So i just got finished reading a lecture from Abraham Kuyper on “Calvinism and Science”. Kuyper was a staunch Calvinist, still celebrated amongst Calvinist circles, among other things. While I agree with some of his points, I have to say that the contemporary experience leads me to contradict a lot of what he says (although that might be attributed to the fact that his language isn’t very clear…)
First of all, Calvinism, according to his view, must create a love for science, that is, a love for discovering God’s world. From this viewpoint, we should see a continuing manifestation of God’s soverignty and brilliance in the universe, based on the fact that order will be observed. But we find today that much of science leads to disorder, though I still believe that much of our physics and science leads back to God. So while I agree in principle, the details have perhaps proven otherwise. His claim was based more on his on dogmatic presumptions than empirical evidence (which of course is the basis of science). That being said, the principle that discovery of the world is, I would agree, very necessary and a good thing for faith. Indeed, science does lead to much of God’s glory in plain natural view. But it has been my experience that Calvinists and conservatives are the Christians most diametrically opposed to science and its discoveries. In fact, though I think his knowledge of the subject was far more limited than ours today, he would claim that any person believing in Evolution must therefore cannot believe. Now, I am not set one way or the other on micro or macro evolution, but I would never go so far as to say God did not create the universe. Assuredely, it did not happen 6000 years ago literally, nor do I believe it to be 6 exact days (after all, how could there be a day if the sun isn’t there til day 3)… thanks a lot for making us look like idiots hyper-literal Christians… A Christian should attribute creation to God assuredly, but would not evolution, if true, attest to God’s genius? Again, in my experience, it has been the calvinists and conservatives who most oppose the scientific.
There has been for some time this dualistic nature to Christianity. There is a spiritual and material. The spiritual is God’s Word (written as in the Bible) and people’s souls… and that’s about it. All the rest? Well, to use a phrase, “to hell with it”. Because of this, Christianity has focused most on the human soul and salvation. To be sure, it is vitally important, but we have neglected the rest. Kuyper actually warns about this, but wouldn’t he be surprised that much of his own Calvinist descendents have fallen into this trap! This has lead, combined with the rise of the middle class, the religious right, and heavy individualism, to a “pie in the sky” Christianity, a bigoted, complain about the world but do nothing about it religion. Where we claim to care about our souls (and we do!) we neglect the material matters of the gospel, namely the reclamation of people (mind and body and soul), social justice, and true love for the world, the same as God did. We tend to love a certain aspect of God and ourselves (and our bodies for that matter… but not others’) but neglect the rest.
Calvinism is supposed to have a basis in creational theology. Based on a cultural mandate where people are to go to the Earth and subdue it (and spread human culture), this idea is the basis for a love of science (also predestination = soverignty = order). But where has that gone? The world now it seems is going down the crapper and Christians have gotten into off the sinking Titanic into our lifeboats to “save” as many people as possible. But this Fundamentalist type thinking does not fit with Calvinism at all! Or at least not originally! What happened? I think the very culture you claim to try to stay away from has seeped through the cracks and infected you just as you feared, but in a way unexpected. Rather than keep the devil out by limiting pop culture, science, secular things, dancing, alcohol, and whatever (the Don’ts of Christianity among other things) the devil has waltzed through using a fear of the world, with the lie that God hates the secular world and we as Christians must avoid at all costs lest we be sucked in as well. To be sure, we should not be sucked in to the many sins of the secular world, but if we do not actively engage with it, we will have done nothing but have held up in our fortress. We hope that the world will come to us realizing what a crappy situation they’re in, but I hate to break it to you, (common grace!) but there are a lot of “good” people out there in the secular world as well. We go and DO GOOD, not hold up in our walls.
Kuyper also claims that anyone who looks at him/herself subjectively but then claims to look at the world objectively must voluntarily leave the church. Uh, I’m sorry, EVERYONE does that. his brand of calvinism seems to say that because of predestination (which I cannot fully ascribe to), we can look at ourselves in the elected church objectively. But that is not possible. I’m sorry, its just not. But perhaps that’s been the church’s mistake in the past. We think we can look at ourselves objectively because God’s on our side. But that simply blinds us from the real truth that we’re not perfect. Admittedly, while writing I’m not being objective (am I trying to?). But I’d like to see ONE person look at themselves objectively… Go ahead, I’ll buy you a pizza.
Kuyper claims that a Calvinist must view the world as one, to fight this dualistic paradigm (that has indeed created a rift and caused the world at large to view the spiritual with at best suspicion or at worst irrelevancy and disdain) of spiritual vs material. He argues that there should be one. A unity. And I agree with him. I believe in creational theology and God does have soverignty over ALL aspects of life! But conservatives don’t seem to think so. perhaps their idea soverignty of God has refocused simply on themselves. Sounds a bit… American?
