillennial in my eschatology. Paedo-Calvinist Covenantal in my Christianity Reformed in my Soteriology Presuppositional in my apologetics Familialist in my family theology Agrarian in my regional community social order belief Christianity creates culture and so Christendom in my national social order belief Mythic-Poetic / Grammatical Historical in my Hermeneutic Pre-modern, Medieval, & Feudal before Enlightenment, modernity, & postmodern Reconstructionist / Theonomic in my Worldview One part paleo-conservative / one part micro Libertarian in my politics Systematic and Biblical theology need one another but Systematics has pride of place Some of my favorite authors, Augustine, Turretin, Calvin, Tolkien, Chesterton, Nock, Tozer, Dabney, Bavinck, Wodehouse, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, C. Van Til, H. Van Til, G. H. Clark, C. Dawson, H. Berman, R. Nash, C. G. Singer, R. Kipling, G. North, J. Edwards, S. Foote, F. Hayek, O. Guiness, J. Witte, M. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Mencken, Lasch, Postman, Gatto, T. Boston, Thomas Brooks, Terry Brooks, C. Hodge, J. Calhoun, Llyod-Jones, T. Sowell, A. McClaren, M. Muggeridge, C. F. H. Henry, F. Swarz, M. Henry, G. Marten, P. Schaff, T. S. Elliott, K. Van Hoozer, K. Gentry, etc. My passion is to write in such a way that the Lord Christ might be pleased. It is my hope that people will be challenged to reconsider what are considered the givens of the current culture. Your biggest help to me dear reader will be to often remind me that God is Sovereign and that all that is, is because it pleases him. View all posts by jetbrane