Common Grace in Kuyper, Schilder, and Calvin: Exposition, Comparison, and Evaluation

Common grace has generally been thought of as a doctrine developed and promoted by Abraham Kuyper. However, John Calvin also discussed the concept in some detail. In the 1930s Klaas Schilder began writing about the doctrine and was quite critical of various aspects of Kuyper’s views. In his seminal dissertation, originally published in 1966, Jochem Douma first presents the ideas of Kuyper, Schilder, and Calvin, respectively, and then proceeds to compare and evaluate them. He has objections to some features of Kuyper’s doctrine, but also to some elements of Schilder’s critique. Ultimately he prefers the more nuanced views of Calvin. Included in this edition is a paper, first appended in 1974 to the second impression, in which Douma responds to criticisms levied at his dissertation. The English translation also contains a preface by the author in which, some fifty years after his study was first published, he expresses reservations about certain aspects of his original work.