
VU Research Portal For a Better Worldliness Himes, B.H. 2015 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Himes, B. H. (2015). For a Better Worldliness: The Theological Discipleship of Abraham Kuyper and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 27. Sep. 2021 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT For a Better Worldliness: The Theological Discipleship of Abraham Kuyper and Dietrich Bonhoeffer ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. V. Subramaniam, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Godgeleerdheid op maandag 30 november 2015 om 15.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Brant Micah Himes geboren te Portland, Oregon, Verenigde Staten promotoren: prof.dr. G. Harinck prof.dr. C. van der Kooi copromotor: prof.dr. R. Mouw Copyright © 2015 by Brant Micah Himes To my wife, Jackie To us it is only given [...] to bear our cross in joyful discipleship. —Abraham Kuyper Following Christ—what that really is, I’d like to know—it is not exhausted by our concept of faith. —Dietrich Bonhoeffer As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. —Mark 2:14 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. viii INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 The Question of Discipleship ........................................... 1 For All Their Differences ................................................. 7 Situating Kuyper Scholarship ........................................... 17 Situating Bonhoeffer Scholarship ..................................... 23 The Path Ahead: History, Theology, and Discipleship .... 39 PART I. ABRAHAM KUYPER’S THEOLOGICAL DISCIPLESHIP, 1894- 1905 ....................................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 1. Locating a Hermeneutic of Discipleship, 1894-1898 .......................... 46 The Politics of Forgiveness .............................................. 46 Theological Movements of Discipleship .......................... 53 Theological Foundations: The Encyclopedia ................... 54 “Dienst des Woords:” Discipleship in the Making ........... 71 Questions of Belief and Obedience: Christ and the Needy ................................................................................ 86 Possibilities: America, the Stone Lectures, and Beyond .. 99 Conclusion: Kuyper’s Discipleship .................................. 106 Chapter 2. Discipleship in Politics, 1899-1905 .................................................... 108 The View from het Torentje ............................................. 108 Discipleship and International Affairs .............................. 110 Meditations and the Railroad Workers’ Strike ................. 131 Education Reform and the Theological Practice of Common Grace ................................................................. 144 Conclusion: Discipleship for the Common Good ............. 157 PART II. DIETRICH BONHOEFFER’S THEOLOGICAL DISCIPLESHIP, 1935-1945.............................................................................................................. 159 Chapter 3. A Discipleship of Simple Obedience, 1935-1939 ............................... 160 Confusion, Confession, and Forgiveness .......................... 160 Theological Movements in Discipleship .......................... 165 Preparing Disciples for a Broken World .......................... 186 When Ministry is Illegal ................................................... 196 Conclusion: What Discipleship Becomes ......................... 210 Chapter 4. Discipleship in and for the World, 1939-1945 .................................... 213 The Difficult Path of Simple Obedience .......................... 213 Bonhoeffer’s Tegel Prison Studies ................................... 221 Failure and the Possibility of Discipleship ....................... 253 Confession: The Practice of Possibility ............................ 255 Conclusion: Discipleship for the World ........................... 258 PART III. DISCIPLESHIP FOR A BETTER WORLDLINESS ......................... 260 Chapter 5. Discipleship for the Common Good in Kuyper and Bonhoeffer ........ 261 A New Definition of Discipleship .................................... 261 The Four Movements of Discipleship: Convergences and Divergences ...................................................................... 266 Discipleship for the Common Good ................................. 306 Conclusion: The Culmination of Discipleship ...................................................... 310 Summary ........................................................................... 310 Further Implications .......................................................... 314 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................. 322 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing this dissertation has brought with it the joy of shared support from close family and friends, and the pleasure of gaining new friends and colleagues from across North America—and the world. Their combination of support, encouragement, insight, critique, and friendship has made this a remarkable season of life. While each individual that has helped to shape and form my ideas cannot be listed here, I do want to take a moment to acknowledge the community of scholars, friends, and family that have been vital to the success of this project. Grayson Carter served as my primary mentor in the doctoral program at Fuller Seminary. From our first emails and phone conversations, Grayson has been an enthusiastic supporter and an adept advisor, helping to guide not only the development of my scholarship, but also the preparations for my academic career. I am the fortunate beneficiary of his professional expertise and of his friendship. It was also a joy to work with the late Glen Stassen at Fuller. Glen’s passion for connecting students to Jesus was contagious. It was a privilege to sit and talk with him in particular about Bonhoeffer, and I was always struck by his genuine academic humility and his excitement for new ideas. Upon Glen’s passing, Richard Mouw generously joined my doctoral committee as a second mentor. This was a natural fit, as he was the one who first fostered my interest in Abraham Kuyper and the Dutch neo-Calvinist tradition. In addition, with the creative assistance of Matthew Kaemingk, Dr. Mouw introduced me to Cornelis van der Kooi and George Harinck, professors from the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam. Drs. van der Kooi and Harinck helped to establish the relationship between Fuller and the VU that viii enabled my participation in the joint doctoral degree program between the two schools. They arranged for me and my family to spend the 2013-14 academic year in the Netherlands in order to conduct dissertation research and writing, and they both proved to be exceptional advisors—both academically and culturally—while we lived there. In addition, my family’s nine-month stay in the Netherlands would not have been possible without the generous support of the Theologische Universiteit Gereformeerde Kerken in Kampen (TUK). In conjunction with my dissertation work at the VU, the TUK invited me to serve as an Associated Guest Researcher for the Neo-Calvinism Project. With the help of James Eglinton, the TUK provided housing and office space for me and my family in Kampen. Many at the university went out of their way to provide not only for our physical needs—like a lovely house and bicycles—but also to share with us the blessings of friendship. And special thanks to Tom Waalewijn for his tireless efforts in helping us feel settled and at home in our new surroundings. Kampen holds a deep place in the hearts of my family. My four year old daughter learned Dutch in school, and made lasting friends with children who could not even speak her language. My two year old son was blissful with the wind ripping through his hair between the handlebars of the mamafiets. And my wife, Jackie, did something just a few years ago she would not have dared even to think about—living, and thriving, in a foreign country. Our time in the Netherlands has profoundly shaped us. Certainly, this dissertation in its current form could not have happened apart from the hours of access to the Dutch archives at the TUK and the VU, or without the close
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