The Documents of the Synod of Dort (1618–1619)—A New Edition (original) (raw)
Related papers
Four Centuries Ago: An Historical Survey of the Synod of Dort (1618-19)
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Journal , 2019
2019 marks the four-hundredth anniversary of the successful conclusion of one of the most significant – and arguably one of the most overlooked – ecclesiastical assemblies in Church History. The Synod of Dort (1618-19) and the canons it produced have been both praised and denounced by historians and theologians for the past 400 years. Generally speaking, these widely different opinions have represented the winning and losing side of the great Calvinist-Arminian dispute, which the Synod sought to resolve. English Puritan Richard Baxter’s oft-cited opinion is representative of the victors at Dort: writing in 1656, he concluded, “The Christian World since the days of the Apostles has never seen a Synod of more excellent Divines than … [the Westminster Assembly] and the Synod of Dort.”2 Nineteenth-century American liberal theologian Charles Briggs represents a very different appraisal of Dort and its divines: “The scholastic theologians of … Holland perverted [the] precious doctrinal achievements of Calvinism into hard, stern, and barren dogmas … They divided the Calvinistic camp into two parties, scholastic Calvinists and moderate Calvinists.”3 But a close examination of the synod’s history and its canons reveals that this was not an unnecessary dispute over words between allegedly “moderate” and “stricter” Calvinists. While there were nuances of opinion at this as in every assembly of Christ’s Church, the Synod of Dort was a field of battle between two very different understandings of the Gospel. As such, it was a debate worth having, and because it is a debate that is very much alive in Christendom, this is a Synod still worth listening to. This essay contextualizes the Canons of Dort by offering a brief historical introduction.
Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship
The Synod of Dordrecht 1618/19 was not only the most ecumenical synod of reformed churches in history, but is also famous for reaching closure with the formulation of the Canons of Dort, on the highly controversial discussions of election, grace, predestination, free will and other related theological themes that disturbed the Netherlands during the first two decades of the 17th century. Unfortunately, in the wake of this, other crucial matters that also were dealt with at the Synod tend to be obscure. The critical issue of Bible translation is one such example. Although this theme appears to be in the shadow of the contentious debates on election etc., till today the importance of the decisions of the Synod on the principles of Bible translation, which gave rise to the well-known Dutch “Statenvertaling” (State Translation), remain unassailed. These include principles such as translating from the original languages, staying as close as possible to the original source text, remaining...
The Synod of Dordt (1618–1619) and a theology of religions
In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi
The Synod of Dordt (1618–1619) addressed particular theological concerns raised in a particular context. The broader context of the Synod needs to be accounted for. During the 16th and 18th century, Roman Catholic and Protestant relations in Europe were strained. During the same period, Christianity and Islam were in conflict. Europe was engaging with foreign cultures and religions exposed through a process of geographical discoveries. Within this context the question arises as to how Christianity relates to non-Christian religions. The contribution by the theologian, Gijsbertius Voetius (1589–1676), in creating a theological position on non-Christian religions is paramount in discerning a theology of religions (theologia religionum). The Synod of Dordt and the contribution of Voetius in creating such a theology of religions will here be the focus of the research. Voetius suggests an openness towards non-Christian religions, as all humans are corrupt in nature and in need of redempt...
Journal of Reformed Theology, 2021
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Reformed Scholasticism and the Synod of Dort (1618-19)
John Calvin's Institutes: His Opus Magnum, ed., B.J. Van der Walt (Potchefstroom: Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education), 1986
In recent years a growing body of scholarly literature has focused on the emergence of Reformed (or Calvinist) scholasticism in the late six teenth century 1 • The Synod of Dort, probably the single most influen tial event in the Reformed tradition in the early seventeenth century, convened at a time when Reformed scholasticism was beginning to bloom. This naturally gives rise to the question: What influence did this scholastic trend have on the Synod of Dort and its decisions? Some especially older scholars have tended to view Dort as a triumph of scholasticism 2 . Others have called this conclusion into question 3 . The issue deserves a closer investigation. * Not originally presented as a paper at the Congress. 1 For a brief survey of recent literature on Reformed scholasticism see B.J. van der Walt, ed. Our Reformational Ti'adition (Potchefstroom: Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 1984), pp. 369-377. 2 E.g., Basil Hall, "Calvin Against the Calvinists," in G.E. Duffield, ed. John Calvin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), p. 28: " ... the Synod of Dort in 1619 where the extreme form of scholastic 'Calvinism' was achieved in the Five Articles which broke the unity of Cal vin's theology and replaced his biblical dynamism by formulae." Also, Jack Rogers and Donald McKim, The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1979), p. 164: "The hyper-Calvinist majority at Dort skewed Reformed theology in a scholastic direction by their dependence on Aristotelian notions of causality, by mak ing predestination the central doctrine to be defended in Reformed Christendom and by teaching notions, suc_ h as eternal reprobation, not specifically found in Calvin." Likewise, p. 188: " ... the Synod of Dort in the Netherlands gave confessional expression to the de veloping Reformed scholasticism." 3 E.g., William Robert Godfrey, "Tensions Within International Calvinism: The Debate on the Atonement at the Synod of Dort, 1618-1619 " (Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 1974), p. 268: "If Bezan orthodoxy, arid scholasticism, and Aristotelian philosophy did triumph in seventeenth-century Calvinism, they did not win their victory at Dort." 4 On the Synod of Dort see Donald Sinnema, "T he Issue of Reprobation at the Synod of Dort (1618-19) in Light of the History of this Doctrine'' (Ph.D. dissertation. St . Michael's College, University of Toronto, 1985). 5 Brian Armstrong, Calvinism and the Amyraut Heresy (Madison: University of Wiscon sin Press, 1969), p. 32; J.P. Donnelly, Calvinism and Scholasticism in Vermigli's Doctrine of Man and Grace (Leiden: Brill, 1975), pp. 199-201; John Bray, Theodore Beza's Doc trine of Predestination (Nieuwkoop: B. DeGraaf, 1975), pp. 12-13; Rogers and McKim. op. cit., pp. 185-186.
History of the English Dort Bible
The Dordrecht Bible Commentary [Statenvertaling] has blessed the universal church for 400 years. With its tried and true translation and revered running commentary it provides a most informative, inspirational and reliable study of all 66 books of the Bible by the godly pastor-theologians of the 17th Century Golden Age. While the confessional traditions of Dordrecht 1618 and Westminster 1645 are harmonious, this historic document is the only one which was a joint production lauded by the divines of both assemblies. The exegetical and expositional expertise is readily evident and fully accessible not only to scholars and pastors, but also to informed armchair theologians in the pews. Retained is the original Henry Hill text of 1657, but added are introductions to each volume, fresh outlines of every book of the Bible, art galleries and searchable indices. This article provides an historical and technical analysis of the work, along with a list of contemporary scholars who assisted in the historic project.
The Theology of the Canons of Dort: A Reassessment After Four Hundred Years
CURRENT DEBATES IN REFORMED THEOLOGY: PRACTICE
This article reassesses the value of the Canons of Dort, drafted at the Synod of Dort (1618–19). A picture with diverse shades emerges. After four hundred years, the Canons of Dort stand out when compared to the Remonstrant position for their pastoral tone, Reformed catholicity, emphasis on the efficacity of divine grace, an infralapsarian stance on the decrees of God, and their biblical character. In retrospect, however, the Canons also show theological limitations such as allowing the dominance of the Arminian agenda, the potentially problematic nature of complex, causal logic, the deficiency of certain important biblical notions, and a deficiency as to the centrality of Christ. Christ as the mirror of election in particular deserves a more central place in the doctrine of election.