A Free Church in a Free State: The Possibilities of Abraham Kuyper’s Ecclesiology for Japanese Evangelical Christians

by Surya Harefa

Publisher:

Langham

, 2023

Overview

How does Christ call his people to engage the societies, cultures, and politics of the nations they call home? From prioritizing patriotism over faith to withdrawing from the public sphere entirely, the struggle to navigate the intersection of an earthly and heavenly kingdom remains an ongoing challenge for Christians around the world.

Bridging cultures and time periods, Dr. Surya Harefa brings Abraham’s Kuyper’s ecclesiology to bear on questions of Japanese Christian engagement within the political sphere. Harefa offers a contextually robust exploration of evangelical Japanese approaches to ecclesiology and political involvement. Taking care to place Kuyper’s conception of the church within Kuyper’s own political and historical context, careful lines of application are drawn between Kuyper’s theological perspectives and the need for an active Japanese church engaged in all spheres of life.

This book is an excellent resource for those seeking to equip Christians to engage politically as followers of Christ for the good of the church and their nations. It also provides an example of the rich and powerful insight offered by exploring Western and non-Western theologies within their diverse contexts and in conversation with each other.

Key Features

• An excellent resource for those seeking to equip Christians to engage politically as followers of Christ
• Provides an example of the rich and powerful insight offered by exploring Western and non-Western theologies within their diverse contexts

Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Christian Responses to Sociopolitical Issues in Contemporary Japan
• Chapter 3 The Context of Japanese Christians’ Political Engagement
• Chapter 4 Kuyper’s Concept of the Church
• Chapter 5 The Context of Kuyper’s Ecclesiology
• Chapter 6 The Possibilities of Kuyper’s Ecclesiology for Japanese Evangelical Christians
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Praise for A Free Church in a Free State

In this groundbreaking book, Surya Harefa shows how Abraham Kuyper’s ecclesiology, rooted in his robust theology of culture, can effectively address the uniquely Japanese understanding of “communal authority” – often seen as an obstacle to the spread of the gospel in Japan.

—Richard Mouw, PhD

Product Details

• Title: A Free Church in a Free State: The Possibilities of Abraham Kuyper’s Ecclesiology for Japanese Evangelical Christians
• Author: Surya Harefa
• Publisher: Langham
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Pages: 279
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Church history; Evangelicalism; Evangelicalism Japan; Evangelicalism Political aspects; Evangelicalism Political aspects Japan; Japan; Japan Church history; Japan Religion; Kuyper, Abraham, 1837-1920; Religion
• ISBNs: 9781839736520, 9781839738883, 9781839738890, 1839736526, 183973888X, 1839738898
• Resource ID: LLS:FRCHRCHVCHRSTNS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-10-28T23:26:18Z

About Surya Harefa

Surya Harefa has a PhD in Theology from Theological University Kampen, Netherlands. He is originally from Indonesia but has lived in Japan for over twenty years, where he is cooperative pastor at Ibaraki Bible Church in Osaka, Japan, and co-founder of the Asia Kuyper Institute. He also serves as part-time lecturer and researcher at Tokyo Christian University, Inzai, Japan, and lecturer at International Reformed Evangelical Seminary, Jakarta, Indonesia.