""What made a serious debate possible and not simply a series of postures shouting at each other is “common grace.” God has not only created all humans in the divine image, God works in the hearts of all, constraining evil and fostering impulses to the good, and allowing all to have a sense of what is right and true—or at least to be suspicious of what seems wrong and false. This grace does not bring salvation, but it invites the recognition of validity and excellence from many sources, and the relative capacity of all, including the “little people” and unbelievers, to contribute to the general welfare. God’s providence continues to unfold the first principles and ultimate purposes of it all. If one goes into politics, as did Kuyper, the primary purpose is to seek that polity and those policies that would allow the various spheres of society and all people to do their best without undue interference of statist or ecclesiastical control, and to enable each perspective to try to make its case in public debate.""