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
President Emeritus and Senior Professor of Faith and Public Life,
Fuller Theological Seminary, California, USA

Challenged by the political situation in Japan and the anonymous role of Japanese Christians in politics, Surya Harefa proposes in this thorough study of Abraham Kuyper’s ecclesiology to equip Christians in Japan to engage in politics as Christians.

George Harinck, PhD
Director of the Neo-Calvinism Research Institute (NRI), Kampen
Professor of History, Free University in Amsterdam

Dr. Surya Harefa grew up in Indonesia and had experience studying theology and pastoring churches in Japan. He understands Japanese church history objectively and existentially. Christianity is a minority in Japan, and thus, political involvement is difficult and tends to be defensive. The achievement of this book is showing how Christianity in Japan can have a sound political contribution by applying Kuyper’s ecclesiology.

Yamaguchi Yoichi
President and Professor of Japanese Church History,
Tokyo Christian University, Japan

Harefa’s work illustrates the dynamism in Kuyper’s thought, applying it fruitfully in a seemingly unlikely but ultimately entirely appropriate context – contemporary Japan. Harefa’s work is a salutary model of intercultural and constructive theological retrieval, as he carefully examines Kuyper’s thought in its original setting, and with sensitivity and wisdom applies insights gained from this study to the challenges facing Japanese Christians today.

Jordan Ballor, PhD
Kuyper Conference Coordinator and Director of Research,
The Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy

I heartily recommend Harefa’s study for its carefulness and clarity. It offers an excellent introduction to Kuyper’s thinking about church and society and is written with momentum and conviction. Not only in Japan but in all contexts, Christians who reflect on their public vocation and Christians who feel related to neo-Calvinism can learn a lot from it.

Ad de Bruijne, PhD
Professor of Ethics and Spirituality,
Theological University of Kampen/Utrecht, Netherlands

1. Acknowledgments
2. Chapter 1
   Introduction
3. 1.1 Japanese Christians’ Political Engagement and Ecclesiology
4. 1.2 Ecclesiology and Abraham Kuyper
5. 1.3 Appropriating Kuyper’s Ecclesiology into the Japanese Context
6. 1.4 Research Methodology
7. Chapter 2
   Christian Responses to Sociopolitical Issues in Contemporary Japan
8. 2.1 Yasukuni Shrine
9. 2.2 Constitutional Amendment
10. 2.3 The Countermeasures to the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Disaster
11. Conclusion
12. Chapter 3
    The Context of Japanese Christians’ Political Engagement
13. 3.1 Early Modern Period (Sixteenth to Early Nineteenth Century)
14. 3.2 Imperial Period (1868–1945)
15. 3.3 Post-war Period (1945–present)
16. Conclusion
17. Chapter 4
    Kuyper’s Concept of the Church
18. 4.1 The Organism-Institution Distinction
19. 4.2 The Believers’ Church
20. 4.3 A Free Church
21. 4.4 The Pluriformity of the Church
22. Conclusion
23. Chapter 5
    The Context of Kuyper’s Ecclesiology
24. 5.1 The Church Elections
25. 5.2 The School Struggle
26. 5.3 The Doleantie of 1886
27. Conclusion
28. Chapter 6
    The Possibilities of Kuyper’s Ecclesiology for Japanese Evangelical
29. Christians
30. 6.1 The Organism-Institution Distinction
31. 6.2 The Believers’ Church
32. 6.3 A Free Church
33. 6.4 The Pluriformity of the Church
34. Conclusion
35. Bibliography