The Augustine Project of the Ivy League

There is a Christian presence in many of the Ivy Leagues schools through The Augustine Project. It is an effort on the part of Christians to produce pro-Christian publications at their schools. I often go to the website and read from several of the magazines.

Revisions is the Princeton publication. This morning I stumbled on an article entitled, Why Christians Should Engage the World. In this article, Rev. David Kim writes,

"I want to argue, building on the works on Swiss Reformer John Calvin and Dutch Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper, that common grace grounded in the work of the Holy Spirit, provides the theological rationale for Christians to work side by side with those outside the church to meaningfully engage every sector of life and society."


Rev. Kim approaches this whole idea of engaging culture from a interesting perspective, common grace and the Holy Spirit. He writes,

"Often when Christians think of the work of Holy Spirit, they limit His activity to Christians. They don’t consider how the Spirit works His perfective purposes in all of creation, in all the cosmos. John Calvin in his Institutes writes, “We ought not to forget those most excellent benefits of the divine Spirit, which he distributes to whomever he wills for the common good of mankind… he fills, moves, and quickens all things by the power of the same Spirit, and does so according to the character that he bestowed upon each kind by the law of creation.”[1] Calvin understands that the work and influence of the Holy Spirit extends outside of the church to all people and creation.[2] Following Calvin, Abraham Kuyper also states that, “The work of the Holy Spirit is not confined to the elect, and does not begin with their regeneration, but it touches every creature, animate and inanimate, and begins its operations in the elect at the very moment of their origin.”

He goes on to write,

"The Calvinistic notion of total depravity must balance and ward off any sense of Christian perfectionism or an idealized progress of humanity. As history continues by the mercy of God, both sinful flesh and the Spirit are at work and at war with one another. As Romans 8 reveals, the Spirit will prevail, yet until that final day, evil will continue to persist in all its multi-formity. Yet, the fact that the Spirit continues to be at work gives us the opportunity and rationale to work with others in and outside the church to advance God’s Kingdom in the world. This is indeed common grace. "

Rev. Kim concludes,

"In conclusion, the notion of common grace grounded in the work of the Holy Spirit provides a theological rationale to engage co-belligerently with the world around us. Theologian Vincent Bacote writes, “This work of the Spirit is a providential, preserving, indwelling, and life-giving interaction with the created order. It extends back to the beginning of creation but continues into the present and invites us to shape the world toward the future.”[7] The confidence we have to work in common with the world lies not in any inherent unfallen aspect of the world or people, rather the ongoing, unified, cosmic work of the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of common grace built upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit ought to empower the church to engage the work of the gospel in every sector of society."

Rev. Kim's article is thought provoking and challenging. I do have a question or two for Rev. Kim. I am not a theologian and never pretend to be one, but I often have theological questions. Those of you who are reading this who have seminary training or a seminary degree, I would be interested in your comments regarding the article and your answers to my questions. Part of my personal mission statement is to make sure I read articles and books that challenge my thinking... those that motivate me to learn more or even those with which I totally disagree. You will find all of those and more here as I attempt to share with each of you what God is doing in my heart and my mind as I plod through life making every attempt to live and think as Christ would have me.

Regardless of my questions, it is clear that we are to engage the world around us for His glory, and that is exactly what we intend to do at Westminster. Please come and join us! Blessings!