The Abraham Kuyper Society

2006-07-14T20:36:00.000+02:00

For Posterity

Here's a pic of Gregory and Abraham. When Sander gets back in town, Karel, Girma, myself (and maybe Marco and anyone else who's interested in the AKsociety) should all have our photo with the bust.

Request for Prayer

2006-05-07T08:12:00.000+02:00

It's been a month ago since I last posted on this blog. I still want to work at the AKSoc project. The only problem is that I have to few man power to pull this thing. So please pray that I'll find people who are interested to join the AKSoc.

Abraham Kuyper Petition (DRAFT)

2006-04-05T08:28:00.000+02:00

The VU was established with a clear mission, a clear added value to the academia and to society. This University was meant to be free of state influence, because modernist society only tolerates a theistic worldviews. It was also meant to be free of the church, since a greater part of the Christendom in Kuyper’s days was also under the influence modernism and dualism.

Today, there is an additional external threat from corporate organizations, which provide resources for research, but also acquire a strong voice over the research agenda.

The VU was a counter-cultural and moral institution. A bulwark of Christian Science. Unfortunately, all advantages in terms of cultural, religious, political, moral and scientific mission of the VU have ebbed away over the last sixty years.

The Abraham Kuyper Society aims at helping the VU regain its former status, its former servitude to Jesus Christ and through Jesus Christ to the academia and broader societal spheres. If the VU fails to seek His Lordship and distinguish itself as a Christian university, merger with pronounced ‘neutral’ (secular) education and research institutions e.g. the University of Amsterdam (UvA) must be considered, for reasons of cost-effectiveness.

The Abraham Kuyper Society, however, prefers that the VU reframes itself as the Christian university as it was meant to be. This would mean a substantial policy shift. Some concrete policy changes the Abraham Kuyper Society insists on are the following.

A new or reintroduced logo that expresses the Christian identity of the VU.
Facilities (rooms, offices, multi-media) availability for Christian organizations (such as International Praise and
Worship service on Tuesdays)
Facilitating a vibrant Christian civic society.
A Christian prayer room.
The re-inauguration of the chapel on the 15^th floor as a Church.
Seminars on applied Christian worldviews for all first year bachelor students.
Inclusion of readings on and by VU reformists Kuyper and Dooyeweerd in Master’s programme.
A broad debate on the moral implications of certain understandings of evolution and Christian ideas of creation.
Christian ethics applied in the VU Medical Centre and the VU laboratories

This is part of a Draft Statement of Principles. If you have any questions or comment, please contact Sander Chan (chan.mansan@gmail.com) or leave a comment.

Mission Statement Draft

2006-03-10T16:28:00.000+01:00

This is what Gregory came up with, let us know what you think.
The first line says what we are, the second paragraph explains "Why Kuyper?" The last section is our purpose (mission statement).

The Abraham Kuyper Society is a multidisciplinary collaboration of Christian scholars and students at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) founded the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 1880 as an independent Protestant institution. In 1901 he became Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Kuyper also founded a newspaper, political party, and was an influential church leader and social reformer. In the midst of hostile opposition, Kuyper advocated and exemplified genuine commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all creation. Kuyper articulated a powerful Christian view of life rooted in love for God and His absolute sovereignty. As Christian scholars and students we are motivated by this same love and are committed to Kuyper's same vision: to acknowledge Christ's Lordship in every dimension of our callings for His glory.

The Purpose of the Abraham Kuyper Society is:
1) to promote understanding of and academic study from a Christian worldview at the VU
2) to encourage the governing board of the VU to return the school to its founding principles of independence from church and state, and of offering a comprehensive Christian curriculum.

Worldview or View Christ?

2006-02-05T21:46:00.000+01:00

I was thinking about the name "Abraham Kuyper Society". By adopting this name, we might falsely suggest that we're all about reintroducing Kuypers ideas on science, religion and other spheres of life. However, Kuyper cannot NOT be the most important reason for our existence. In fact, when I think about worldviews, I seriously doubt whether there is such a thing as 'the Christian view on ... [philosopy, theology, social science, psychology, political science, physics, chemistry mathematics...].
I am a political scientist. And I share my flat with another student of political science. Both of us are Christians. We're best friends, and we have much in common. Yet, we have very different (Christian) views on the latest developments in the Middle East. Surely, we are still brother and we both belong to Jesus.

Therefore I'd say that much more than about worldviews the Abraham Kuyper Society should be about directing hearts towards Jesus Christ, while leaving room for discussion, and - more important - leaving room for God's Spirit to guide us and speak to us.

Instead of creating the Christian view of all things, we should aim at viewing Christ. As far as I know neo-calvinist thought, that would mean the Abraham Kuyper Society would actually be more 'Dooyeweerdian' than 'Kuyperian'.
But I still feel that Kuyper is a more appropriate name at the Vrije Universiteit, after all; it was founded by him in 1880.

Abraham Kuyper, Herman Dooyeweerd, Science, Christianity, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, worldview, Christ

Danish Cartoons - II - Jesus Said...

2006-02-03T08:52:00.000+01:00

To all people who feel offended because of other people declaring the right to blaspheme...
I would like to quote Jesus' (Isa's) words in John 15:18

"If the World hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

Personally, I believe that we do not have any rights unless they are bestowed on us by God. 'The right to blaspheme God' therefore sounds very silly to me.
Yet, Jesus was and is still being blasphemed against. He was abused to the point that he was tortured and killed. He let this happen so that we would be forgiven and healed. If this sounds strange to you (and I do understand that this could sound foolish, especially when you hear this for the first time), learn more about Jesus, pray to Him and ask Him to show you who He is. Here's an interesting link for you: http://www.rejesus.co.uk/

Islam, Christianity, danish cartoons, prayer, help me, loneliness, abuse, blasphemy, prayer, Jesus, Isa

Danish Cartoons - I - The Right to Blaspheme?

2006-02-03T08:51:00.000+01:00

BBC News:

In Berlin, Die Welt argued there was a right to blaspheme in the West, and asked whether Islam was capable of coping with satire.
"The protests from Muslims would be taken more seriously if they were less hypocritical," it wrote in an editorial.

Washington Post:

"The appearance of 12 drawings in the Danish press provoked emotions in the Muslim world because the representation of Allah and his prophet is forbidden," the French afternoon newspaper France Soir wrote. "But because no religious dogma can impose itself on a democratic and secular society, France Soir is publishing the incriminating caricatures."

The newspaper's front-page headline declared: "Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God," accompanied by a new cartoon depicting religious figures from the Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Christian faiths on a cloud. The Christian is shown saying, "Don't complain, Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here."

France Soir paired its story and caricatures with a column by French theologian Sohaib Bencheikh, who admonished: "One must find the borders between freedom of expression and freedom to protect the sacred." He added, "Unfortunately, the West has lost its sense of the sacred."

politics, Islam, Christianity, danish cartoons, prayer, help me, loneliness, abuse, blasphemy, prayer, Jesus, Isa

Not a Square Inch

2006-02-01T00:18:00.000+01:00

"There is not a square inch
in the whole domain of our human existence
over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all,
does not cry: 'Mine!'"

Quote frome Kuyper's inaugural address at the dedication of the Free University.

kuyper, vrije universiteit,
christianity, worldview, Jesus Christ

AKSoc - Tools

2006-01-29T20:49:00.000+01:00

To achieve AKSoc’s purpose to love God with all our minds by promoting the application and development of Christian worldview in all scientific disciplines,
AKSoc will organise events and regular meetings.

ACTIVITIES
- AKsoc invites Christian scholars from various academic disciplines to contribute to Christian worldview thought, by lecturing, presenting, writing and advice.
- AKsoc invites students and anyone who is interested to participate in AKsoc activities. These include (guest) lectures, seminars, organising events etc.
- Student groups could meet regularly at the Vrije Universiteit or elsewhere to discuss and learn about the relationship between science an Christianity.
- AKsoc wants to set up a website with a calendar of events, a mission statement, relevant links and a possibility to financially contribute to activities.
- AKsoc will inform through (i.e.):http://kuypersociety.blogspot.com.

FINANCES
- AKsoc is a non-profit organisation, a foundation.
- AKsoc wants to set up a website with a calendar of events, a mission statement, relevant links and a possibility to financially contribute to activities.
- In order to be financial accountable, AKsoc will apply for an official foundation status with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce.

This is part of a Draft Statement of Principles. If you have any questions or comment, please contact Sander Chan (sander@alexandria.cc) or leave a comment.

Amsterdam, christian worldview, abraham kuyper, neo-calvinism, vrije universiteit, science, truth, abraham kuyper society

Draft Mission Statement

2006-01-26T00:32:00.000+01:00

The Abraham Kuyper Society (AKSoc) , based in Amsterdam (Netherlands), is named after Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), a Dutch Neo-calvinist theologian, news paper editor, prime minister of the Netherlands (1901-1905) and founder of the Vrije Universiteit (Free University) in Amsterdam (1880).
The Vrije Universiteit was meant to be a protestant university, ‘Free’ signified freedom from government and church. However, present-day Vrije Universiteit has evolved into a primarily secular institution, where Christian scientific truth is frequently denied.
The Abraham Kuyper Society seeks to reintroduce Christian truth at the Vrije Universiteit and in the academic world.

We must love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds. However, in contemporary scientific communities, the love for God has been opposed and put aside as being ‘irrational’. Worship and religion are referred to the realm of the private (family, Church, etc.), while ‘science’ must be ‘value-free’, ‘neutral’ and ‘objective’.
The Abraham Kuyper Society believes that religion and science are not separate realms. Every science reflects a foundational worldview. Therefore, science cannot be ‘value-free’, ‘neutral’ or ‘objective’.

It is AKSoc’s purpose to love God with all our minds by promoting the application and development of Christian worldview in all scientific disciplines.
AKSoc advocates Christian worldview by studying of the works of Abraham Kuyper, disseminating materials, organizing conferences, lectures and seminars, and, discussing Christian views from various academic disciplines.

This is a Draft Mission Statement. If you have any questions or comment, please contact Sander Chan (sander@alexandria.cc) or leave a comment.

Amsterdam, christian worldview, abraham kuyper, neo-calvinism, vrije universiteit, science, truth, abraham kuyper society

On the Move!

2006-01-21T00:57:00.000+01:00

Dear reader,

Thank you for your prayers! The Abraham Kuyper Society will be founded! Today I talked with two students, Karel and Gregory, who are very interested in this project. Soon they will join as members of this blog.
We decided a couple of things:

- We will draft a document on the principles and the goals of the Abraham Kuyper Society.
- We think about persons (speakers, professors,...) to list and to invite to a meeting where we discuss our plans and, hopefully, their involvement.
- We try to find Christian professors who would like to come and talk about their own academic field and how it fits into a Christian worldview.
- We will make a preliminary calendar of activities.
- We want to find someone to do a speech on Kuyper on our first (and founding) session.
- We want to make an inventory of possible pitfalls.
- We want to run the Abraham Kuyper Society Blog together

These are not official notes. So please forgive me if I am not complete or if I put the wrong emphases here and there.

Keep praying for the VU and the Abraham Kuyper Society!

Yours,

Sander

abraham kuyper, vrije universiteit, science, religion, christianity, calvinism, neocalvinism

Third meeting of the Reformational Philosophy Club

2006-01-19T07:55:00.000+01:00

Third meeting of the Reformational Philosophy Club, van Eeghenstraat 90 (vE90), 13 February @ 20.00

Abraham Kuyper from Wikipedia

2006-01-19T07:52:00.000+01:00

Portrait of Abraham Kuyper by Jan Veth

Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was born in the town of Maassluis and was a Dutch Calvinist theologian, scholar, and statesman. He was a professor of theology and also a major force behind the start of the Vrije Universiteit (Free University) in Amsterdam. He was the founder of two newspapers, De Standaard (The Standard) and De Heraut (The Herald). He served as editor for De Standaard and wrote often for De Heraut. He was also the founder of the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (Anti-Revolutionary Party) and served as prime minister of the Netherlands for four years (1901-1905).

At the invitation of B.B. Warfield, Kuyper delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Seminary in 1898, which was his first widespread exposure to a North American audience. During his time in the United States, he also traveled to address Dutch reformed congregations in several states.

He is considered the father of Dutch Neo-Calvinism and had considerable influence on the thought of Herman Dooyeweerd. Others that have been influenced by Kuyper include: Francis Schaeffer, Cornelius Van Til, Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Chuck Colson, R Tudur Jones and Bobi Jones.

Kuyper's works include:

To Be Near Unto God
Encyclopedia of Sacred Theology
Lectures on Calvinism
The Problem of Poverty

abraham kuyper, vrije universiteit, science, religion, christianity, calvinism, neocalvinism

ChristianUnion Interview (Excerpt)

2006-01-17T00:36:00.000+01:00

I was interviewed by a magazine (from the ChristianUnion). I told them what motivates me to be a candidate for the Amsterdam City Council in the next elections. Here is an excerpt. The whole English translation you wil find on my personal blog: Yet I Will Rejoice.

(Question about my personal opinion about contemporary Amsterdam)

...Personally, I think engaging with the city of Amsterdam, as a Christian resident, is not a choice but a Christian duty. A Ukranian church leader once told be about his first Amsterdam visit. He cried over what he saw, drug abuse, prostitution, agression,...
My initial reaction was: 'don't exaggerate, this happens everywhere in the world'. However, I often had to think back of our conversation. I realized: it is NOT normal that Amsterdam is worldfamous for its drugs and prostitution; it is NOT normal that our economy has become so dependent on abuse. And it is NOT normal that Amsterdam is a center of drug trafficking, trade in weaponry and trade in women. The more I think about this, the more I realize I cannot remain unaffected by all the injustice.
One of the easier but - I believe - also more effective ways of showing that you care for Amsterdam, is to vote ChristianUnion in these elections!

(Question about the ChristianUnion and the environment)

I think the ChristianUnion is already one of the greenest parties in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the ChristianUnion could raise awareness of the environment with Christians. I have to say that often Christians are somewhat uncaring about the environment. One of the greatest challenges of our time is being claimed by other social groups than the Christian community.
I do not encourage us to become tree huggers. However, I think an active stance on a better environment is necessary, furthermore it will make a good impression on non-Chrisians as well. This way we show that Christianity has answers for contemporary problems and that Christianity is an excellent alternative to political philosophies.
Maybe the ChristianUnion could start by changing the discours in the fields of economics and society. Usually people talk about the growth of the Gross National Product (GNP), but if you begin to understand what God produces through nature: clean air, food, energy, wood,... So many blessings need to be treated with gratitude.
I believe that when we start pursuing a better environmental policy, we will soon find out that God really made us to be good stewards of His creation.

www.amsterdam.christenunie.nl

Amsterdam, social justice, politics

Dear reader,

2006-01-13T19:49:00.000+01:00

Mark 12:30 (ASV)

and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.

Soon I want to start the Abraham Kuyper Society at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
The purposes for founding the Abraham Kuyper society are:

- Reintroduction of a complete and coherent Christian worldview at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (founded by Abraham Kuyper in 1880).
- The study of works by Abraham Kuyper in groups of students and others who are interested, from different professional and scientific disciplines.
- Studying the relation between Christian religion, politics, society and science.
- Honouring God with all our minds.

I would like to ask for prayer to bring back Christianity at what was once a Christian university.
Abraham Kuyper had a dream for the university he founded. However the Vrije Universiteit has sold out its principles, now it is merely nominally a Christian institution.
So I pray that God wil awaken the Vrije Universiteit. I pray that Vrije Universiteit students and employees will see that Jesus told the whole truth, and that truth included science. There is no division between scientific truth and God's truth!

If you would like to get involved, please contact me and pray for the Vrije Universiteit!

abraham kuyper, neocalvinism, kuyper, science, christianity, vrije universiteit, vu, truth, Jesus, worldview, prayer, amsterdam

This week's reading Campolo - How to Rescue the Earth Without Worshipping Nature

2006-01-10T21:54:00.000+01:00

This is my second week at the Intitute of Environmental Studies, where I hope to do research on international environmental relations for the next 4 years. I have done a lot a reading. My political science/international relations background is helpful, but insufficient, so I read like mad.

My friend Marco (my roommate) got me this book. And I am very happy about it. (I honestly doubt whether most of my colleagues would be so enthousiastic about it, but I love it.) Because I want to worship God in my work and see things from Jesus' perspective. I believe that when Jesus said: I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), he meant total truth.

I personally do not see contradictions between faith and science. In fact, as far as science aims at truth finding, it cannot be an other truth than the one truth that Christ represented. It is sad that today many people keep faith in a private realm while making room for science in the public realm. There is no real science without the Maker of all! And I refuse to live a schizophrenic lifestyle; professing Christ in Church, at home and with friends, while keeping Christ out of my working place.

I admit that it will not always be easy to live out Christ at work. But I pray that I will be a witness of the ultimate truth. That is why I want to start a study group/society, to discuss the compatibility of a holistic Christian worldview and science. This group should meet at the Vrije Universiteit. The university where I work was founded by Abraham Kuyper, a famous Dutch theologian and statesman. He ardently advocated a holistic Christian worldview, in science, in religion, in politics, in all aspects of life. Later this year I will start a blog on this subject: The Abraham Kuyper Society.

I am excited to learn more about the relations between God and His creation, between people and the rest of creation and how to help bringing His creation to wholeness again.

environment
abraham kuyper
work
religion

Members Invited

2006-01-06T22:36:00.000+01:00

Whoever is interested, contact me to become a blog member.
Wie geïnteresseerd is kan contact met mij opnemen om lid te worden van deze weblog.

Coming Soon: Abraham Kuyper Society

2006-01-06T22:04:00.000+01:00

The reasons for founding an Abraham Kuyper Society are the following:
- Studying the works by Abraham Kuyper in groups of students and others who are interested, from different professional and scientific disciplines.
- Reintroducing a complete and coherent Christian worldview at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (founded by Abraham Kuyper in 1880).
- Studying the relation between Christian religion, politics, society and science.
- Honouring God with all our minds.

Met de oprichting van de Abraham Kuyper Society beoog ik het volgende:
- Bestuderen van Kuypers werk, in studiegroepen bestaande uit studenten en andere geïnteresseerden uit allerlei verschillende richtingen.
- De herintroductie van een volledig en samenhangend Christelijk wereldbeeld op de Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam (gesticht in 1880 door Abraham Kuyper).
- De relatie tussen Christelijk geloof, politiek, maatschappij en wetenschap bestuderen.
- God eren met heel ons verstand.