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 Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordrecht) met from November 13, 1618 to May 9, 1619. It was initiated by the Dutch Reformed Church to settle, among other things, the disputes within the state church between the Remonstrants (later to be known as the Arminians) and the Counter-Remonstrants
(later to be known as the Calvinists).
Contrary to present day popular opinion, the issues debated at the Synod were not exclusively about predestination (although that was the most influential and enduring subject addressed). Other contested
issues before the Synod included: Baptism of non-Christian servants and slaves in the Dutch East Indies, Bible translation, catechism and catechizing, church order, patronage, Sabbath observance, schools and education as well as training for student pastors.
The Synod was originally international in scope and included representatives from eight foreign countries. The Remonstrants opposed the international flavor and requested that the issues be addressed in a national perspective. They further asked for the floor to begin the discussion by laying out the Biblical case against the fatalism of the extreme predestinarianism of the Counter-Remonstrants. They were denied the opportunity to set the parameters of the debate and they withdrew for a time. There is evidence that the counter-Remonstrants had a major influence on the outcome of the Synod; however, with the withdrawal of the Remonstrants, all balance was lost. It was during the time of that absence that the Counter-Remonstrats
formulated the extreme response to the earlier five points of the Remonstrants with five points of their own which have become known as the five points of Calvinism:
- Total Depravity
- Unconditional Election
- Limited Atonement
- Irresistible Grace
- Perseverance of the Saints
There were constant political overtones to actions of church synods in that time. For example, the Remonstrants were accused of siding with the Spanish who were the military enemies of the Dutch. This, if it
were true, would have been viewed as treason and furthered the alienation of the Remonstrants. Thus, a shadow was cast on them that had little to do with their views on predestination.
In the next installment, we will begin tracing the development of these two streams of theology into the modern context.
When you say that the Counter-Remonstrants “formulated the extreme response to the earlier five points of the Remonstrants with five points of their own,” do you mean that these positions (the “five points” of the Counter-Remonstrants) had not been earlier taught in substance by Calvin and his more immediate followers? It seems that you are indicating this, since if Calvin and his immediate followers had taught substantially the same points at an earlier time, why would they be called an “extreme response”?