Calvin Theological Journal 52.2 (2017): 205–241
Blessing and Glory: Abraham Kuyper on the Beatific Vision
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Neo-Calvinism is known for its robust embrace of the goodness of the created order and its claim that nothing in it escapes the sovereign rule of Jesus Christ. The followers of the early twentieth-century Dutch theologian, Abraham Kuyper, it may fairly be said, took their starting point in his famous saying, “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!’” Kuyper’s neo-Calvinism unambiguously asserted Christ’s rule over every aspect of life and reinvigorated the common people (kleine luyden) to get involved in social and cultural affairs, in politics and economic life, in the arts, and the sciences. A Neo-Calvinist worldview, therefore, is one that redeems all of life and its everyday concerns and that claims it all for the service of Christ.
I want to draw attention to the doctrine of the beatific vision in the father of Dutch neo-Calvinism, Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920). To my knowledge, his understanding of the beatific vision has, to date, not been the topic of any scholarly discussion.
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