"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.
Renato Coletto and my article has now been published:
Bishop, S., & Coletto, R. (2026). The Sciences, Their Roots, and Their Interconnections: James K. A. Smith Between Dooyeweerdian Philosophy and Radical Orthodoxy. Philosophia Reformata (published online ahead of print 2026). https://doi.org/10.1163/23528230-bja10126
My Introduction to Reformational Philosophy is now on Laymen's Lounge.
Reality is multi-aspectual. Consider a garden and a gardener.
A gardener is faced with many decisions when beginning to garden. How many plants will be planted (numerical), what space will the garden take up (spatial), what changes will need to take place – what seasonal elements will need to be considered (kinematic). Will fertilisers or pesticides need to be used – will these be chemical or organic (physical)? Will the relationship between plants and insects be considered?
What flowers are best for bees that will be required to pollinate plants (biotic)? Plants have different fragrances (sensitive). Consideration will need to be given to how different parts of the garden fit together and if the type of soil is suitable for the plants (analytical). Plants have names and horticulture has its own terminology (lingual).
Will there be space in the garden to entertain friends (social)? Will the garden be too expensive to maintain (economic)? Are some plants becoming rare and need to be protected? How will the garden look? Is it pleasing in terms of being well proportioned, does it show beauty and harmony (aesthetic)? Will planning permission be needed to add or remove walls or outbuildings (juridical)?
Will any changes made offend the neighbours? Does the garden show love for plants and animals as well as humans (ethical)? The overriding question is why do we garden? Is it to produce a symbol of wealth and expertise, or is it to bring glory to God (confessional)?
The idea of the multifacetedness of reality is to be found in the thought and writings of the Dutch lawyer and philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977). Dooyeweerd was one of the major architects of what is known as Reformational philosophy.
Dooyeweerd is one of several Dutch Calvinists who were associated with philosophy. The notable others were his brother-in-law Vollenhoven, Antheunis Janse (1890-1960), S.U. Zuidema (1906-1975), K. J. Popma (1905-1986), the S. African H. G. Stoker (1899-1993), J.P.A. Mekkes (1898-1987), and Hendrik Van Riessen (1911-2000).
Over at the Layman's Lounge is my family tree of Calvinistic philosophy - concentrating primarily on neo-Calvinists.
It has gone through several drafts - with helpful comments from Gregory Baus, Derek Schuurman and Jet Weigand-Timmer.
This is the latest iteration (click on the image to enlarge it):
