# Did Plato Influence Kuyper on Palingenesis?



## RamistThomist (Sep 8, 2018)

I was reading Kamphuis's _The Everlasting Covenant _and in the midst of his deconstruction of Kuyper, he notes the following:

“Regenerated man is in contact with the [Platonic] ideal world….The regenerated man sees the idea of real things, the eternal idea, that of justification, that of the church” (24), etc. 

From here it is a small yet quick move to eternal justification, an eternal church. 

I asked some Kuyperians in a facebook group and they told me that was impossible that Kuyper would have held such. As to primary sources, Kamphuis references the following (in Dutch), 

Kamphuis doesn't reference any claim that Kuyper champions Plato, but in the sentence immediately preceding that sentence Kamphuis mentions "a gap between man's consciousness." Kuyper, Encyclopedia of Holy Theology II:99).

That's not a smoking gun, but in this review article (I know, it's Gospel Coalition. Sorry about that),



> As an aside, it is interesting to compare Van Til’s claim in his analysis of Kuyper’s position on common grace, that Kuyper’s epistemology displays Platonic and Kantian traits with its stress on abstract universals. I am not the first to notice that Kuyper apears to have had some difficulty in moving from God in eternity to God’s contingent action in creation. If there is not a chasm here, Kuyper may have dug himself a ditch.



While I've read Van Til's _Common Grace _several times, the specifics on Kuyper's platonism escape me.


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## Regi Addictissimus (Sep 8, 2018)

Sadly, I have yet to read any works by Kuyper. Although, for my next read it is a toss up between Kuyper's "Particular Grace" or Bavinck's "Doctrine of God." I would think if he did have some Platonic influences, they may come out in "Particular Grace."


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## RamistThomist (Sep 8, 2018)

Reformed Bookworm said:


> Sadly, I have yet to read any works by Kuyper. Although, for my next read it is a toss up between Kuyper's "Particular Grace" or Bavinck's "Doctrine of God." I would think if he did have some Platonic influences, they may come out in "Particular Grace."



Read Bavinck first. Doctrine of God is good, but his _God and Creation _(Reformed Dogmatics vol 2) is much better.


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## Regi Addictissimus (Sep 8, 2018)

Thanks for the suggestion. Someone gave me a copy of Doctrine of God but I was going to ask if it was worth purchasing RD vol. 2 instead. You answered two questions for me. I always appreciate your insights and reviews.

Reactions: Like 1


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