The Calvinistic Concept of Culture
Before Schaeffer, Sire, and Ravi there was Henry R. Van Til. His book, The Calvinistic Concept of Culture, is not about TULIP. Though Calvinism is often reduced to soteriology it is more than that. Rather, his book is about Christianity and culture. A son of the Dutch tradition, Van Til's work takes the best of Augustine, Calvin, Kuyper, and Schilder and sets forth a profound formulation of what Christian culture is and should be.
Van Til describes culture in several ways. Culture is "that activity of man, the image-bearer of God, by which he fulfills the creation mandate to cultivate the earth, to have dominion over it and to subdue it" (xvii).
He defines culture as "any and all human effort and labor expended upon the cosmos, to unearth its treasures and its riches and bring them into the service of man for the enrichment of human existence unto the glory of God" (30).
As a counter-point He quotes Matthew Arnold on culture: It is the "pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, on all matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world' (25).
While this is partially true, Van Til says, it is also faulty. Culture is not just knowing; it is also producing. It is not just learning passively; it is acting.
Thus, culture is not just an activity of civilized nations but of all men everywhere. Where men are, there culture exists (27).
I look forward to reading more of Van Til. As a shaper of young minds I hope to mold them into positive agents of cultural transformation.
Van Til describes culture in several ways. Culture is "that activity of man, the image-bearer of God, by which he fulfills the creation mandate to cultivate the earth, to have dominion over it and to subdue it" (xvii).
He defines culture as "any and all human effort and labor expended upon the cosmos, to unearth its treasures and its riches and bring them into the service of man for the enrichment of human existence unto the glory of God" (30).
As a counter-point He quotes Matthew Arnold on culture: It is the "pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, on all matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world' (25).
While this is partially true, Van Til says, it is also faulty. Culture is not just knowing; it is also producing. It is not just learning passively; it is acting.
Thus, culture is not just an activity of civilized nations but of all men everywhere. Where men are, there culture exists (27).
I look forward to reading more of Van Til. As a shaper of young minds I hope to mold them into positive agents of cultural transformation.
posted by T. Chris at Tuesday, November 28, 2006
4 Comments:
A high calling indeed. I pray you have much success, as the emerging generations seem to think that they have little to offer and much to repair.
You're right - I think I would enjoy Van Til.
A high calling indeed. I pray you have much success, as the emerging generations seem to think that they have little to offer and much to repair.
You're right - I think I would enjoy Van Til.
You would enjoy this Van Til but when I said that I was thinking of Henry's uncle, Cornelius Van Til:
http://tinyurl.com/ydwanp
I see. Sorry about the double post up there. Don't know how that happened.
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