What do you think?
Rate this book
Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology #5
Pro Rege (Volume 1): Living Under Christ the King
How do Christians bridge the divide between our lives inside and outside the church?
Abraham Kuyper believed that a healthy view of Jesus' kingship was essential to closing that gap. In this first volume of Pro Rege , Kuyper discusses how Satan's kingdom opposes, undermines, and obscures Christ's kingship. He then lays out the kingship of Christ according to Scripture. From his vantage point at the dawn of the 20th century, Kuyper explains the scope of Christ's dominion over all of life in his own culture--yet does so in a way that also strikingly impacts the 21st-century reader.
This new translation of Pro Rege , created in partnership with the Abraham Kuyper Translation Society and the Acton Institute, is part of a major series of new translations of Kuyper's most important writings. The Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology marks a historic moment in Kuyper studies, aimed at deepening and enriching the church's development of public theology.
Abraham Kuyper believed that a healthy view of Jesus' kingship was essential to closing that gap. In this first volume of Pro Rege , Kuyper discusses how Satan's kingdom opposes, undermines, and obscures Christ's kingship. He then lays out the kingship of Christ according to Scripture. From his vantage point at the dawn of the 20th century, Kuyper explains the scope of Christ's dominion over all of life in his own culture--yet does so in a way that also strikingly impacts the 21st-century reader.
This new translation of Pro Rege , created in partnership with the Abraham Kuyper Translation Society and the Acton Institute, is part of a major series of new translations of Kuyper's most important writings. The Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology marks a historic moment in Kuyper studies, aimed at deepening and enriching the church's development of public theology.
543 pages, Hardcover
Published July 13, 2016
About the author
Abraham Kuyper
563 books101 followersAbraham Kuyper was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian. He founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party and was prime minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 13, 2019
Kuyper, Abraham. Pro Rege volume 1. Lexham Press. Kindle.
This book falls under the category of “Good Kuyper.” This is the Kuyper of the antithesis, not the abstracted Kuyper of common grace (though, admittedly, elements of the latter are present). The book begins on a strange note: The Dutch Empire and Islam. Kuyper remarks that the Queen of the Netherlands ruled over more Muslims than she did Christians. Kuyper saw the writing on the wall: no longer could anyone pretend to be a “Christian Netherlands.” How are you going to enforce Article 36 of the Belgic Confession? How can you have a Christian voice in society without committing to either theocracy of secularism?
This book is a series of meditations on Christ’s kingship. It is not sustained analysis. Kuyper analyzes Christ’s kingship according to his exaltation and its operation. Of particular importance is Kuyper’s analysis of the spirit realm. Granted, our understanding of ancient near eastern texts and languages is much more sophisticated today, and there are some things Kuyper couldn’t have known, but still--he was probably the most insightful prior to recent developments. He writes, “Nothing has done more damage to the church’s confession of Jesus’s kingship than the marked increase in indifference towards the spirit world, whether toward angels or demons” (loc. 427).
Christ as Organic Head
Kuyper has received a lot of unnecessary (and often inept) criticism on his use of organic metaphors. Supposedly this is “pantheism” or “Hegelianism” or some rot. It’s biblical. It’s John 15. Kuyper writes, “The Head of the body is a mystical-organic concept, and it points to the organic communion of those who are one in faith, hope, and love” (loc. 1015). While there is an external aspect of his work (preaching of the gospel and a righteousness extra nos), there is an organic aspect: we really are connected to each other via our head.
Something that arises from the very processes of life is organic. Now, if Kuyper is arguing that Christ arises from the human processes of life, and only that, then yes, he is a pantheist. But that is specifically not what he is arguing. Christ’s organic kingship will one day organically communicate itself to us that we will be kings and reign with him (5348).
The Typology of the World City
Kuyper read the signs of the times and saw a systematic darkening of culture. This is manifested in the “world cities,” which in themselves focus the evil. By rejecting the unity of Christ, it seeks a unity of its own (loc. 1750). These are antitypes of Babylon.
What Kind of King?
Evidently Kuyper was already familiar with the false spiritualism of “not of this world.” While it is true that his kingdom is not earthly, the contrast, spiritual, does not mean something nebulous like “gushy pious thoughts.” It means, but not limited to, power of the spirit realm and revelation of knowledge. Echoing George Gillespie, Kuyper rightly argues that political authority does not flow from Christ as mediator, but from God in creation (loc. 2240).
The Essence of Dominion Man
Kuyper, anticipating Klaas Schilder, links man’s essence with dominion and the royal charter (2515).
Miracles
While he is a cessationist, Kuyper pushes back against the claim “Miracles don’t real no more.” On a more serious note, Kuyper, following the New Testament, notes that Christ’s power to do miracles usually stems from his human nature, not his divine. That’s why he did stuff “in the power of the Spirit.” Indeed, “it remained a human power to the very end” (2914).
While Kuyper is most famous for common grace, and I think that eventually dooms his project, he makes a very pertinent observation that undoes his whole take on common grace: “there is a process that grows in intensity. Similar events return again and again, but every time they return, the same struggle manifests itself with increasing ferocity. The outpouring of God’s wrath begins” (7829). In other words, the eschatological war against the wicked is intensifying in history. Gary North and Klaas Schilder could have written that exact paragraph.
Conclusion
We commend Lexham Press for getting this in English. We further commend them for making it easily accessible at $5.99 on Kindle. We don’t agree with everything Kuyper said. But this is a pretty good volume. My main criticism is that it is too wordy. Some chapters probably could be excised and others could be shorter.
This book falls under the category of “Good Kuyper.” This is the Kuyper of the antithesis, not the abstracted Kuyper of common grace (though, admittedly, elements of the latter are present). The book begins on a strange note: The Dutch Empire and Islam. Kuyper remarks that the Queen of the Netherlands ruled over more Muslims than she did Christians. Kuyper saw the writing on the wall: no longer could anyone pretend to be a “Christian Netherlands.” How are you going to enforce Article 36 of the Belgic Confession? How can you have a Christian voice in society without committing to either theocracy of secularism?
This book is a series of meditations on Christ’s kingship. It is not sustained analysis. Kuyper analyzes Christ’s kingship according to his exaltation and its operation. Of particular importance is Kuyper’s analysis of the spirit realm. Granted, our understanding of ancient near eastern texts and languages is much more sophisticated today, and there are some things Kuyper couldn’t have known, but still--he was probably the most insightful prior to recent developments. He writes, “Nothing has done more damage to the church’s confession of Jesus’s kingship than the marked increase in indifference towards the spirit world, whether toward angels or demons” (loc. 427).
Christ as Organic Head
Kuyper has received a lot of unnecessary (and often inept) criticism on his use of organic metaphors. Supposedly this is “pantheism” or “Hegelianism” or some rot. It’s biblical. It’s John 15. Kuyper writes, “The Head of the body is a mystical-organic concept, and it points to the organic communion of those who are one in faith, hope, and love” (loc. 1015). While there is an external aspect of his work (preaching of the gospel and a righteousness extra nos), there is an organic aspect: we really are connected to each other via our head.
Something that arises from the very processes of life is organic. Now, if Kuyper is arguing that Christ arises from the human processes of life, and only that, then yes, he is a pantheist. But that is specifically not what he is arguing. Christ’s organic kingship will one day organically communicate itself to us that we will be kings and reign with him (5348).
The Typology of the World City
Kuyper read the signs of the times and saw a systematic darkening of culture. This is manifested in the “world cities,” which in themselves focus the evil. By rejecting the unity of Christ, it seeks a unity of its own (loc. 1750). These are antitypes of Babylon.
What Kind of King?
Evidently Kuyper was already familiar with the false spiritualism of “not of this world.” While it is true that his kingdom is not earthly, the contrast, spiritual, does not mean something nebulous like “gushy pious thoughts.” It means, but not limited to, power of the spirit realm and revelation of knowledge. Echoing George Gillespie, Kuyper rightly argues that political authority does not flow from Christ as mediator, but from God in creation (loc. 2240).
The Essence of Dominion Man
Kuyper, anticipating Klaas Schilder, links man’s essence with dominion and the royal charter (2515).
Miracles
While he is a cessationist, Kuyper pushes back against the claim “Miracles don’t real no more.” On a more serious note, Kuyper, following the New Testament, notes that Christ’s power to do miracles usually stems from his human nature, not his divine. That’s why he did stuff “in the power of the Spirit.” Indeed, “it remained a human power to the very end” (2914).
While Kuyper is most famous for common grace, and I think that eventually dooms his project, he makes a very pertinent observation that undoes his whole take on common grace: “there is a process that grows in intensity. Similar events return again and again, but every time they return, the same struggle manifests itself with increasing ferocity. The outpouring of God’s wrath begins” (7829). In other words, the eschatological war against the wicked is intensifying in history. Gary North and Klaas Schilder could have written that exact paragraph.
Conclusion
We commend Lexham Press for getting this in English. We further commend them for making it easily accessible at $5.99 on Kindle. We don’t agree with everything Kuyper said. But this is a pretty good volume. My main criticism is that it is too wordy. Some chapters probably could be excised and others could be shorter.
November 1, 2021
I’m obligated to rate this 5 stars so people will take a much-needed look at Kuyper. In actuality, much of his theological reflection is 6-star worthy, while some of his contextualization (including his well-documented racist stereotypes) lives in the 0-star territory.
More on content: some of his language is inexact and appears self-contradictory. Sometimes he goes on flights of fancy and his exegesis can border on the speculative. However, in situating Christ’s kingship within an eschatological horizon, Kuyper presents an incredibly compelling picture of what Wolterstoff calls “world-formative Christianity,” without falling prey to the triumphalism that many of my fellow transformationalists often do. This is good stuff.
More on content: some of his language is inexact and appears self-contradictory. Sometimes he goes on flights of fancy and his exegesis can border on the speculative. However, in situating Christ’s kingship within an eschatological horizon, Kuyper presents an incredibly compelling picture of what Wolterstoff calls “world-formative Christianity,” without falling prey to the triumphalism that many of my fellow transformationalists often do. This is good stuff.
May 30, 2021
Excellent. The first article on Christ and Muhammad is worth the price of the book alone.
September 18, 2024
Interesting read which is organized in a way that allows you to read either chronologically or various chapters. If reading chronologically then Kuyper seems to be reparative. The major aspect of this book I found compelling is how we perceive Christ as our Lord and not just our savior. This is applicable in our own time as we look at salvation and the church as a way to serve ourselves, make the individual feel better, and live a life that is for our own glory. Kuyper does a good job in emphasizing salvation in Christ, but he believes that message is not the full picture. It is his lordship over all creation and not just those he saved.
Due to Kuyper living in 20th century’s colonial Netherlands, there may be subtle racial observations that could rub the modern reader the wrong way. It for one didn’t bother me since Kuyper does emphasis the equality of all men under the Lordship of Christ. However, it may come across as small minded or ignorant in the way he writes about non-western cultures in the East. I don’t believe this minimizes his major themes and exegesis, but it is something for the read to keep in mind while reading.
Due to Kuyper living in 20th century’s colonial Netherlands, there may be subtle racial observations that could rub the modern reader the wrong way. It for one didn’t bother me since Kuyper does emphasis the equality of all men under the Lordship of Christ. However, it may come across as small minded or ignorant in the way he writes about non-western cultures in the East. I don’t believe this minimizes his major themes and exegesis, but it is something for the read to keep in mind while reading.
January 14, 2021
Pro Rege means "for the king." This is volume 1 of 3 by that title, and it includes various articles by Abraham Kuyper on the subject of "The Exalted Nature of Christ's Kingship." These books are part of the larger series called his "Collected Works in Public Theology," and though I should have read the Common Grace volumes first, I was no less edified skipping ahead to Pro Rege. Here's just one quote out of the 576 pages, but a relevant reminder:
"Only when the anti-Christian power has exerted its greatest force and unfolded all of its unholy potential will the final battle be worthy of Christ; then He will celebrate a suitable victory after destroying that power in its full deployment." (421)
October 2, 2017
Fascinating collection of short articles Kuyper wrote for laypersons on the kingship of Christ. Genuinely easy to read, and you can skip around without missing all that much. The first two sections discuss the abandonment or neglect of Christ the King in society and in the churches; the third section, the most extensive, works out a pretty systematic understanding of Christ's kingship. The most interesting part of this for me was Kuyper's argument for the spiritual authority of original humanity over the material world. One particular outworking of this is that the miracles of Jesus were done out of his unfallen, natural human power rather than out of his divinity. This begs the question, of course: did Jesus take on unfallen human nature? The Torrance family would have something to say about that.
June 13, 2021
One of the most prescient messages I have ever read. This series reads somewhere in between a daily devotional and a contemplative review of contemporary culture and politics. Abraham Kuyper addresses the Christians of Holland and The Netherlands as a call to remember their relationship to Christ and how, therefore, to engage social issues. This is a three volume set, I am just starting volume 2. I strongly recommend these books!
May 23, 2017
Really good. Very long, but some outstanding passages, especially in the early sections that reflect on the diminution of Christ's kingship, and the symptoms of modern life which point to this. The theological work in the final section is good.
August 19, 2024
Great book. Don't agree with Kuyper on everything, but I am glad to have read it. Kuyper was a Dutch theologian and former prime minister of the Netherlands in the 1800s. Would only recommend if you are deeply interested in Christian theology.
January 11, 2023
I love reading Kuyper because he is one of the few theologians and philosophers who actually had to put his money where his mouth is in practice. Pro Rege is a great collection.
Want to read
November 9, 2018Review by Oliver O'Donovan.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews