Remonstrants
Dutch
Protestant group composed of followers of the theological views of Arminius.
They presented to the States General in 1610 a "Remonstrance" that
reflected their divergence from stricter Calvinism. Rejecting both
supralapsarianism and sublapsarianism, the document outlined five articles that
the Remonstrants believed:
1.
Election and reprobation are founded on foreseen faith or unbelief.
2.
Christ's death is for all, but only believers who repent, enjoy his
forgiveness.
3.
Fallen man cannot do good or achieve saving faith without the regenerating
power of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
4.
Grace is the beginning, continuation, and end of all good, but is not
irresistible.
5.
Grace can preserve the faithful through every temptation, but Scripture does
not teach that man can not fall from grace and be lost.
When
the matter came before the Synod of Dort it had become a political as well as a
theological issue. The Remonstrants, who upheld the principle of free
investigation, were ousted from the pulpits. Many of them were expelled from
the Netherlands, (The Devil is ever working!)
While the rigors of perseution soon died down when the political climate
became more favorable, the Remonstrants were not officially tolerated until
1675. The movement has retained its appeal and has had a significant influence
on orthodox Dutch Calvinism and on other Christian denominations. The
Remonstrance was a modified form of Calvinism more like the Arminianism.
See also
ARMINIANISM.