Two articles—the first (no. 9) on the confirmation of church members, reprinted from De Heraut, no. 803, May 14, 1893, and the second (no. 11) on the relation between church and state, reprinted from De Heraut, no. 590, April 14, 1889. Controversy had arisen within the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands about whether it was proper to continue to speak about the “confirmation” of new members. In the first article Kuyper points to uses of the word “confirmation” within the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, and the Dutch Reformed Church and argues that, on the basis of the church order of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, the word should no longer be used. The practice in the Reformed Churches does not have to do with the confirmation of new members, but with the public confession of those who are already members of the institutional church because of their baptism. This reprint omits the first line of the original article, which had explained that the article was being written in response to a controversy that had arisen within the church about the terminology of confirmation.

In the second article Kuyper offers a brief historical overview of the relation between church and state. According to Kuyper, the complete intertwinement of the two must finally give way to a development in which church and state are distinguished into separate spheres. Those who contend that the church should remain financially dependent on the state simply revive the ideal of the Middle Ages. The church should not remain dependent on the state for its livelihood, but should instead receive its income from voluntary offerings.

For details about Gereformeerde Stemmen, see 1895.04.