"If God is sovereign, then his lordship must extend over all of life, and it cannot be restricted to the walls of the church or within the Christian orbit." Abraham Kuyper Common Grace 1.1.
Dooyeweerd identified 14 and later 15 modal aspects within creation.
Different terms have been used by Reformationals scholars over the years to describe these aspects - and some have modified the number and the order of them. I have attempted to show some of these changes in the diagram below.
(The order is from earlier to later aspects)
KLC ONLINE CONCERT:
Full Circle: From Lament to Praise and Back Again
Zoom Event: Saturday 15 May, 7-9PM U.K. time
You can read it here:
James C. Schaap on being a Christian [stone]mason:
... writing is no different from, say, laying cement. If a Christian mason wanted to witness to the Lord's saving grace in all that he did, and if he determined therefore that he would only fashion crosses in cement, eventually the poor guy wouldn't have many customers. If he wanted to be the best mason he could be he'd have to know every last thing there to know about laying concrete and erecting block walls. He'd have to ensure that his driveways would be flat and smooth, that they'd hold their set for decades. He'd have to know the very best mix. In short, he'd be far better off studying masonry than preaching. That's also true for bassoon players, garbage collectors, stand up comedians, and Zamboni drivers.
Schaap, James C. 1998. Our Family Album. Grand Rapids, MI: CRC Publications
Gregory Baus has produced a YouTube based on the article he and I wrote on Herman Dooyeweerd:
An introduction to Dooyeweerd by Gregory Baus and me is now live on Laymen's Lounge.
https://thelaymenslounge.com/you-should-know-dooyeweerd/
Laymen's Lounge have posted my piece introducing the Dutch Christian philosopher D.H.Th. Vollenhoven - check it out here
The Journal for Christian Scholarship have posted online two of my book reviews:
Charles E. Cotherman To Think Christianly: A History of L'Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement
Andrew Basden Foundations and Practice of Research: Adventures with Dooyeweerd’s Philosophy
The Laymen's Lounge has posted an excellent article by Rudi Hayward on sphere sovereignty.
It is well worth checking out.
Mark Roques introduces Iron Sharpens Iron, and our new evangelism resource Slave Chronicles and Dangerous Faith.
Also included is a tentative analysis of strands of Christianity and how they would answer key questions:
Author, teacher and working philosopher Mark Roques has developed an accessible online course to help Christians disciple others using creative storytelling. Slave Chronicles and Dangerous Beliefs offers twenty short stories plus study material on the theme of historic and modern slavery. The material can be used in everyday conversations, religious education or talks.
Each Chronicle contrasts Christian and materialist worldviews and demonstrates how to have respectful conversations while telling a story. While most people wouldn’t confess to supporting slavery, many acquiesce to its ongoing evils through complacency or ignorance. Alongside each narrative the evils of slavery are shown to have their roots in wrong thinking about the value of all human beings.
Commissioned by Thinking Faith Network, this short course which launches online February 2021, demonstrates how to discuss a biblical response which challenges this social evil. It can be studied by individuals, student or other small groups working at their own pace over six-eight weeks and supported by an online peer-learning community.
Mark first developed a worldview approach as an RE high school teacher in 1990s to attract the attention of dIsengaged sixth-formers:
“I immediately saw that neither pious homilies or straightforward religious education were cutting it. Instead I brought in albums, video and newspaper clips. What story was Madonna inhabiting in Material Girl, or Roy Keane telling when he wrote that pro-footballers were just ‘pieces of meat’? By exploring the stories behind pop music, entertainment and sports reporting with them I was able to unpack the underlying worldview.
I named and shamed the individualistic and materialist belief system that mugs so many today. Only by understanding this dark faith can we make sense of human trafficking. I pointed out that trafficked people are not just ‘pieces of meat’ for sexual consumption or slave labour, but precious creatures made in God’s image and likeness.The students hung on my every word. No sneering and smirking and excellent end-of-term feedback. Not only does this approach work, it works in every setting without any complaints of preaching or indoctrination. Vital in today’s pluralist society. You are sharing about something people know very little of through stories. Materialism is almost never scrutinised as a dangerous and destructive belief system . Many today ignore the Christian faith because they have never thought about the materialist mindset that has captivated their lives and imaginations.”
Talking about Mark’s method, the Right Reverend Dr John B Thomson, Bishop of Selby, said:
“This is a very impressive approach to evangelism. I like the way you deconstruct the assumed beliefs people rarely examine. I keep saying wherever I go that I have yet to meet a non-religious person in my life. Everyone has beliefs. The question I’m interested in is which religion or beliefs really hold water when faced with the big meaning questions of life? Your resources address this head on.”
Co-developer Patricia Gray said: “Mark has a great track record of holding neighbours, audiences and readers enthralled. His lively and humorous storytelling has captivated thousands over the years. Yet all the while, he’s dealing with some of the most difficult and fundamental aspects of what and why people believe as they do. With Slave Chronicles and Dangerous Beliefs Mark brings a much-needed and useful online resource to the Christian community, educating and enabling both discipleship and evangelism at a time when meeting physically is still challenging for many.”
The other articles are:
We hope to publish Findings at least twice a year. Please contact the editors (Chris Gousmett and Alan Cameron) to submit an article for consideration.
While visiting the Thumbwidth Press shop, check out the other titles available for sale, or free.
