Kuyper Graduate Returns to Guest Lecture

2009 Kuyper graduate Dr. Dylan Pahman returned to campus in mid-October to guest lecture in Dr. Anthony Bradley’s Seminar class, guiding students through a deep dive into the theology of Abraham Kuyper.

During his visit, Bradley’s students heard Pahman’s insights into Kuyper’s views on wisdom, science, and higher education.

“When Kuyper talks about science, he means learning in general, not just hard sciences like physics,” Pahman said. “So, for him, academic scholarship is like cartography, mapping all of life.”

For Kuyper, he emphasized, our creation in God’s image as rational beings—and the imprint of His Wisdom on creation—makes our science and scholarship possible. But Kuyper did not see learning as merely a pathway to a career or personal enrichment.

“For Kuyper, there’s something else – a duty to serve your neighbor – that comes with higher education,” he said.

That calling, Pahman noted, shapes the ultimate purpose of Christian scholarship: to equip students to shine the light of Christ in their communities, serving God and others with their knowledge.

He closed by challenging students to see themselves and their education through this Kuyperian lens, asking:

“What role can you play? How can you use your education to build up the people around you, in your families, in your neighborhoods, in your churches?”

Pahman works alongside Bradley at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty, a Grand Rapids–based think tank promoting a free and virtuous society shaped by individual liberty and religious principles. Bradley is a distinguished research fellow at Acton in addition to serving as Kuyper’s Research Professor of Interdisciplinary and Theological Studies.

Pahman brings more than 14 years of experience to Acton, where he has risen from research associate to research fellow and now serves as executive editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality. Over the years, he has edited books, helped lead Acton’s flagship conference, created and organized their annual academic conference, and taught research methods seminars. His writing has appeared in major outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Public Discourse, Law & Liberty, and The Dispatch.

He recently completed his PhD in theology from St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, London, based on his published work in Orthodox Christian social thought and asceticism. With more than 40 academic publications—spanning topics from Dutch Neo-Calvinism to Christian socialism to the intersection of faith, ethics, and economics—Pahman is recognized for his thoughtful Christian public engagement. He also holds a master’s degree in historical theology from Calvin Theological Seminary, and before that, a bachelor’s degree in Bible and theology from Kuyper.