Mouw, Richard J.
Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2011. Pp. xi + 136. Paper. $16.00.
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With thanks to Eerdmans for this review copy!
Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction is exactly what the title says. Richard J. Mouw (President and Professor of Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA) has taken his appreciation for Kuyper and turned it into a book that will satisfy readers not overly interested in checking Kuyper out for themselves while whetting the appetites of readers who are. Before reading this short book I fell into the first category; after reading it I can say I’m in the second.
The book is divided into two sections. The first section “Kuyper on Theology and Culture: An Overview” tells the story of Kuyper the theologian, politician, social activist, and disciple of Christ. Mouw writes both journalistically and anecdotally in these chapters as he gives a general sketch of Kuyper’s position on a number of issues, e.g., his views on discipleship in every arena of life to include politics, or his unabashed Calvinism, which he considered superior to all other religions and Christian traditions. Along the way Mouw offers notes about his personal experiences in encountering and appropriating Kuyper.
The second section “Kuyper for the Twenty-First Century” shifts gears from the descriptive task and focuses on how Kuyper’s many ideas and insights can be applied to a modern context. Mouw is appreciative of much of Kuyper’s thought, such as a recognized commonality between Christianity and Islam (even though Kuyper considered Islam a false faith), which is necessary for stimulating dialog between Christians and Muslims today; or Kuyper’s insistence that the kingdom of God is larger than the church, which demands action and obedience beyond the church’s walls; or his views on the Spirit’s role in the Christian life, which would provide a more robust pneumatology for the Reformed faith.
For all of Mouw’s appreciation he is not uncritical in this section. He suggests that Kuyper was too polemical and not ecumenical enough. Mouw thinks that Bavinck makes for a good via media here; he can still be robustly Calvinistic while appreciating what others have to offer without being overly polemical. One area in which Kuyper should be rejected wholeheartedly is his racism, i.e., in seeing blacks as inferior beings. Mouw is not shy in saying that Kuyper was just plain wrong here and he doesn’t bother to attempt to defend Kuyper as a product of his time. Mouw would also like to see the church play a larger function in “cultural obedience” than Kuyper had initially envisioned.
With scant footnotes scattered about and no indices whatsoever this is certainly not a reference work, but it does deliver on being a short introduction, and while Mouw admittedly doesn’t cover anywhere close to all the areas and topics that Kuyper’s life and work touched, he does write about those that had the greatest impact on him and that he feels could have the greatest impact on the world today. I heartily recommend this to those interested in Kuyper and I look forward to the engagement it receives from those already familiar with the subject matter.
B”H
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth 
I guess it’s not a fair criticism since this is a “personal introduction” and not a “biography,” but really this book is a compilation of how Kuyper has affected Mouw and how Mouw plans to use that today. It’s not really an introduction to his thought as such, but an introduction to certain aspects of his thought filtered through Mouw’s vision of things.
Kyle: I think that’s a fair description even if not a fair criticism. My ignorance of Kuyper leaves me unable to critique Mouw’s presentation of him. I’d love to hear some places where you think he got him wrong (if he did).
It’s not that “he got him wrong,” although I think he overestimates the exclusivity of Kuyper’s thought. If anything, Kuyper held that all truth was God’s truth and saw inclusivity (as long as it was not opposed to the gospel) as a way of creating a more Christian society. It’s more that he appropriates him to Mouw’s perspective in such a way that it’s not an introduction, more than an example of how Kuyper’s thought can be appropriated into a particular perspective. Even more than that, it’s really about how “Lectures on Calvinism” can be appropriated for the 21st century. Although the first section gives a broader outline of Kuyper, the second relies heavily on the one specific work.
For instance, in his “Worldview: The History of a Concept,” David Naugle appropriates Kuyper throughout. But it doesn’t claim to be a “personal introduction” as much as an example of how to use neo-Calvinist ideas to understand better the role of worldview. A better title for this book might have been “Neo-Calvinism for the 21st Century: How Abraham Kuyper Helped Me Think About Theology” or something similar.
Great, now I have to order this and review it so that I can school G. Kyle Essary! I’m already busy reading Galli’s book on Love Wins so that I can school Joel Watts. ;-)
Kyle: Duly noted. This is exactly the kind of reaction I was hoping to see from those more familiar with the subject matter. But beware, Esteban’s promises to school you!
Esteban: Did you mean Joel Willitts? If not then who is Joel Watts? BTW, it’s entirely possible that I could send you this book since I’m done with it and I doubt I’ll ever return to it. I’ll need your address of course, if you want it.
I don’t have any reason to believe you’d know who Joel Watts is. Let’s just say he’s a cross between Deliverance and Masons. This is proven by the fact that he is a Methodist. ;-)
If you choose to send the book along (O, glory be! O, happy day!), I’d of course be glad to receive it. I’ll send you my new mailing address. And you better believe I’ll be schooling Essery! Well, probably not, but I can still lay some claim to the adjectives “Kuyperian” and “Reformational,” and I’d like to see for myself what Mouw does with Kuyper here.
Esteban: Eww.. a Methodist? Enough said!
Esteban: Bring it on compadre! I love me some neo-Calvinists, and even loved a book or two by Mouw (Just after college his “Calvinism in a Las Vegas Airport” was big in my collection). And I’m not saying that “Lectures on Calvinism” shouldn’t be appropriated for today. Personally, I don’t think it takes much appropriation because it’s already so relevant. I just don’t think Mouw offered an introduction to Kuyper as much as a personal interpretation of Kuyper.