Calvinistic Concept of Culture Chapter Summaries
Calvinistic Concept of Culture Chapter Summaries
Calvinistic Concept of Culture Chapter Summaries
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Chapter Summaries from Henry Van Tils The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
This chapter presents the various problems and factors that need to be
The first factor to consider is that Christians are in the world but they are not
of the world. Some have taken this to mean that Christians are to do nothing but to
proclaim salvation to lost men in a dying world. Others have taken a more positive
attitude, namely, that believers have a cultural calling here and now. The second factor
is the universal claims of the gospel over all creatures and the opposition of the world
to the gospel. Christianity is the religion of cross-bearing and Christians are not to be
friends of the world. The third factor is that the world and creation are the objects of
Gods grace and redemption. Redemption will be complete when Christ comes but
this expectation of future glory has implications for the here and now in the present
In the early post-apostolic church, these two sides of the truth were not always
kept in balance. Pagan culture and everything associated with it was seen as evil and
there was a tendency toward asceticism. After the time of Constantine, the world
simply became the secular sphere outside the church, and this gave rise to the nature-
grace dualism. The world was no longer viewed as corrupt but it had simply lost the
supernatural gift of grace which the church could supply. The Reformation sought the
restoration of the whole of life under Gods word. The Reformers took sin seriously
but they did not condemn things natural. Nevertheless, the reformation was not united
in matters pertaining to culture. The Anabaptists separated from the world while
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Chapter Summaries from Henry Van Tils The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
Luther taught that Christ did not come to change anything external but only mens
hearts. Calvin, however saw that religion and culture could not be separated. For him,
Scripture was the norm for the whole existence and he worked for the restoration of
was saved by Christianity and that Christ truly saved the world, including human
culture. Likewise, the Reformation came at a time when culture was in crisis and it
gave Europe a new lease of life. The author presupposes the Calvinistic worldview.
Culture may be either godly or godless, depending on the spirit that animates
it. Sin has not destroyed the cultural mandate to replenish and subdue the earth, and
neither has it destroyed the cosmos, which is mans workshop and playground.
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Chapter Summaries from Henry Van Tils The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
This chapter describes some of the errors involved in defining culture and then
The first error is to define culture too narrowly, i.e. in terms of the refinement
of manners, social courtesy and good taste. Culture involves every part of life and it is
not the opposite of depravity, although it can become the instrument of evil. The
second error is to view culture only in terms of man himself rather than man and his
environment and activity. The third error is to restrict culture to the so-called civilized
nations. All men are cultural creatures and civilization is but the external side of
culture. The fourth error is to view culture as something neutral, without ethical or
religious connotations. The fifth error is to view religion as one aspect of culture.
Religion cannot be subsumed under culture. Instead, culture derives its meaning from
mans relationship with God. Culture is always a means of expressing ones faith.
The term culture comes from the idea of cultivating the ground (Gen 2:15).
Today, the word is used to speak of any human labour done on Gods creation in its
widest sense. The author defines culture as any and all human effort and labour
expended upon the cosmos, to unearth its treasures and its riches and bring them into
the service of man for the enrichment of human existence unto the glory of God.
Culture is always a human enterprise. Animals are not cultural creatures for
they are not created in the image of God. While man has biological functions that are
similar to animals, yet man is also a spiritual being, and there is a great difference
between the instinctive acts of animals and the cultural acts of man. Man, as Gods
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Chapter Summaries from Henry Van Tils The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
image bearer, functions as Gods representative and has a threefold office of prophet,
inescapable. Culture influences the individual and cannot be separated from social
existence.
largely concerned with the temporal and material realization of values. Only the bible
can explain the urge and sense of the cultural calling in man. Man was created to be
the co-worker (in the sense of instrument) with God in bringing creation to its
fulfillment. As such, mans cultural instinct and calling can never be divorced from
his covenant relationship to the Creator. When man loses sight of this, his culture is
perverted and is at enmity with God. Christ reconciles all things to the Father,
including culture.
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Chapter Summaries from Henry Van Tils The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
This chapter shows the proper relationship between religion and culture, as
Religion is based on the covenantal relationship between God and man as His
image bearer. This relationship extends to the whole of life. Man, in the deepest
Mans cultural activities give expression to his religious faith. Because of the fall,
mans religion became apostate, but through Christ, man is restored to true religion.
The secularists see religion as just one of many interests which man has. But
the truth is that mans relationship to God goes beyond time and space and his
Religion is rooted in mans heart, which is the core of his being, and thus it is
totalitarian in nature. It serves as the presupposition of every culture and has the
power of integrating mans culture. Culture and cultus (acts of worship) both proceed
out of mans religion and together constitute mans activity under the sun. They may
There are two errors to avoid. Firstly, we must not destroy the distinction
between religion and culture or every activity of life will assume cultic proportions
and true religion will be confused with the external manifestation of it. Secondly, we
must not restrict religion to just one part of life and deny it access to other parts.
Calvinism has always maintained that God has a claim to mans whole being. To try
and live in two separate worlds: one religious and one secular, is to misunderstand
mans true end. It is impossible to keep on evangelizing the world without interfering
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with the worlds culture. Instead, Gods people are to contend for a condition of
society that would give the maximum of opportunity for us to lead wholly Christian
lives and the maximum of opportunity for others to become Christians. In Christ, man
is restored to God as cultural creature to serve his Maker in the world and as ruler
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Chapter Summaries from Henry Van Tils The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
This chapter looks at the various aspects of Calvinism and shows that its most
The author uses the term Calvinistic to define the specific concept of culture
that he holds to. The term Calvinism has been used in various ways, e.g. to designate
authoritative guide for the way of salvation but it gives an authoritative interpretation
of reality as a whole and of mans existence under the sun. Calvinism has been
The heart of Calvinism is the sovereignty of God over all things. Gods
sovereignty is not one of many attributes but it is expressed in all His attributes. God
sake. In the area of ethics, Calvinists take Gods will for man, as revealed in the Bible,
very seriously because God is sovereign over mans life. In the area of politics, God,
and not the king or the state, is the highest authority and men are to submit to lawful
authority because all authority is given by God. Calvinists recognize Gods revelation
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Chapter Summaries from Henry Van Tils The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
This chapter is about the question of sin and its effect upon man and his world.
The fall did not make man less than man but it made him ethically alienated
from God and morally depraved. Sin did not invalidate the cultural mandate nor
excuse man from his cultural task. The cultural mandate is part of the covenant that
God made with man at creation. Furthermore, man has not lost his cultural urge to
rule and his ability to form and mould matter after his will. Man continues to achieve
cultural results although as a sinner, he produces a godless culture. Not only did sin
not destroy man as a cultural being, it did not change the fact that the earth is still
mans habitat and workshop. The earth was cursed as a result of mans sin but it
remains as the raw material for mans cultural striving. The whole creation is
But because sinful man is alienated from God, his existence lost its unifying
principle and culture lost its true end. Instead of being a means to an end, culture has
become an end in itself. In his apostasy, man loves and worships the creature more
than the creator. In the area of art, man sees art as an end in itself and it is taken as
that one thing which gives men true joy. The imaginary world replaces the real world.
In the area of science, man develops his power over nature for his own gratification.
True culture is constructive and seeks harmony whereas sin is destructive and
chaotic. Fallen men not only oppose God but are strangers to one another and this is
manifested in numerous ways, e.g. wars, family breakdown, crime etc, all of which
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Transformation
This chapter looks at the impact that Augustine had on Christianity and its
Augustine held that Christ was the one who transformed men and culture,
although Christian culture would always exists within the framework of the world. He
was neither a cultural optimist nor pessimist. Rather, he saw the need for mans
Before the time of Augustine, Christianity had already come into conflict with
pagan culture in that it claimed finality for its message and preached a gospel for all
men and not just for the elite. This conflict was not restricted to matters of morality
and worship but extended to philosophy and reason. For example, Porphery, a
Neoplatonist, presented the conflict in terms of revelation and reason and rejected the
historical records of the Bible. Nevertheless, pagan culture did make a positive impact
on Christianity, for example, in the area of philosophy, rhetoric, art and architecture.
The antithesis in the fields of art and philosophy gradually diminished so that a
synthesis arose.
juncture in history when the ancient world was falling apart. Augustine was converted
from paganism over a long period and he never fully escaped the coils of pagan
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authority and thought that one must believe in order to understand. Reason and faith
were not antithetical. The former was the instrument and servant of the latter.
Augustine rejected the autonomy of human reason. He saw man as an Gods image-
bearer, who must learn to think Gods thoughts after him. Augustine saw a great
Augustine made religion determinative for mans whole existence. In the area
of knowledge, Augustine was critical of the liberal education of his day because it did
not bring one knowledge of the truth, which is in God. He also taught that we are to
dispossess unbelievers of any truth they have discovered and claim it for Christ. In the
area of ethics, Augustine substituted the ethical for the aesthetic of the Greeks. He
opposed the Greek deprecation of work and marriage, based on the doctrine of
creation, although he did not entirely put away pagan philosophy in his thought.
While Augustine still had ascetic tendencies, yet he was not sympathetic toward those
who were anti-cultural and who advocated complete withdrawal from the world.
In his work The City of God, Augustine discusses the origin, development and
end of the two kingdoms or cities. These kingdoms are spiritual entities and are
physically intermingled until the end. They are motivated by two loves, i.e. love of
God and love of self. As for the relationship between Church and kingdom, the two
may not be equated since the former has many hypocrites in it although in the church,
the appearance of the kingdom is concentrated. Augustine saw the state as Gods
creature to keep sin in check and to save society from chaos. Its authority comes from
God, whose moral law is the eternal ground of all temporal laws. The church and state
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be noted. Firstly, he struggled all his life to escape pagan culture and thought but he
did not rid himself entirely of it, e.g. pagan mysticism, dualism of body and spirit.
Secondly, there was an uncertainty in his concepts of the church, kingdom and state,
although he held that the Christian state must serve the church. Thirdly, he believed
that peace with God had to precede peace in the home, society and state. Finally,
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Chapter 7: John Calvin: Cultural Theologian and Reformer of the Whole of Life
This chapter deals with the theology and influence of John Calvin on such
both theology and culture. His Institutes is the greatest single Protestant theological
masterpiece of all time and it served as a manifesto to the world of the Protestant
faith. Calvin had great reverence for Gods word as the final, inspired and infallible
authority for thought and action, and he determined not to go beyond what scripture
taught. Calvin did not restrict his concerns to one sect or nation but worked for the
spread of the gospel to other nations and the unification of all evangelical churches.
Calvins thought had a great impact in the political sphere. He saw the church
word. The church is concerned with spiritual matters while the state with temporal
and civil matters. Because of his doctrine of Gods sovereignty, Calvin opposed every
form of state absolutism and taught that rulers ought to have their powers limited by
legislators and constitutional law. God is the law-giver of nations. The election of
rulers by the people is important because it curbs the tyranny of kings. Citizens are to
honour and obey the government for Gods sake. It was this transfer of the elective
system used in the Genevan Church to the political arena that made a great impact
Calvin liberated the whole realm of culture from the tutelage of the church. He
taught that it was a third realm alongside the church and state, which had a separate
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etc. This doctrine of Christian liberty is one of the foundation stones of Calvins
cultural philosophy and it forms the appendix to justification. Christians are free from
the bondage of the law as a means of salvation. They are free to use Gods good gifts
in this world to glorify Him but they must not abuse it through excess. Ones cultural
advancement of the material welfare of man. Calvin had much to say about
economics. The author focuses on three areas. Firstly, he looks at the question of rent.
In contrast to the Scholastics who saw usury as a sin, Calvin taught that to forbid
interest under all circumstances was to bind the conscience beyond the Word. He saw
that the Bible does not prohibit the taking of interest on money for business ventures.
Calvin also taught the productivity of money and distinguished between charity and
business. Secondly, he looks at the area of calling, particularly of trade. Trade was not
esteemed very highly during the middle ages whereas agriculture was. Calvin saw that
every calling was honourable before God. He rejected the dualism between
the heavenly and the earthly. Calvin rejected all monkish vows and the prohibition of
priests from marriage. For him, evil did not reside in the world of sensations but in the
abuse of these good gifts from God. Thirdly, the author looks at Calvins attitude to
have, that we should labour honestly and that we should be content and thankful for
what we have. He did not condemn private property but taught that we are stewards of
our possessions.
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In the area of aesthetics, it is not true that he lacked aesthetic sense. For
Calvin, beauty is the shining forth of the majesty and glory of God, and thus it must
not be divorced from God. Calvin saw the history of man as a cosmic drama and at
the centre of it stands the church. In art, the artist is the recreator and must stand
below his subject, as an observer of Gods creature. The object must be subject to the
rules of simplicity, sobriety and measure. God has given great freedom to His image
bearers although they must submit themselves to the Word and the Spirit. God has
given nature for our instruction and we must be willing to learn from it. Calvin made
worship service. Writing was also considered a high art for Calvin. Even his critics
While Calvin did acknowledge that we could learn from unbelievers in matters
of technique and form, he never lost sight of the antithesis in culture. This becomes
clear in his establishment of the Academy in Geneva. Calvin saw the importance of
educating the youth. He viewed learning and teaching as subservient to the service of
Gods kingdom. Various subjects such as law, medicine, the arts and sciences were
taught at the academy and the cultural influence of this God-centered education
system is incalculable.
In conclusion, we note that Calvin sought to bring culture under the rule of
Gods word. In his cultural endeavours, man was free from the church and state
although he was to exercise moderation and work before the face of God. Also, all of
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Christ
the doctrine of common grace, and his contributions to the culture of his country.
Kuyper did more than any other in seeking to define the concept of Calvinistic
culture and his whole life was a grand demonstration of his view of culture. Kuyper
saw that culture included all of mans labour for the development and maintenance of
culture and that common grace was the basis of culture. Without it, the world would
have been destroyed by sin. Common grace is not spiritual but restricted to the
Kuyper gave common grace the independent role of developing creation and making
culture possible and he was not always consistent in this because he also held that
without special grace, common grace had no purpose. Common grace has both a
21:26, Kuyper held that the universal human development in every field of culture,
minus the influences of sin, will be carried over into eternity. Creation will not be
destroyed but be glorified. One of the purposes of common grace is to give special
grace a basis of operation. Thus, the pagan world in general performs an indirect
service to the church in its cultural strivings. In order to reconcile the problem of
common grace being both a help and a handicap to special grace, Kuyper held to two
levels of common grace, namely, one technical and intellectual while the other ethical
and spiritual.
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The author then looks at the doctrine of particular grace and its impact on
culture. Particular grace is Gods gracious inclination toward elect sinners on account
of Christs atonement. The church is the instrument of particular grace. Kuyper was
concerned to keep culture secular, i.e. free from domination of the church. There is
both an indirect and direct influence of particular grace upon common grace. As for
the first, Christianity has caused life in general to flourish. As for the second, culture
is directly affected through the cultural subject, i.e. the regenerated man. This new
humanity functions in the area of common grace to fulfill the creative will of God. All
of a believers life is affected by his regeneration. Particular grace does not give a
man a better understanding of technical matters or craftsmanship, but it does affect the
way a man interprets the facts that have been collected. This leads to two very
different kinds of science which are antithetical, each having its own faith. Note that
Kuyper did not accept a two-level theory of truth, which divides the religious from the
scientific. This antithesis between the two sciences is not more apparent because there
are some common areas, e.g. logic, language, methodology. Furthermore, Christians
do not always live according to this new principle of life in the whole of their being.
Kuyper called on Christians to establish their own scientific laboratories and carry out
their investigation on the basis of their presuppositions. Kuyper saw that Calvinism,
with its doctrine of foreordination, made a great contribution to science, which seeks
unity of comprehension. Calvinism also freed men from the tutelage of the church to
develop science and art. The doctrine of election had the practical effect of drawing
attention to the little and insignificant and the lowly for nothing is worthless and
without value in Gods creation. Christian art denies the Greek conception of man and
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nature and allows its view of life to be determined by the coming of Christ into this
world.
Christians are to live for the King in every cultural activity, societal
comes to expression in the sphere of common grace and the church as well. In order
to do battle with the world, Christian ought to organize their opposition in the various
spheres, e.g. labour, politics, science. This does not constitute a going out of the world
for Christians are called to live in the world in three ways, namely, as a member of the
works of mercy.
common grace should not be abused by making it the foundation for an uncritical
appreciation of the neutral culture of unbelievers. Kuyper placed common grace under
the sway of Christ. Secondly, Kuyper places more weight on common grace than it
will bear according to the Scriptures. He seems to have fallen into a kind of dualism
between nature and grace. Various corrections of Kuyper have been proposed, e.g.
some have proposed that common grace is an offshoot of Gods gracious love in
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culture.
replaced Kuypers common grace with the common cultural mandate. Against the
Neo-orthodox theologians, Schilder taught that there is no antithesis between God and
man, God and history, and grace and nature, but between grace and sin, and Christ
and the anti-Christ. History is the framework for Gods redemptive work in Christ and
thus God does not condemn history and nature but through Christ, He condemns sin
and restores nature and history to its original purpose. Christ is the secret of culture
for He takes Adams place and fulfills the cultural mandate. Adam was to serve as
Gods co-worker in cultivating the good earth for Gods glory but because of his sin,
he became an ally of the devil and enemy of God and was unable to perform his task.
Fallen men seek to develop culture for themselves rather than for God. Sin brings
disintegration into the cosmos and disruption to all the relationships of creation.
However, sin did not abolish the creative ordinance of God and the common
obligation of all men in the covenant of works. As such, the existence of culture in a
sinful world should not be ascribed to common grace but to common obligation.
Schilder saw that the development of nature is not due to grace but is part of the
natural process and the result of an inherent power in man given by God in creation.
For him, one should not talk about common grace without its corollary, namely,
common curse. Schilder rejected both the term common grace and the idea of
common terrain where unbelievers and believers are said to posses mutually. Men
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no longer have a common culture. At best, they have a common workshop, i.e. the
world.
Schilder places Christ as the key to culture for in order to return to true
religion and true culture, Gods wrath has to be appeased and obedience to God must
Christ restores culture by producing the true, whole man, who is once again able to
fulfill their cultural calling in this world. Christianity brought about the greatest
cultural reformation of history and the Protestant reformation was a resurgence of it.
Gods providence, He restrains the effects of sin so that godless culture never truly
Several consequences from Schilders position may be listed. Firstly, there is,
strictly speaking, no such thing as pure culture in a world of sin. Secondly, in our
discussion of the Christian and culture, we may not proceed on the fiction of culture
as such since this is an abstraction. Thirdly, Christians must not abstain from culture
since the cultural mandate comes to all men. Fourthly, it is uncritical to speak of the
cultural question as that of common grace since we are commanded to cultivate the
earth. Fifthly, the church must be held in great reverence culturally. The church may
never become a centre of culture but it must be the greatest indirect cultural force.
Finally, the Christian should neither be intoxicated with cultural optimism or stupefied
pedagogical worth. The latter has to do with the process of training in which Gods
co-workers undergo in their labour. The former has to do with preparing for the last
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day. Schilder repudiated Kuypers view that the glory of the nations shall enter the
New Jerusalem. The crucial concept in Schilders view of history is the catastrophic
covenantal responsibility and that mans restoration to God through Christ enables
applauded in rejecting Kuypers basis for culture, namely, common grace. Schilder
warned against the idea of common grace terrain which offered a neutral field of
operation between Christians and non-Christians. This idea has the tendency of
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revelation, and as His word, it has final and absolute authority, and is clear and
sufficient in all matters of faith and conduct. Without Gods revelation, man is unable
to find the true meaning and purpose of his existence and culture. Non-Christian
philosophy rejects God and His word as its starting point, and deifies some aspect of
Calvinists view the Bible as their source-book for culture. This does not mean
that the Bible is to be used as a textbook for science, art etc. Nevertheless, all the facts
of created reality cannot be properly understood and interpreted without the spectacles
of Gods word. Calvinists seek integration in all areas of life and will not accept a
The Bible has both historical and normative authority for the Calvinist. In
contrast to the liberals, he accepts the historical records of the Bible as true facts and
he recognizes that without the objective revelation from God, men would be in
The Calvinist views the Bible as Gods word and that without it, man cannot
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This chapter deals with the role of faith in culture and its relationship with
reason.
Christianity maintains that man cannot come to God without faith and that all
that is not of faith is sin. It denies that there are two ways to God, i.e. faith and reason,
and that whatever gods men may find by reason, they are but idols. Faith is not the
objective divine testimony. Man is a religious being and cannot live apart from faith.
Thus, it is wrong to view faith and reason as antithetical, for both faith and reason are
aspects of man as creature. All men live by faith, whether true or false. Neutrality and
a neutral terrain for culture apart from faith is an impossibility. Usually, when the true
Faith is the religious a priori of mans whole cultural enterprise and the
conflict in culture is between divergent faiths. The Biblical view of man is that he has
fallen away from God and is in need of restoration through Christ. All who participate
in Christ by faith are restored to their office of prophet, priest and king, and enabled to
In contrast to the liberals who place mans reason and autonomy above Gods
revelation, the Calvinists submit unequivocally to the sovereignty of God in all things.
The despair and sense of frustration of modern man is the result of his alienation from
God. Only Gods word gives meaning to all things and this meaning is to be expressed
in mans culture.
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This chapter deals with the Calvinistic view of the antithesis that exists among
between God and man, as creature. They also reject the idea of the eternal dualism
between God and Satan. The biblical concept of the antithesis begins in Genesis 3:15
where God sets enmity between the two seeds. The enmity is seen throughout sacred
history from the time of Cain onwards and into the New Testament. One of Satans
tactics is to soften this antithesis and to make the world look innocuous to Gods
The doctrine of the antithesis teaches that all Christians are to be involved in
this spiritual warfare and that not a single aspect of life lies outside this antithesis
both religion and culture. Nevertheless, this doctrine does not deny the unity of the
human race in terms of creation, the image of God, sin, and the need for redemption.
But it does teach that in Christ, the Second Adam, a relationship has been established
that supersedes the first. Through Gods grace, men are made new creatures and this
leads to a distinctively Christian way of living. Note that absolute antithesis does not
imply perfection for the Christian still sins in this life. Also, we must not conceive of
the antithesis only in terms of principles and not persons for both go together. Finally,
this antithesis will only be abolished at the end. Meanwhile, Christians are to fight
both inwardly in their own hearts and outwardly in the world of men and events.
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This chapter looks at the various usages of the word world in scripture and
pilgrim mind, pure and simple, and view this world as an evil to be endured, and thus
do not concern themselves at all with culture. Others hold that Christians have much
in common with unbelievers and that it is right to enjoy the cultural products of men
as long as they are not sinful. Still others have a warrior mentality and seek to win the
It is important to recognize that the Bible does not always use the word
world in the same way. Firstly, it speaks of the world as being fashioned by the
divine Artist in creation. But through sin, it has lost its harmony and waits for its
redemption. This material world, which God loves and which Christ has come to save,
is not evil. Christians should love it and view it a the workshop wherein the cultural
Secondly, it speaks of the world in a neutral sense, i.e. without reference to the quality
of men (Luke 2:1). Thirdly, it speaks of the world in the ethical spiritual sense and
may be defined as the mass of mankind alienated from God through sin. This is the
The important question is what the Christians attitude to the world in this
third sense should be. Note that this world is basically a world of men and not things
although mens ideas create a culture. Unregenerate men seek their paradise restored
here and now and make this world their home, whereas the sons of God seek a city
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that has foundations in the heavens. The things that men produce in their cultural
efforts are not sinful in themselves. The question is whether these things are used in
the service of God or not. The tone of a culture is determined by the spirit that
animates it. In our day, godless culture is being promoted through all the modern
media and the church is weak in this approach to the problem of culture.
Gods word calls us to maintain the antithesis and not to be friends of the
world. Jehoshaphat, in his alliance with Ahab is an example of being a friend of the
world. Christians are to hate the world because the antithesis is absolute. Likewise,
the world hates Christians and this hatred is expressed in various ways, e.g. in
fields such as education, art, etc. Christians must reject this neutrality concept for no
The Christian must not abandon his cultural calling in this world through an
imbalanced pilgrim mind or martyr complex. But he must also watch against worldly-
external things. The cure for worldliness is the renewing of the mind through the
Spirit. If believers are conscious of their other-worldly inheritance, they will not be
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This chapter discusses the Kingship of Christ over all and its implications.
Culture receives its meaning from the meaning of history. Christ stands at the
center of history and thus gives meaning to all that is past and to all that will come. As
the anointed Mediatorial King by virtue of His obedience, all power in heaven and on
earth has been entrusted to Him and He is now the ruler of all things. Christ comes as
the Second Adam to do what the first Adam failed to do. He is the spiritual head of
His people and His kingdom has both a present and a future aspect. As the Saviour
and Lord of men, He restores men to the service of God and calls them to contend for
and be witnesses of His truth in the area of culture for culture is not just a physical but
a spiritual enterprise too. Calvinism teaches that men are to glorify God in their
culture, and they do this by not being conformed to the cultural patterns of the world.
The total culture of a people is determined by their spiritual motivations and ideals,
Because Christ is King over all, Christians are to acknowledge His kingship,
not only in church and worship, but in the field of labour relations and everyday work
too. Christians should seek nothing less than a Christian organization of society for
Christ is the transformer of culture and restores people to their original heritage as
authority, affects culture in that once a person becomes a Christian, his culture must
develop on the basis of his new evaluation of life. But the Christian realizes that he
cannot make the world perfect here and now, and that perfection will come at the end.
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This chapter looks at the Calvinistic view of labour and the relationship
work. It proclaimed the freedom of the common man as one who had a holy calling
before God. The ascetic depreciation of the body and labour was rejected, and no
calling was considered low or base or inferior to another. The evaluation of work was
based on the why and how rather than the what. Mans cultural activity is truly a
service of God. From the beginning, man was to serve God by exercising dominion
over the earth in Gods name. Sin separated religion from culture, but Christ came to
restore lost humanity to its lost vocation. The service of God does not mean
withdrawal from the world but consists in cultivating and developing the earth. As a
cultural creature, man must live humbly before God, and must seek to understand the
meaning that God has given in his work through His word and creation. He does not
seek his own glory but Gods. No longer does he view work as a necessary evil but
rather a joyful calling in the name of His Master. In contrast, ungodly culture is
destructive rather than constructive, and sets man up as the end-all and be-all. History
The Calvinist does not hold that God has excused believers from their cultural
calling for all men are called to it. The missionary mandate is given to the church as a
whole but not every individual Christian is called to the special task of being fishers
of men. Thus the cultural and the missionary mandate are not contradictory. Every
believer in his cultural pursuit as a member of the church supports the gospel work
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with his prayers, offerings and his whole being. He also gives vocal witness to lost
sinners and calls them to repentance. It is important to note that every Christian
fulfills both mandates although there is a division of labour. One must not divorce his
cultural labours from the cross of Christ. The missionary mandate indirectly brings
about a Christian culture to replace the pagan culture for ones culture is always an
While Luther magnified Christian calling over against the medieval concept of
work, he said that the gospel had nothing to do with the things of the world. Luther
was willing to turn the interests of this present life over to worldly authorities.
Calvinism on the other hand sees that culture is to be brought under the authority of
Gods word and that every person has a divine calling in life to serve his creator. The
Calvinistic conception of culture and vocation is the cure for modern dehumanized
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This chapter seeks to clarify the relationship between culture and common
Abraham Kuyper held that common grace is the foundation of culture whereas
Klass Schilder altogether denied the relevance of common grace for the cultural
enterprise. Both these extremes are to be avoided for they both lack scriptural support.
As for the former, Kuyper speculated that without common grace, the world
would have fallen apart as a result of sin but there is no biblical evidence to suggest
that sin would have changed the ontological relationship of creation to God. Sin did
not change man into an animal but rather affected mans ethical relationship with
grace, for he is restored to his original calling through Christ, and this is a result of
special grace. Gods restraint of Satan and unregenerate sinners is due to the grace of
God in Christ to the elect primarily, thus common grace must not be identified with
the power of God which keeps the universe in being. Note that believers receive all
things necessary for the body from Gods special rather than common grace, for God
As for the latter, Schilder denies that there is any attitude of favour at any
stage of history on the part of God to the reprobate. This contradicts the Calvinistic
tradition for Calvin himself taught that there is a certain kind of grace that does not
save but merely restrains and gives gifts to men. Schilder is unwilling to go as far as
the Scriptures in recognizing common grace to the reprobate in restraining them and
giving them numerous gifts. While scripture teaches that natural men are alienated
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from God, nevertheless, he continues to have the sense of God and is able to do good
by virtue of Gods restraining grace. The culture of unbelievers remains culture even
dangerous ideas. Firstly, this doctrine is often separated from the work of Christ as
Romish natural theology. Secondly, this doctrine has been used to deny the
independent goal apart from Christ and it actually serves the antithesis. Thirdly, there
is the danger of ascribing to common grace the natural blessings of life to the
regenerate along with the unregenerate, which leads to the compartmentalizing of life
into two terrains one of common and the other of special grace. Such a two-terrain
doctrine leads to a neutralism and makes Christians indifferent to the great spiritual
One of the chief causes of this difficulty is found in the definition of the term
common. If the term is used in a qualitative sense, then it refers to the ordinary and
usual as compared with the extraordinary gifts. God gives the ordinary gifts of life to
those who are His enemies, but He gives Himself in love and fellowship to His
children, and this includes what they eat and drink. In other words, believers are under
Gods special grace at all times. But if the term is used in a quantitatively sense, then
it would mean that Gods favour is given to all indiscriminately and that all men alike
share in the natural blessings of life like sunshine and rain. This leads to a dulling of
the antithesis in certain areas and one of the tragic results of it is a false cultural
optimism and glorification of the natural man and his achievements, i.e. the pagan is
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Christianized and the kingship of Christ in the area of culture is ignored. Plato is
viewed as a common grace Christian. Calvin would never have approved of such a
conception for he always distinguished between the regenerating power of the Spirit
Some have used the idea of common grace to teach that God loves all men
preveniently and promiscuously and this love is the motivation for mission work. But
this is a grave error for God saves men on the basis of His special electing love and
However, the quotation marks indicate that the beneficent goodness of God to the
non-elect is not the source of the blessings which God bestows upon elect sinners in
Christ. In other words, Christians not only receive their salvation from Gods special
grace, but all their needs in time and in eternity are met through special grace. Also,
the restraint of sin in the non-elect is not the same as the sanctifying influence of the
Spirit. Thus, there is no commonality of grace between the elect and non-elect.
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