Grace in Common

An episode on the occasion of the publication of the Klaas Schilder Reader. A Neo-Calvinist Bonhoeffer, a "loyal opposition in the Neo-Calvinist tradition", "a theology for the trenches of life". Who was this second generation neo-Calvinist? How did he differ from Kuyper and Bavinck? Join us in a conversation about possible weaknesses in the Neo-Calvinist tradition on sphere sovereignty, common grace, the church as institution etc.

Our essential Neo-calvinist reading list:

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

What, if anything, does theology have to say about how we clothe our bodies? Join us for a conversation with neo-Calvinist cultural theologian Dr Robert Covolo, author of Fashion Theology, for a wide-ranging discussion on culture, fashion, and theology.

Works cited:

Robert Covolo, Fashion Theology (Baylor University Press, 2020)

Abraham Kuyper, 'Uniformity: The Curse of Modern Life,' Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader (Eerdmans, 1998)

David Friedrich Strauss, The Old Faith and The New: A Confession (1872)

Friedrich Nietzsche, 'David Strauss, the Confessor and the Writer,' Untimely Meditations (1873)

Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books (1831)

Carl Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Crossway, 2020)

Charles Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity (Harvard University Press, 2018)

In this episode, we discuss the current online controversy on the 'third way' - an approach to Christianity and culture currently most closely associated with Tim Keller, but most historically rooted in the neo-Calvinist tradition. Join us for American, Asian, and European perspectives on this American debate.

Sources:

James Wood, 'How I Evolved on Tim Keller,' First Things.

Aaron Renn, 'The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism,' First Things.

Chris Watkin, 'The Third Way is Dead. Long Live the Third Way!,' The Gospel Coalition.

Rod Dreher, 'Tim Keller & Myxomatosis Christians,' The American Conservative.

Gray Sutanto, 'The Limits of Christian Pluralism, and the Relevance of Neo-Calvinism for Indonesia,' Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Religion and Ethics.

Gray Sutanto, 'The Ahok Affair: How Should Christians Respond?,' Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Religion and Ethics.

Timothy Keller, Center Church (2012).

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In this episode of Grace in Common we discuss the University, its Christian origins and the way in which the University still is a deeply Christian concept.

In this episode, we have a full-orbed conversation with Shao Kai Tseng (DPhil, Oxford). He is research professor in the Department of Philosophy at Zhejiang University, China. He is the author of Karl Barth's Infralapsarian Theology (2016) and Hegel (2018), and a contributor to the Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth-Century Christian Thought (2017) and Blackwell Companion to Karl Barth.

Neo-Calvinism is well-known for its combination of orthodoxy and modernity. It is neither a nostalgic return to the Calvinism of 16th century Geneva, nor a principled rejection of older Christian tradition. Instead, it is something different. In this episode we discuss the neo aspect of neo-Calvinism: its relationship to the modern world. Join us for a conversation on why we are all implicated in the complex negotiation that is modernity, and on how to embody the Christian faith in that setting. 

Sources mentioned: 

In this episode, Cory Brock, Gray Sutanto, and James Eglinton discuss the distinctive account of apologetics found in the neo-Calvinist tradition. Join us as we cover the applications of apologetics to psychology and culture, and its relationship to evangelism.

Books mentioned:

- James Bratt, John Bolt, Paul Visser (eds.), The J.H. Bavinck Reader (2013), especially 'Religious Consciousness and Christian Faith'

- Cornelius van Til, Defense of the Faith (1955)

- James Eglinton, 'Voetius: Can we classify sin?', 'Herman Bavinck: Can we predict sin?', 'J.H. Bavinck: Can we Psychologise Sin?'

- Daniel Strange, Their Rock is not like our Rock: A Theology of Religions (2015)

- Tom Holland, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind (2019)

Whoever says Neo-Calvinism, says common grace. In this episode we discuss another key feature of the Neo-Calvinist tradition: the antithesis. What is the meaning of this idea? How does it root in the Bible? What is its place in the whole theology? How does it relate to common grace? What does it mean in practice?

In this episode, we discuss preaching and neo-Calvinism. Many evangelicals turn to neo-Calvinism in search of resources for cultural life beyond the church, but overlook its significance in how we think about preaching. By its emphasis on the redemptive-historical reading of Scripture, neo-Calvinism connects us to an ancient way of reading and preaching from the Bible. Added to this, its deeply Augustinian anthropology helps us understand the people who hear our preaching. Together, these emphases offer resources for preachers as those who exegete the Bible and the human soul. Join us as we discuss how those ideas have shaped how we preach in our distinct cultural contexts: Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and Jackson. 

Resources mentioned: