Jacobus Arminius Stands His Ground

A Declaration against High Calvinism

John S. Knox

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781532633720
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

On October 30, 1608, Jacobus Arminius presented his Declaration of Sentiments to the Assembly of the States of Holland and West Friesland in the Binnenhof at The Hague. First, Arminius sought to defend himself and his theological views from the spirited attacks of opponents such as Gomarus, Lubbertus, and Plancius. Second, Arminius hoped to bring to light the wrongdoings of the European church and its extremist understanding of certain Christian doctrines. Having trained in Geneva under Jean Calvin's successor, Theodore Beza (1519-1605), and having further expanded and honed his theology at the University of Leyden from both lectern and the pulpit, Arminius thoroughly presented his theological views in both oral and written form. He spoke in his native Dutch language to an assembly of his peers and religious authorities with the hopes of avoiding a theological rift in Holland--while at the same time hoping to remove a long-standing conflict with the Supralapsarian faction warring against him. Thus, Arminius' Declaration of Sentiments is a sophisticated, passionate appeal to reason, scripture, and community. With each section, Arminius seeks not only to demonstrate the error of the attacks on him, but also to point out how and why reconciliation can take place through a careful examination of various precepts of Christian thought.

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Introduction

On October 30, 1608, Jacobus Arminius presented his Declaration of Sentiments to the Assembly of the States of Holland1 and West Friesland in the Binnenhof2 at The Hague.3 This promulgation was offered for two specific purposes. First, Arminius sought to defend himself and his theological views from the spirited attacks of opponents such as Gomarus, Lubbertus, and Plancius. Second, Arminius hoped to bring to light the wrongdoings of the European church and its extremist understanding of certain Christian doctrines.

Having trained in Geneva under Jean Calvin’s successor, Theodore Beza (1519–1605), and having further expanded and honed his theology at the University of Leyden4 from both lectern and the pulpit, Arminius thoroughly presented his theological views in both oral and written form. He spoke in his native Dutch language to an assembly of his peers and religious authorities with the hopes of avoiding a theological rift in Holland—while at the same time hoping to remove a long-standing conflict with the Supralapsarian faction warring against him. These Supralapsarians espoused “. . . a confessional and Geneva-oriented dogmatics, high Calvinism with its doctrine of predestination, rigid church discipline, the authority of consistory, classis, and synod, and intolerance of dissent.”5

Thus, Arminius’ Declaration of Sentiments is a sophisticated, passionate appeal to reason, scripture, and community.6 With each section, Arminius seeks not only to demonstrate the error of the attacks on him, but also to point out how and why reconciliation can take place through a careful examination of various precepts of biblical, Christian thought. As Sproul suggests in Willing to Believe, Arminius attempted to show that he was not the enemy of Calvinism; in many ways, he was Calvinism’s strongest advocate.7 Furthermore, Arminius wanted his audience to know that, based on both his expressed beliefs and deeds, he was not the false teacher that his adversaries unfairly made him out to be.

With this purpose in mind, A Declaration of Sentiments on Predestination contains ten chapters or theses that describe the author’s understanding of the predestination of humanity, the providence of God, the freedom of human will, the grace of God, the perseverance of Christians and their assurance of salvation, the possibility of perfection and holiness in the life of the believer, Jesus Christ’s divine nature and his part in the justification of humanity before God, and finally, Arminius’ own suggested revision of the Dutch confession and the Heidelberg Catechism.8

With each chapter in A Declaration, Arminius carefully built a defense of both his own Christian character and his biblical interpretation through highlighting what he considered to be important errors of hypocritical judgment and shallow hermeneutics in his adversaries. Therefore, the chief goal of this book will be to analyze Arminius’ defense of himself and his theology in his Declaration of Sentiments against a High Calvinist understanding of theology. Repeatedly, Arminius asserted that he was not diverting from Calvin, Confession, or Catechism; he was merely seeking to follow the truth of God’s Word while also hopefully enlightening those in darkness. Substantiating this, Arminius states,

I here tender my sacred affirmation . . . that, however cogently I may have proved by the most solid (human) arguments any article to be agreeable to the word of God, I will not obtrude it for an article of belief on those of my brethren who may entertain a different opinion respecting it—unless I have plainly proved it from the word of God and have with equal clearness established its truth, and the necessity unto salvation that every Christian should entertain the same belief.9

Drawing upon such remarks, excerpts from various primary sources of Arminius’ contemporaries and from secondary sources of modern scholarship, and through investigating the cultural milieu and characters surrounding Arminius, an attempt will be made to show how Arminius defended himself in A Declaration against numerous Supralapsarian criticisms.

1. Also known as The Netherlands.

2. The Binnenhof is the name of the building at The Hague where the Dutch government was housed.

3. The Hague is the seat of government and the administrative center of the Netherlands, on the North Sea coast, capital of the province of South Holland.

4. Also spelled as “Leiden.”

5. Bangs, Arminius, 54.

6. Arminius’ A Declaration should not be confused with the Declaration of Sentiments composed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton for the first Woman’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19–20 1848, which outlined a list of complaints against the disenfranchisement of women and provided eleven resolutions arguing for female equality and suffrage.

7. Sproul, Willing to Believe, 126.

8. By the request of Elector Frederick III, ruler of the Palatinate (1515–1576), Professor Zacharius Ursinus and preacher Caspar Olevianus (with additional consultation and advice from theology faculty at the University of Heidelberg), wrote a lengthy catechism (eventually fifty-two sections in all) they hoped would unite Protestants over a common understanding of doctrine.

9. Arminius, A Declaration of Sentiments, 234.

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Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Cultural Surroundings of Arminius and a Declaration
• Chapter 3: Principal Characters in the Development of a Declaration
• Chapter 4: Overview of a Declaration of Sentiments
• Chapter 5: Detailed Analysis of a Declaration of Sentiments
• Chapter 6: Scholarly Voices on a Declaration of Sentiments
• Chapter 7: Reflections Upon the Man and His Manuscript
• Chapter 8: Final Thoughts
• Afterword
• Glossary
• Additional Notes on A Declaration
• Bibliography