Christian Worldview Student Conference Lectures

CALVINIST WORLDVIEW THINKERS IN THE
WILDERNESS YEARS

Lecture One: After Spring, Winter
Synopsis: Abraham Kuyper’s Stone Lectures in 1898 outlined an optimistic vision for a Christian Worldview based upon Calvinistic theology. In 1976, Francis Schaeffer wrote and lectured on many of the same topics, but from a more somber sense that the Western world was in decline.

Lecture Two: The Exodus into the Wilderness
Synopsis: The first half of the twentieth century witnessed many cultural and political crises, such as the two world wars and the Great Depression. Exceeding both the wars and the economic crisis was the spiritual and cultural breakdown. Events such as the Scopes Trial, the triumph of theological liberalism in the northern Presbyterian churches, and the popularization of anti-Christian philosophies threatened the Christian foundations of the United States.

Lecture Three: Those Amazing Dutchmen
Synopsis: The seeds for a reformation of Christian thought began in the Netherlands in the 1800s in the wake of the French Revolution. God raised up a profound historian named Groen Van Prinsterer. Building upon GVP’s legacy was Abraham Kuyper, who succeeded in bringing Christian principles to success in the church, state, schools, and press. From Kuyperian foundations, even more was done to apply Christian thought to all areas of life. Herman Dooyeweerd has especially noted for his encyclopedic contributions to Christian thought, particularly in philosophy.

Lecture Four: The University Without a Campus
Synopsis: Cornelius Van Til specialized in the field of apologetics. He focused on defending the Christian faith against competing philosophies. His rigorous presuppositional approach then provided a basis for applying Christian thinking in all areas of life and thought. Along with Van Til was a community of Reformed scholars who often built the foundations he laid out. Many of these men wrote scholarly Christian books that were published by the Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, which was operated by Charles Craig.

Lecture Five: L’Abri and Chalcedon
Synopsis: Both Francis Schaeffer and R. J. Rushdoony popularized Christian worldview thinking. Their ministries, personalities, writing styles, and visions were quite different, yet both were totally dedicated Christian thinkers, rooted in the theology of the Reformation. Both sought to apply Christian thinking to every area of life. All Christian worldview thinking today traces back directly to one or the other and often both of these men.

One summer back in the early 1980s, I stumbled upon a great television series. That in itself sound unbelievable, but trust me. It was on the PBS Educational network, which was then the fourth of four viewing options. It was series called "Fall of Eagles."

It was based on events in the late 1800s when three ruling houses dominated Europe: the Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary, the Romanovs of Russia and Hohenzollerns of Germany. The series highlighted "centuries of despotism, a continued lack of social reform and the advent of the devastating First World War [which]caused the vultures of revolution to start circling." There were 13 parts to this epic drama and an all-star cast that included Patrick Stewart, Gemma Jones, John Rhys-Davies, Gayle Hunnicutt and more.

I saw almost the whole series that summer. It was back in the olden days, before I had a VCR and the means of recording shows. Never again did I see it or hear of it. After Algore invented the internet, I tried to find information about the series. At times, I even wondered if such a thing really existed or if I had dreamed it up.

I recently discovered that the series is now available on DVD. My set came in yesterday. All of you are invited to come over to my house and join me in watching it.

This series is a dramatized account of the lives of the Hapsburgs, the Romanovs, and the Hohenzollerns. Family lives are interspersed with the affairs of government. Human foibles are highlighted among the royal rulers. Dissatisfied revoutionaries (such as V. I. Lenin, played by Patrick Stewart) comprise the subplot. The stories of these three families is tragic. The First World War led to the overthrow of these families. This in turn led in short order to the Bolshevik Revolution, the ushering in of 70 years of Communist oppression, the rise of the Nazis, the Holocaust, and then World War II.

One of the best books to read on this whole subject and era is Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August. This book deals with events leading up to the outbreak of World War I and continues with a tremendous account of the first month of World War I. If ever you think the French have no fight in them, read this account of the Battle of the Marne. Her prequel, The Proud Tower, is also a wonderful history of Europe and America in the 1890s.

David Fromkin's Europe's Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914? is a more recent and methodical survey of that tragic month. To list the major causes of World War I (nationalism, militarism, colonialism, etc.) or the immediate cause (the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Princess Sophia) is easy. But to undo the tangle of diplomatic manuevers, idiotic expectations of easy victories, and blind leadership is quite a story. All that happens before the first rifle is fired or the first trench is dug. The first months of that war involve some of the most amazing battlefield accounts in history. The German Schlieffen Plan was brilliant in theory, but flawed in execution.

Another incredbile book regarding this time is Robert Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra. It is the best book to read to begin understanding Russia's long and torturous history. (A very good movie version of this book has also been made.) This biography of a loving, beautiful, powerful, but weak and tragic couple reads like a novel. It's another tragic episode of history: Czar Nicholas had plenty of faults, blind spots, stupid notions, and imbecilic advisors, but he was a good father and husband, and a man of Christian convictions. His wife was manipulative, schizophrenic, consumed with protecting her son (the Czaravitch Alexis, who suffered from hemophilia)and petty, but she was a devoted wife, mother, and a woman of fervent Christian faith. The Bolsheviks who murdered them were dogs, cut-throats, and moral degenerates. But that goes without saying, for they were Bolsheviks.

I hope that the series Fall of Eagles is as good as I remember.