This series is from the From the Editor’s Desk column of the Sword and Trumpet. The articles were co-authored by Paul Emerson and myself.
The social and historical context of the Synod of Dort must be considered before one can fully understand what took place during this set of meetings.
This was a state church setting wherein the church and state were wedded. The arrangement provides mutual authority. The state has power over and within the church and the church in turn exercises more than mere influence over the state. All of this seems very strange to twenty-first century Americans, especially
Anabaptists who champion the New Testament teaching of the separation of church and state.
The leaders at the Synod of Dort were children of the reformers, second and third generations from men like Luther and Calvin. These men tended to be more radical theologically than the Reformers themselves. This is typical even today wherein an imbalance occurs in succeeding generations who go well beyond the original position. We say of this time, “The Calvinists out-Calvined Calvin.” These more radical views and positions resulted in strong tension within Reformed churches and institutions. As the Reformed positions solidified, men rose up within the Reformed movement to oppose the inflexible, dry, formal, and dogmatic theology that was in their opinion moving away from the Bible and toward philosophy and scholasticism, and as a result toward fatalistic theology. A key person in this reaction was Jacob Arminius. This in turn gave birth to the
Remonstrants, who were later known as the Arminian party.
The Remonstrants developed a theological response which centered on five points, later to become known as the five points of Arminianism. There ensued a long and bitter debate with attacks and counterattacks, particularly focusing on Jacob Arminius. The tensions of the debate contributed to his premature death
in 1609, well before the Synod of Dort.
The Remonstrance party advanced their five points as follows:
- Free Will or Human Ability
- Conditional Election
- Universal Redemption or General Atonement
- The Holy Spirit Can Be Effectually Resisted
- Falling From Grace
The Calvinists responded with what was to become known as the five points of Calvinism. The debate on these issues forms the core substance of the Synod of Dort.
In our next installment we plan to discuss the proceedings at Dort in 1618-1619.
To keep our feet on the ground, please note that both the Remonstrants and the Calvinists exceeded their teachers and pushed into extra-Biblical ground. Again, we champion Biblicism and reject any system that does not completely align with Scripture.