Calvinism

John Calvin

Background Christianity St. Augustine The Reformation Calvinism is a system of Christian theology advanced by John Calvin, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and further developed by his followers, associates and admirers. ... From [1], in the public domain This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a prominent French Christian theologian during the Protestant Reformation and is the namesake of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism. ... History Main article: History of Christianity See also: Timeline of Christianity The history of Christianity is difficult to extricate from that of the European West (and several other culture-regions) in general. ... St. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. ...

Distinctives Calvin's Institutes Five Solas Five Points (TULIP) Regulative principle Confessions of faith Institutes of the Christian Religion is John Calvins seminal work on Protestant theology. ... The Five Solas are five Latin phrases (or slogans) that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers basic beliefs and emphasis in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. ... Calvinist theology is in the English-speaking world often identified in the popular mind as the so-called five points of Calvinism, which are a summation of the judgments (or canons) rendered by the Synod of Dort and which were published in the Quinquarticular Controversy as a point-by-point... The regulative principle of worship in Christian theology teaches that the public worship of God should include those and only those elements that are instituted, commanded, or appointed by command or example in the Bible. ... The Reformed churches express their consensus of faith in various creeds. ...

Influences Theodore Beza Synod of Dort Puritan theology Jonathan Edwards Princeton theologians Karl Barth Theodore Beza (Theodore de Beze or de Besze) (June 24, 1519 - October 13, 1605) was a French Protestant Christian theologian and scholar who played an important role in the early Reformation. ... The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ... Jonathan Edwards is the name of several individuals: An American theologian in the 18th century; see Jonathan Edwards (theology). ... The Princeton theology is a tradition of conservative, Christian, Reformed and Presbyterian theology at Princeton Seminary, in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Karl Barth on the cover of TIME magazine Karl Barth (May 10, 1886 - December 10, 1968) was the most influential Reformed Christian theologian since John Calvin. ...

Churches Reformed Presbyterian Congregationalist Reformed Baptist The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Zwinglian or Calvinist system of doctrine but organisationally independent. ... Presbyterianism is a form of church government, practiced by many (although not all) of those Protestant churches (known as Reformed churches), which historically subscribed to the teachings of John Calvin. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ... The name Reformed Baptist does not refer to a distinct denomination but instead is a description of the churchs theological leaning. ...

Peoples Afrikaner Calvinists Huguenots Pilgrims Puritans Afrikaner Calvinism is a unique cultural development that combined the Calvinist religion with the political aspirations of the white Afrikaans speaking people of South Africa. ... In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France, or historically as the French Calvinists. ... Pilgrims Going to Church by George Henry Boughton (1867) The Pilgrims were a group of English religious separatists who sailed from Europe to North America in the early 17th century, in search of a home where they could freely practice their style of religion. ... The Puritans were members of a group of English Protestants seeking further reforms or even separation from the established church during the Reformation. ...

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The Synod of Dort was a National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618/19, by the Dutch Reformed Church, in order to settle a serious controversy in the Dutch churches initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on 13 November 1618, and the final meeting, the 154th, was on 9 May 1619. Voting representatives from the Reformed churches in eight foreign countries were also invited. Dort was a contemporary colloquial English term for the town of Dordrecht. The Synod is often also referred to as Synod of Dordt, or Synod of Dordrecht. This is about the Dutch city of Dordrecht. ... Events March 8 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but on May 15 confirms the discovery). ... Events May 13 - Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after having been accused of treason. ... The Dutch Reformed Church or Netherlands Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (NHK)) was a denomination of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin. ... For the Armenian nationality, see Armenia or the Armenian language. ... November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ... Events March 8 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but on May 15 confirms the discovery). ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... Events May 13 - Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after having been accused of treason. ... The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Zwinglian or Calvinist system of doctrine but organisationally independent. ...

Purpose

The purpose of the Synod held in Dordrecht was to settle a controversy that had arisen in the Dutch churches following the spread of Arminianism. After the death of Jacob Arminius his followers presented objections to the Belgic Confession and the teaching of John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and their followers. These objections were published in a document called The Remonstrance of 1610, and his proponents were therefore also known as Remonstrants. The opposing Calvinists, led by professor Franciscus Gomarus of the University of Leiden, became known as the Contra-Remonstrants. For the Armenian nationality, see Armenia or the Armenian language. ... Jacobus Arminius (also spelt Jacob Arminius, James Arminius, Jacob Harmenszoon, Jakob Hermann) (1560-1609) was a Dutch Reformed theologian and (until 1603) professor in theology at de University of Leiden. ... The Confession of Faith, popularly known as the Belgic Confession, following the seventeenth-century Latin designation Confessio Belgica. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a prominent French Christian theologian during the Protestant Reformation and is the namesake of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism. ... Theodore Beza (Theodore de Beze or de Besze) (June 24, 1519 - October 13, 1605) was a French Protestant Christian theologian and scholar who played an important role in the early Reformation. ... Remonstrants, the name given to those Dutch Protestants who, after the death of Arminius, maintained the views associated with his name, and in 1610 presented to the states of Holland and Friesland a remonstrance in five articles formulating their points of departure from stricter Calvinism. ... A professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) (prof for short) is a senior teacher, lecturer and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... Franciscus Gomarus (born January 30, 1563 in Bruges, died 1641), was a Dutch theologian. ... Leiden University in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. ...

Synod of Dordrecht (1729) by Bernard Picart

In The Remonstrance and in some later writings, the Arminians published an alternative to the Calvinist doctrine of the Belgic Confession on five points of difference. They taught election on the basis of foreseen faith, a universal atonement, partial human depravity, resistible grace, and the possibility of lapse from grace. Simon Episcopius (1583-1643) was spokesman of the 13 representatives of the Remonstrants who were summoned before the Synod in 1618. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (471x640, 115 KB) Summary Sketch of the Synod of Dordrecht by Bernard Picart (1729) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (471x640, 115 KB) Summary Sketch of the Synod of Dordrecht by Bernard Picart (1729) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of... Calvinism is a system of Christian theology advanced by John Calvin, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and further developed by his followers, associates and admirers. ... Simon Episcopius (January 8, 1583 - April 4, 1643), the Latin form of the name of Simon Bischop, Dutch theologian, was born at Amsterdam. ...

Conclusion and the Canons of Dort

Main article: Canons of Dort

The Synod concluded with a rejection of these views, and set forth the Reformed doctrine on each point, namely: unconditional election, limited atonement, total depravity, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints. These are sometimes referred to as the Five points of Calvinism. The Canons of Dort is one of the confessional standards of the Netherlands. ... The Calvinist doctrine of predestination, is the religious doctrine of double predestination, particular to Calvinism. ... Limited atonement (or definite atonement or particular redemption) is a controversial doctrine in Christian theology which is particularly associated with Calvinism and is one of the so-called five points of Calvinism. ... Total depravity (also called total inability and total corruption) is a theological doctrine that derives from the Augustinian doctrine of original sin and is advocated in many Protestant confessions of faith and catechisms, including those of Lutheranism,1, Anglicanism and Methodism,2, and especially Calvinism. ... Grace may stand for: // Meaning a quality of aesthetics, usually applied to human motion. ... Perseverance of the saints (or preservation of the saints or eternal security) is a controversial Christian doctrine which maintains that none who are truly saved can be condemned for their sins or finally fall away from the faith. ... Calvinist theology is in the English-speaking world often identified in the popular mind as the so-called five points of Calvinism, which are a summation of the judgments (or canons) rendered by the Synod of Dort and which were published in the Quinquarticular Controversy as a point-by-point...

The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, popularly known as the Canons of Dort, is the explanation of the judicial decision of the Synod. In the original preface, the Decision is called a The Canons of Dort is one of the confessional standards of the Netherlands. ...

"judgment, in which both, the true view agreeing with God's word concerning the aforesaid five points of doctrine is explained and, the false view disagreeing with God's Word is rejected".

The Canons are not intended to be a comprehensive explanation of Reformed doctrine, but only an exposition on the five points of doctrine in dispute.

Political impact

The acts of the Synod were tied to political intrigues that arose during the twelve year truce in the Dutch war with Spain. The decision of the Synod was the doom of the very highly respected and influential statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, who had been the protector of the Arminian Remonstrants. For the crime of general perturbation in the state of the nation, both in Church and State (treason), he was beheaded on 13 May 1619, only four days after the final meeting of the Synod. He is considered, also by the Calvinists, to be one of the greatest men in the history of the Netherlands. Also lost to the nation as a consequence of the Arminian defeat, was the phenomenal jurist Hugo Grotius, who was a supporter of the Remonstrants' rights leading up to the Synod. Grotius was given a life sentence in prison, but escaped with the help of his wife. Both Van Oldenbanevelt and Grotius had been imprisoned since 29 August 1618. The Eighty Years War, or Dutch Revolt, was the war of secession between the Netherlands and the Spanish king, that lasted from 1568 to 1648. ... Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (September 14, 1547 – May 13, 1619) was a Dutch statesman, who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for independence from Spain. ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... Events May 13 - Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after having been accused of treason. ... Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (Huig de Groot, or Hugo de Groot; Delft, 10th April 1583 - Rostock, 28th August 1645) worked as a jurist in the Dutch Republic and laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law. ... August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ... Events March 8 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but on May 15 confirms the discovery). ...

Bible translation

The Synod also decided to have the Bible translated into Dutch, straight from the original Hebrew and Greek texts. Translators were appointed, and the States-General were asked to fund the project. After the translation was first published in 1637, it became known as the Translation of the States or Statenvertaling. The Bible (sometimes The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material... The Estates-General (Staten-Generaal) is the parliament of the Netherlands. ... The Bible has been translated into many languages. ... Events February 3 - Tulipmania collapses in Netherlands by government order February 15 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor December 17 - Shimabara Rebellion erupts in Japan Pierre de Fermat makes a marginal claim to have proof of what would become known as Fermats last theorem. ...

Foreign Representatives

• From England: George Carleton (1559-1628), Joseph Hall (1574-1657), Thomas Goad (1576-1638), John Davenant (1576-1641), Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626).

• From Scotland: Walter Balcanqual 1586-1645), Samuël Ward died in 1643), Guiliemus Amesius (1576-1633)

• From Heidelberg: Abraham Scultetus (1566-1624), Paul Tossanus (1572-1634), Hendrik Alting (1583-1644)

• From Hessen: Georg Cruciger (1575-1637), Paul Stein (1585-1643), Rudolphus Gloclenius (1547-1628), Daniel Anglocrator (1569-1635).

• From Switzerland: Johann Jakob Breitinger (1575-1645), Wolfgang Mayer (1577-1653), Sebastian Beck (1583-1654), Mark Rütimeyer (1580-1647), Hans Conrad Koch (1564-1643).

• From Geneva: Jean Diodati (1576-1649), Theodore Trochin (1582-1657)

• From Bremen: Ludwig Crocius (1586-1653), Matthiuas Martinius (1572-1630), Heinrich Isselburg (1577-1628).

• From Nassau-Wetteravië: Johann Heinrich Alsted (1588-1638), John Bisterfeld (died in 1619), Georg Fabricius

• From Emden: Ritzius Lucas Grimersheim (1568-1631), Daniël Bernard Eilshemius (1555-1622).

• From France: None because the French government prohibited their attendance. A set of empty chairs was set up in the assembly in honor of the absent French Huguenots.

Joseph Hall (July 1, 1574 - September 8, 1656), English bishop and satirist, was born at Bristow park, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, on the 1st of July 1574. ... Lancelot Andrewes (1555 - September 25, 1626) was an English clergyman and scholar. ... Johann Heinrich Alting (1583 - 1644), German divine, was born at Emden, where his father, Menso Alting (1541-1612), was minister. ... Paul Stein is a versatile accordionist, composer, songwriter, and vocalist with an eclectic musical career. ... Giovanni Diodati (June 6, 1576 - October 3, 1649), Swiss Protestant divine, was born at Geneva, of a noble family originally belonging to Lucca, which had been expatriated on account of its Protestantism. ... Johann Heinrich Alsted (1588-1638) was a German Protestant divine. ...

See also

• History of the Netherlands
• Calvinism
• Arminianism

The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis, completed in 1661 by Rembrandt, the best-known painter of the Dutch Golden Age. ... Calvinism is a system of Christian theology advanced by John Calvin, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and further developed by his followers, associates and admirers. ... For the Armenian nationality, see Armenia or the Armenian language. ...

Links

• http://www.crcna.org/whoweare/beliefs/confess_canonsofdort.asp

• http://www.reformed.org/documents/canons_of_dordt.html