This is a later post in the day than usual! Just got back from my vacation!
One of the amazing place we visited was a historic Dutch town in America. If you follow this blog for sometime you know I love Dutch Reformed theology and also the contribution of Dutch Americans to Christian theology and apologetics, namely Cornelius Van Til. It was a treat to see places with last names of Kuyper and other other Dutch family names around this town that often I see as last names of authors in the books of theologians and thinkers.
And one of the things I love about Dutch Neo-Calvinist Reformed thinkers such as Van Til, Kuyper and Bavinck is their observations of the inter-relationships of spheres and things, and inter-disciplinary nature of knowledge and sphere sovereignty.
One treat during my trip was seeing Dutch windmills. It totally blew my mind and also got me thinking tangent to the topic of Cornelius Van Til, inter-disciplines and innovations and appreciation for the truth of the Christian worldview.
But first about windmills!
Windmills are amazing. The thought about harvesting free wind which there are plenty in Holland to use as energy is such a innovative creativity. And it is amazing how wind power is used for many applications for many different fields. It is used for agriculture for grinding grain. Those who eat bread and pastries would appreciate that!
But there’s another application as well. During this trip I got to learn the answer to the question I always had in the back of my mind: How did the Dutch manage to reclaim so many land that was swamp or from the sea going back centuries ago before modern technology? I learned about about a particular type of windmill called the Tjasker. Here’s the wikipedia page. You can see the picture above where using wind power it pumped water from the land into a canal to reclaim the land from being taken over by water. Here’s a youtube video:
Here’s a drawing of how they work:
Impressive right?
So windmill technology is also used for the area of geography and not just making food with grinding grain (though of course making food is the domain of agriculture and that is dependent upon geography).
Seeing a working windmill up close I was struck at the incredible wood work and especially the same type of technology you would expect with ships. The amount of ropes and wood and “sails” for the windmill is amazing. I love how the technology for ships has applications for windmill. Windmill technology and sailing ship technology are similar; someone a long time ago thought about using technology from one domain to another domain. Throughout history that’s how innovation happen and even technological and scientific revolutions like how Gutenberg creatively thought about using the winepress for the printing press. I have written and reviewed books on this theme elsewhere: Review: Where Good Ideas Come from and Review: How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World. What blows my mind here is how often innovation presupposes the inter-relationship of different domains, as if the world is a unity. I won’t rehearse the philosophical theme of Universals and Particulars (see the second half of my VAN TILLIAN TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY: IT’S ORTHODOX STATUS AND APPLICATION TO THE ONE AND THE MANY) but its fascinating how in a Christian worldview in the West there’s a presupposition that there can be unity and diversity with the name “University.” I think people from all over the place can innovate; but sustained innovation doesn’t happen in a vaccum; and it can be boosted by one’s worldview.
Here windmill technology and naval technology also inter-related in another way: Some windmill has a third application as sawmills. These helped the Dutch to build wooden ships in an industrial scale that led them to be a sea power. With that commercial power it made them rich before the era of steel technology.
So all this thought about innovation and inter-relationship of spheres and domains got me thinking about Cornelius Van Til and theology. I think a major thing I learn from Van Til after his point about the need to be faithful to Scripture is how there’s an inter-relationship of everything in light of the unity of the Christian worldview. Of course we have to relate things properly; but still we haven’t discovered or explore or dwell on every inter-relationships of things and spheres yet; we are not all-knowing. But they are out there and there are benefits and chief among them for me is to worship God to see how amazing God’s World is and how His Creation has diversity and unity. It didn’t come about irrational chance that is at root irrational. I worship Him! But other benefits also follows: innovations, inventions and also deeper theology and deeper philosophy and new inter-disciplinary fields.
Van Til’s students in particular John Frame and Vern Poythress has run with Van Til’s theme of the inter-relationships of things and spheres with their Triperspectivalism (I personally think it should be called Tri-Dimensionalism so people don’t confuse it with relativism). See my review of Review: Theology in Three Dimensions by John Frame, All Four Volumes of John Frame’s Theology of Lordship Series and Vern Poythress latest exploration of Christian worldview to historical method in Redeeming Our Thinking about History: A God-Centered Approach” By Vern Poythress. They done a good job of showing areas we don’t particularly thikn as related as actually needing each other; see for example John Frame Quote On How Love Require the Laws of Logic.
Following Van Til’s disciples’ examples I too tried to explore and expound on the inter-relationship of things. I have written before on how Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology don’t need to clash; see my Quick Thoughts on the Inter-relationship of Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology. With a Christian worldview I think we can solve the debate in biblical archaeology between Maximalists, Minimalists in light of Presuppositional Apologetics. See also The inter-relationship of loving what is good and hating what is evil and the priority of love, Biblical Covenants and Hermenuetics Part 7: Inter-Relationship of Covenants and THE INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ESCHATOLOGY AND APOLOGETICS: IMPLICATIONS FOR APOLOGETICS AND ESCHATOLOGY.
Glory be to God with how there’s unity and diversity because of our Triune God, and for this foundation for inventions, innovations, nuances and intellectual depths! May we worship God!
Cool thing I learned from reading about Dutch windmills.
If you have written posts on windmills on your blog, do share it here!!
I visited Amsterdam in 2005; I rode the train into Amsterdam as I had a 6.5 hour layover on my way to Helsinki. Did a canal tour. Didn’t get a chance to visit the Anne Frank museum, but if I had more time, that would be on my list.
That is so cool! During the tour did you see any religious or church references in the city? I understand it’s very secular now…
Next to the train station was a church. Unfortunately, there was no warning that the other side of the church was in the Red Light District and could only be accessed from that side.
Hopefully you will get a chance to visit the Nederlands also. It’s a great place if you are a cyclist. The museums are outstanding and have world-class gardens. The tulips in the spring are outstanding. Amsterdam has Christian hostels for the budget traveler if you go it alone. Though there are many decommissioned churches there I found good congregations as well. One good thing is that many folks speak English especially the younger ones and the bigger city dwellers. Dutch, in my view, is really difficult to master. Since many are merchants, they have always catered to their clients by learning other languages in order to conduct their business.
Wow that is fascinating you shared that. I would like to visit there some day! When did you go there? Alex from your back to back comment yesterday and today I think you are well traveled and remember so much from them that you are informative!
My wife and I were never able to have children. Its not like we are rich or anything. I mainly do budget traveling since my retirement while the wife still works. I need to go places it seems and broaden my horizons and learn new things. I was born in Europe and have returned many times, mostly budget traveling. I can enjoy simple things and don’t need anything fancy. I have a wonderful wife that doesn’t begrudge me either. I am the cook and leave her prepared food while I’m gone and message her everyday.
One thing I noticed was a parking garage for bicycles. Saw it on the canal tour.
Yeah, and most likely packed full of bikes to the gills.
Yes it was full.
I was especially attracted to the link to your other post about maximalists and minimalists in archeology. That might be a good area to approach from a worldview perspective.
Thanks for reading this and checking out the other links!! Hopefully this shows how Presuppositionalism isn’t just blowing things up but contribute in other ways like archaeological methodology!!!
Welcome back and thanks for the great insight on windmills.
Thanks for the cool info on the draining windmills and pointing out the interrelationship of things in God’s design. Sounds like an interesting time in Dutchtown. Glad you all made it back home safely!
Thanks for reading this Tom lol. Just as I got to your blog you also got on my blog. How is your day?
RE: day
Thanks, Jimmy. A lot of little things going on today in stifling SoCal heat!
Couch duty until lights out.
How was the trip back? I’m guessing you have a little jet lag to deal with?
Side note Jim
I have ben reading on why reformed theology is called reformed. In so doing I realized how much my personal theology is reformed. Glad you could have that kind of vacation. so great how you tied all those pieces together. Thanks
Wow Gary that was like me; I was studying the Bible and eventually saw the theology that aligned was called Reformed; someone told me I was Reformed and I didn’t know what they were talking about until later. Glad to hear that Gary!
Sounds like a cool trip. I’ve lived in Europe twice and have been to Holland, beautiful there and the windmills are very cool. Pretty secular country these days but I also they did have some great theologians. Hope y’all had fun and were able to relax.
Wow thanks for this insight; I imagine you were living in Europe with the Air Force??
When I was in the AF and when my dad was in the Army
You have put so much into one post that I don’t where to start, Pastor Jim. I know this post took a good deal of time with the addition of all the links and I appreciate you hard work. I am not that familiar with Van Til but I am curious and will be checking out some of his work from time to time now.
I also think that interrelationships between different things are mind blowing. Truth is innately present in a God who created all things perfectly in their original state. Our view of truth and creation had been blurred by man’s original sin and his sinful nature. Try as I can to figure it all out I know that I won’t this side of heaven. That said, it doesn’t mean that I am not supposed to try to understand.
It is nice though, to just stand back and look at God’s creation in awe. It and God’s Word prompt me to worship Him. He is far greater than I can ever imagine!
His creation is sooo amazing!! Thanks for reading this!! Hopefully an attitude of worshipful awe was communicated in this post!!!
It was, indeed, Pastor Jim. It was communicated very clearly!
Well written. Happy you are safe at home.
Good stuff man – I’ve become interested in Van Till recently. Plan to read some of your other stuff on him
Awesome thanks Cliff for dropping by!
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