Nederland 2026, 3: Leiden and environs

Monday and tuesday were spent in and around Leiden. Leiden is a famous university city, and as such there are a lot of young people walking and biking in it, raising the general energy level accordingly. These first days were given me to enable me to acclimatize to an as yet new environment. I quite enjoyed Leiden, a city that dates back to the 9th century AD. Living in Canada, it is difficult for us to comprehend the age of many European cities. What would it be like to live in a place where countless generations of one's ancestors had lived before oneself? Here are some photographs of Leiden:

 

Nederland 2026, 2: Arrival and Oud-Poelgeest

My journey began with an overnight flight from Toronto's Pearson Airport to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. The flight was about an hour late in leaving and took approximately seven hours in total. Having cleared customs, which takes some time for travellers with non-EU passports, I was greeted by my great friend Samuel Vandeputte, whom I was delighted to see again. As I wrote in my last post, we saw each other regularly during his studies in Canada. After he returned to the Netherlands and then entered graduate studies at Leuven, Belgium, we kept up with each other via regular online conversations. He now works in the field of journalism.

We deliberately kept monday and tuesday fairly free of commitments to allow me to adjust to the UTC +2 time zone covering western Europe. My first days were spent at the Hotel Landgoed Oud-Poelgeest in Oegstgeest, a village north of the city of Leiden. The hotel sits on a beautifully wooded property on which stands a kasteel, or castle. No, not a mediaeval castle, but a stately mansion in which lived the famed Dutch botanist and polymath Herman Boerhaave (1668–1738). During my stay there, I would walk around the property every morning after breakfast, enjoying the footpaths, water channels, and diverse flora, much of which is unfamiliar in North America. However, Boerhaave planted a famous tulip poplar that lived into the mid-20th century. Only shoots survive into the 21st. This tree is definitely familiar to me because we have one in our front garden. Many locals walk or run through this lovely property on a daily basis.

Nederland 2026, 1

I have recently returned from a week's visit to the Netherlands, a country to which I owe a deep debt of gratitude. This is due to the spiritual and intellectual influence that several notable Netherlanders have played in my own thinking, especially on the relationship between Christianity and politics, but more broadly on the cultural and social implications of the faith. I personally am heir to a tradition that extends back to John Calvin and includes such later figures as Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer (1801-1876), Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977), Bob Goudzwaard (1934-2024), and many others.

A broken communion

Christian Courier just posted my monthly column, titled, A broken communion. What about? "At Synod 2026, the CRC decided to withdraw from the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Was this the right choice?"

I do not normally weigh in on ecclesiastical issues in this space, but given my long association with and current membership in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), I think it is appropriate to comment on Synod 2026’s decision to withdraw from the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). I understand that church denominations have to weigh their associations carefully to ensure that they align with their mission and identity. But I believe Synod was too hasty in ending our relationship with this global communion, and I hope it isn’t too late to correct this.

 Read more to learn my reasons for this conclusion.

Recent activities for September 2026

My Global Scholars Canada newsletter for September is now posted online. Activities for the past month include three remote lectures and conversations, an expression of gratitude from a Brazilian reader, a brief reflection on the "deep state," a comment on dominion theology, and the submission of the manuscript for my next book to the publisher. As always, I am grateful for your continued support for my work.

The hubris of dominion theology: Bruce Barron

Last year Bruce Barron reviewed my most recent book on his Substack under this title: Should churches endorse political candidates? Two weeks ago Barron published a new post, The hubris of dominion theology, in which he published my own comments on an earlier draft of the post. An excerpt from my comments:

I don’t think the faith of our political leaders is altogether irrelevant to doing justice in their respective offices. This is the grain of truth in Christian nationalism and similar movements. However, this is dependent on such Christians cultivating and retaining an awareness of how the several political ideologies work to distort their perceptions of reality. Adding Christian to nationalism, or to any other ideology, in no way guarantees that it will produce just governance. Sad to say, even otherwise orthodox believers are susceptible to the allure of the ideological visions (or illusions) on offer in the public realm. 

Read the entire post here.

Belonging to God: manuscript submitted

I have just submitted the final draft of my forthcoming book, "Belonging to God: A Catechism's Relevance for Private and Public Life." The publisher is Cascade, a division of Wipf & Stock. 

The earliest material in the book dates to around 2009 when I wrote a series of commentaries on the Ten Commandments for the benefit of my students. In 2016 I decided to write a fuller exploration of the Heidelberg Catechism, incorporating much of this material, although I was not yet clear as to its purpose. I completed this during the summer of that year. The following year I was caught up in the events surrounding the loss of my teaching position and efforts to find something new. In the short term this led to a revision of my first book, Political Visions and Illusions, which came out in a second edition in 2019. This was followed by translations in Portuguese and Spanish. By then I was affiliated with Global Scholars Canada, an association I have found extremely fruitful for advancing my work. Then came Citizenship Without Illusions, something of a sequel to my first book, applying its principles to the practice of citizenship.

The 'Deep State'?

My latest column in Christian Courier is titled, The 'Deep State', a term much used in certain quarters while mystifying many others. What is it? Here is an excerpt:

Those who speak of a deep state suspect that there is a vast network of persons working clandestinely within the institutions of government to derail the intentions of elected officials. Their goals are hidden from public scrutiny; their nefarious activities dressed in the garb of public service. If any official threatens to expose them, they will ensure that he or she is thwarted or removed from office.

What do we make of this "deep state"? Read more here for my take on the matter.

Recent activities for August 2026

I have now posted my Global Scholars Canada newsletter for August 2026. Included are two articles drawing on my analysis in Political Visions and Illusions, three podcast interviews, and a farewell to a beloved sister. In the meantime, I am near the end of preparing my monograph for publication. Thank you, as always, for your continuing support for my work!

Evangelical 360 interview

In January of this year Brian Stiller interviewed me in studio at the offices of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) in Scarborough, Ontario. Brian is a longtime leader of the evangelical movement in this country, having served as the president of the EFC and of Tyndale College and Seminary. He is now a Global Ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance. Our interview has now been posted and can be accessed below.

 

UpNext interview: 'Faithful Citizenship'

Back in January (note my winter beard length) I was interviewed by Tommy Lee, founder and president of Resource Global, for his UpNext Podcast on the subject of my most recent book, Citizenship Without Illusions. We had a good conversation that covered a lot of ground, including two treasured mentoring relationships and my sideline in music and psalm versification. The interview has now been posted and runs for a little over half an hour.

 Here is the description from the YouTube page:

Politics can feel exhausting, divisive, and overwhelming. As Christians, should we engage, or step away entirely? In this episode of UpNext, Tommy Lee sits down with political scholar and author David Koyzis to explore what faithful citizenship looks like in today's polarized world. Drawing from his book Citizenship Without Illusions, David shares why political ideologies often become idols, how Christians can engage politics without becoming cynical, and why lasting change often begins in our local communities. Whether you're passionate about politics or prefer to avoid it altogether, this conversation offers a biblical perspective on navigating disagreement, serving your neighbors, and keeping your ultimate allegiance to the Kingdom of God. 

Citizenship: blessing and burden

I was first introduced to the work of Rick Barry and the Center for Christian Civics by my niece Bethany during a family gathering near Boston late last year. I subsequently met Barry personally at the Kuyper Conference at Calvin University in March of this year. We had some great conversations together at that event, and I agreed to assist him in his work in whatever way I can, including joining and serving on his advisory council.

Recently he interviewed me for his Christian Civics Podcast, and the episode has been posted here: The Blessing and Burden of Citizenship. The length is a little over half an hour.

Four Americas: ideologies & idolatries, part 2

In May Gospel in Life published the first part of the late Tim Keller's analysis of political life in the United States, to which I link here. Among the sources he cites are my own Political Visions and Illusions, which he endorsed several times beginning six years ago. This month the second part has been published here: A Political Case Study: Four Americas: ideologies & idolatries (part 2). Given his enthusiasm for my first book, I hope Keller would have liked my most recent book, Citizenship Without Illusions, as well. We certainly miss his presence among us, but even in death his influence for the kingdom of God continues.

Political Faithfulness in a Polarized Age

Writing in Christianity Today, Kyle Tucker writes about the political polarization besetting both the United States and American churches: Political Faithfulness in a Polarized Age. We are seeing more such articles published today, with pastors and other church leaders attempting, often with great difficulty, to address this divisiveness in their own congregations. Tucker mentions my own work:

In his book Political Visions & Illusions, David Koyzis argues that the dominant political ideologies of our day—from socialism to nationalism—are undergirded by idolatry. By idolizing the individual, the past, the future, or the collective, we transfer our love to false gods. This idolatry fuels identity politics, public discourse that is less about the common good and more about individual performance.

Tucker is a pastor at City on a Hill Church Brighton in Boston, Massachusetts.

Our ancestors hated each other

An anniversary road trip and some genealogical research led my wife and me to a surprising discovery. Read about it here: Our ancestors hated each other. An excerpt:

This year marks Nancy’s and my 30th wedding anniversary. On our honeymoon, we travelled through the mid-Atlantic states, visiting sites associated with our respective family histories. In April and May of this year, we returned to some of these places, especially Baltimore, Annapolis, and St. Mary’s City, the first capital of Maryland in the seventeenth century. 

Read the entire article here.

An extraordinary Hollander

Christian Courier has published my latest: An extraordinary Hollander. The subject? A man who served as mentor for Abraham Kuyper. An excerpt:

This year marks the 150^th anniversary of the death of one of the great figures in Dutch – and arguably Western – history. Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer was born in 1801 and was raised in a Netherlands undergoing significant change. When revolution broke out in France in 1789, it would unleash such instability as to plunge Europe into a full generation of war and bloodshed.

Much as Edmund Burke, whom we visited last month, foresaw the Revolution’s trajectory, it fell to Groen to assess it in retrospect. With the advantage of hindsight and under the influence of the Réveil, a Christian revival then sweeping Protestant Europe, Groen was persuaded that the Revolution was rooted in a rejection of God and in misplaced faith in political ideologies and their false promises of earthly salvation.

Read the entire article here. 

Recent activities for July 2026

My Global Scholars Canada newsletter for July 2026 is now posted. Included are a tribute to my work in French, continued work to format my next monograph, my review of a book related to Maryland's history, and a book on Herman Dooyeweerd's philosophical legacy, which I will be reviewing in the near future. I remain grateful, as always, for your support for my work!

Maryland's Revolution of Government, 1689–1692

My wife and I recently travelled into Maryland and, in so doing, made numerous discoveries about our respective ancestors, who were leading figures in the province. Shortly after we returned, we obtained a copy of a fascinating account of a transitional period in its history. The book is by Lois Green Carr and David William Jordan, Maryland's Revolution of Government, 1689–1692, published by Cornell University Press in 1974. I found this book interesting for three reasons. First, my wife and I share a passion for history. Second, I am a political scientist with an enduring interest in constitutional issues and the functionality of political systems. And third, at least three of my direct ancestors, along with my wife's, took part in the events recounted here and merit mention in the text and appendices.

Théologien? Moi?

Someone in the francophone world who styles himself ThéoPol has written me up in this blog post: David Koyzis : le théologien dont les évangéliques ont besoin! ("The theologian evangelicals need!") Here is an excerpt, as translated by Chrome:

David Koyzis is a unique figure. This Canadian is relatively unknown in the Christian world and receives very little media attention; he doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. He holds a doctorate in political science and adheres to Reformed orthodoxy, which theologically aligns him with evangelicals committed to the Holy Scriptures.

Recent activities for June 2026

My Global Scholars Canada newsletter for June is now online. Among the items covered are work on my new book manuscript, a one-day conference on Christian Nationalism, a posthumous use of my work by the Rev. Timothy Keller, an online conversation with Brazil, and a moving expression of appreciation from a British young adult. Thank you for your ongoing support for my work!

Reckoning with Christian Nationalism, 2

Earlier in the week I posted a portion of my response to James Wood's three talks on Christian Nationalism. But there was somewhat more to my response than my post contained. So here is more of what I had to say at Wycliffe College last saturday.

I appreciate Wood’s emphasis on “serious engagement with [Christian Nationalism] before critique.” Indeed we need to discern what is right about someone’s position before we can level a credible critique. I would go further than Wood on this score. There is something right about communal solidarity, full stop. Whether that community is the state, the nation, the family, the workplace community, or something else, we rightly celebrate the bonds that hold people together as they live their lives and pursue their daily vocations. There is in principle much good in the fact that Americans and Canadians love their respective countries and take pride in their achievements.

Justiça pública: questions and answers

Last evening I had another opportunity to talk remotely with people in Brazil connected with the new organization, Justiça pública. I last spoke to them three months ago and immensely enjoyed the experience. This time the event took place over Instagram and is available at this link: Eleições e a Fé na Cidade (Elections and faith in the city). My grasp of Portuguese is rather limited. Apologies as well that we all appear to be backward. A description of the organization: "Justiça Pública is a nonpartisan Christian think tank that develops leadership, conducts research, and proposes a constructive way of doing politics in Brazil." I will be connecting again with Justiça Pública in August.

Reckoning with Christian Nationalism

On saturday, 6 June, I was privileged to participate in a conference at Wycliffe College in Toronto devoted to Reckoning with Christian Nationalism: A Reformed Response. The principal speaker was James Wood, who teaches theology at Redeemer University and is one of the contributors to the Presbyterian Church in America's just-released report on the subject. There was obviously a lot of interest in the subject matter, as reflected in the large number of people who registered for the event.

Four Americas: ideologies & idolatries: Keller's analysis

It has been three years since the Rev. Timothy Keller left us and entered into the presence of his Saviour. Although I never met the man, I am personally indebted to him for endorsing my first book, Political Visions and Illusions, several times beginning in July 2020. I regret that I never had an opportunity to thank him personally for his support. Now Keller's Gospel in Life website has published the first part of an essay, A Political Case Study: Four Americas, Ideologies & Idolatries (Part 1 of a 2-Part Series), written a few months prior to his death in 2023. Here he undertakes to analyze four ideologies shaping political life in the United States, drawing on Reinhold Niebuhr, George Packer, and yours truly. An excerpt:

Burke's continuing relevance

My latest column has been posted at Christian Courier's website: Burke's continuing relevance. An excerpt:

In 1790, one year after revolution had broken out across the channel, the Anglo-Irish statesman Edmund Burke wrote his now classic Reflections on the Revolution in France. Many of Burke’s compatriots, especially his fellow Whigs, thought that the French were finally rid of their absolutist government and were embracing the constitutional institutions which they themselves had long enjoyed. They thus gave qualified support to the revolution.

Burke would have none of this, sensing that something more destructive was afoot in that country. The revolutionaries were going much further than to replace flawed rulers with better ones. In fact, their efforts would soon lead to a reign of terror, something that Burke foresaw in his Reflections.

Read the rest of the column here. I have now been writing for Christian Courier for 36 years. Next month's column will cover Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, an intellectual and spiritual heir of Burke whose recent biography by Roel Kuiper I have reviewed here.

Recent activities for May 2026

As I usually do in the middle of the month, I have just posted my Global Scholars Canada newsletter for May 2026. Included are big news about my next book, a review of a biography of an important 19th-century Christian statesman, and recent travels in the mid-Atlantic states. Thank you once more for your continued support for my work!

The Antirevolutionary: a review

Imagine growing up in a time of great political and social upheaval and coming to maturity in its aftermath. This was the experience of the young Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, who was born the first year of the 19th century and died 75 years later. At the time of his birth his native Netherlands had been under French influence for several years. The former Dutch Republic of the 17th and 18th centuries had been replaced in 1795 by the Batavian Republic, a centralized state modelled along revolutionary lines. In Groen's fifth year of life, the republic was further supplanted by a puppet monarchy under one of the Napoleon's brothers. This lasted for four years until the Netherlands was annexed outright to France. Groen was reaching adolescence as the Congress of Vienna was establishing a new European order at war's end. One of the features of this new Europe was an enlarged Kingdom of the Netherlands under a strong monarch from the House of Orange. Often referred to as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, it included what in 1830 would become an independent Belgium.

New book contract: 'Belonging to God'

I am pleased to report that I have just signed a contract for my next book, an in-depth exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism with a focus on its implications for our life in God’s world, especially public life. Although the timeline is admittedly short, the manuscript is basically complete and simply needs to be formatted to conform to the publisher's specifications. This will occupy my time for the next little while.

I see this new book as foundational for my other three published volumes, as it elucidates the faith that underpins them. If the books are to be read in logical order, proceeding from faith basics to application, one would begin with "Belonging to God," then proceed to We Answer to Another: Authority, Office, and the Image of God, then Political Visions and Illusions, and finally Citizenship Without Illusions. I will keep readers informed of the progress of this new project as it moves towards publication.

Recent activities for April 2026

I have now posted my Global Scholars Canada newsletter for April 2026. Included are a book review, the annual Kuyper conference at Calvin University, a remote address to Justiça Pública, and a forthcoming announcement about my next major publication. Details to follow shortly. Thank you for your continuing support for my work!

More on the 'Neo-Calvinist rodeo': two cheers for the market

In my previous post I mentioned my own fairly minor role at this year's Kuyper conference as a respondent to Dylan Pahman's excellent book, The Kingdom of God and the Common Good. Pahman has now posted his own account of his role as an Orthodox Christian at the "Neo-Calvinist rodeo": Dispatch from KuyperCon. Here is Pahman:

We talked about our common ground of Scripture and catholicity. We debated the proper relation between the Law and the Gospel. We discussed the fraught history of traditionally Orthodox societies with autocracy, while nevertheless noting many important—and too often overlooked—exceptions. To that end Koyzis even expressed his hope that my book would be translated into Greek, Russian, and other traditionally Orthodox languages.

Kuyper Conference 2026

From 26 to 28 March I was at the annual Kuyper Conference at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I travelled there by car with Harry Van Dyke and Peter Schuurman and stayed, along with Peter, at his brother Derek's house near campus. Peter is, of course, executive director of Global Scholars Canada, the organization with which I am affiliated. The conference always offers an opportunity to meet and get to know new people and to renew older friendships, but this one was especially memorable, as Calvin University celebrates 150 years of providing Christian higher education in the Reformed tradition.