Synod of Dort (1618-1619)
An
international church assembly called by the States General of the Netherlands
to settle certain ecclesiastical and doctrinal matters that had been troubling
the Reformed Church of the Netherlands. It consisted of thirty-five pastors and
a number of elders from the Dutch churches, five theological professors from
the Netherlands, eighteen deputies from the States General, and twenty-seven
foreign delegates.
The
problems that faced the synod were complex. First, it had to deal with the
ancient problem of Erastianism, the control of the church by the state. The
Dutch church was by confession Calvinistic. It was Calvin's conviction that the
church should be independent of the state while cooperating with it. By 1554 he
had won that battle in Geneva, but until the time of Dort, and later, the Dutch
church had in it a strong element, including such leaders as Oldenbarneveldt,
Grotius, and Coolhaas, who favored state control over the church. Thus even the
Prince of Orange in 1575 gave an order that consistories were to be appointed
by local magistrates, a view which had wide support.
A
second problem with which Dort had to wrestle was an anti-confessional humanism
that was more hellenistic than biblical in spirit. Erasmus and Coornheert were
its heroes. Although these men lived well before the meeting of the synod,
their rejection of the doctrine of human depravity and adulation of free will,
which was accepted by the Arminian party, named after James Arminius, a
professor of theology at the University of Leiden. A major issue before the
synod was the status of the creeds. The Arminian party, disliked confessional
confinement and sought to have the creeds revised.
The
third problem with which Dort had to wrestle was one of fundamental Christian
doctrine. Predestination was the doctrine most attacked, especially that part
of it known as reprobation. The Arminian party was helped in its attack by the
positions of some of its opponents. Furthermore, in their Remonstrance of 1610
and afterward the Arminian party, whose proponents then came to be called
"Remonstrants," was unwilling to say that man is totally unable to
save himself; it held rather that, while human nature has been impaired by sin,
the will is still free and able to respond to the grace of God. This of course
is true. It taught that God determined
to save all who believe, and it refused to accept the teaching of election,
because it can not be supported by the Bible. It held that Christ died for all
even though only believers benefit from his death; that grace is not
irresistible; and that faith may be lost. Besides publicly challenging the
doctrines of predestination, sin, grace, and the perseverance of the saints.
The
situation deteriorated until it appeared in 1617 that there might be civil war.
On November 11 of that year the States General decreed that a synod should be
called to settle the questions troubling the country and bring it to peace.
There had been numerous earlier calls for a national synod by classes, by the
Remonstrants.
When
the Synod of Dort met in 1618, the Remonstrants expected that they would be recognized
as equals and that the synod would be a conference to discuss disputed
questions. Instead, the synod summoned the Remonstrants to appear before it as
defendants, and in due time their doctrines were condemned. The Canons of Dort
set forth: (1) Unconditional election and faith are a gift of God. (2) While
the death of Christ is abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole
world, its saving efficacy is limited to the elect. (3,4) All are so corrupted
by sin that they cannot effect their salvation; in sovereign grace God calls
and regenerates them to newness of life. (5) Those thus saved he preserves
until the end; hence there is assurance of salvation even while believers are
troubled by many infirmities. Thus the
Canons of Dort were held even though, the Bible teaches just the opposite in
all five points.
See also ARMINIANISM;
REMONSTRANTS; CALVINISM.