This is a major research study of the effect of Reform Theology on European and
American visual and material cultures. It offers an analysis of Christianity and
culture that builds on the scholarship of Arnold Toynbee and Francis Schaeffer and
utilizes the careful analytical tools of the Dutch scholars Vollenhoven, Dooyeward
and others. Barber’s audacious scholarship aims to put Reform Christianity in
the center of change and interpretation in a way similar to the great Catholic and
Orthodox cultural historians. Barber discusses the Biblical centered energies that
clarify, justify and interpret the culture of Western Civilization.

“Barber has mastered and/or referenced a huge amount of literature. His book is a
great resource...his arguments careful, cogent and revealing. I hope his argument
has a great deal of influence on the church...it is like a mighty force for reformation,
revival and cultural renewal. There has never been anything like it (as a single
volume) in Reform literature. Recommended.”
John Frame
Professor of Philosophy and Systematic Theology
Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL