Kuyperania July 2015

Heslam, Peter S. 2015.  The Spirit of Enterprise: Abraham Kuyper and Common Grace in Business. Journal of Markets & Morality 18(1) (Spring 2015): 7-20

Abstract
This article explores the link between theology and enterprise implied by the phrase “common grace in business.” Common grace is often employed by Christian business leaders and theorists to counter the problematic sacred/secular divide that too often can be used as an excuse for dividing one’s faith from one’s occupation. While Abraham Kuyper’s ideas on social questions are well-known, his ideas on business have been overlooked. Against this background, Kuyper’s understandings of the working of God’s grace in business, the social function of money, and the calling of business are examined in detail. Within these understandings, the division between sacred and secular is transcended and a unique vision for mixing common and particular grace in business is revealed that both restrains evil and promotes human flourishing.