Why Did Arminianism "Win"?

Sometime back Howard wrote to ask, “How and when did Arminianism become the predominate view?” That’s a good question. First, we should distinguish between Jacob Arminius (James Hermanzoon) and the Arminians (or the Remonstrants). Relative to the conclusions Arminian/Remonstrant theology later reached, Arminius . . . Continue reading →

Text Criticism of the Canons of Dort RE 1.1

This is inside baseball but it’s important inside baseball. Wes has noted a discrepancy between the English translation of the Rejection of Errors in the CD and the Latin text and it’s not an insignificant discrepancy. It’s the difference between the Synod . . . Continue reading →

The Catholicity Of The Canons

Wherefore, this Synod of Dort, in the name of the Lord, conjures as many as piously call upon the name of our Savior Jesus Christ to judge of the faith of the Reformed Churches, not from the calumnies which on every side . . . Continue reading →

Turretin On The Covenant Of Nature (7)

Second Question Did Adam have the power to believe in Christ? I. This question lies between us and the Arminians who, to defend their hypothesis concerning the necessity of a certain universal sufficient grace, have introduced this opinion—that Adam never had the . . . Continue reading →

Are The Remonstrants Heretics?

This question comes over the transom regularly. I think most confessional Reformed pastors would probably say that, though they disagree strongly with Arminianism, it is not heresy. Somewhere I read (or heard) that William Ames (1576–1633),   who served as an advisor . . . Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (3): Synod Approaches

We live now in a “victim culture.” The best example of this is so-called “intersectionality.” This is a reference to the different ways in which one has been victimized. They intersect in the victim. It is like a game, the one with the great number of claims to victim status wins. Heather MacDonald explains: “‘Intersectionality’ refers to the increased oppression allegedly experienced by individuals who can check off several categories of victimhood—being female, black, and trans, say.” Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (4): Unconditonal Grace

In the preface to the Canons of Dort, Synod characterized the challenges she faced and the promise on which she relied to face those challenges. The preface characterized the Christian life as a “this wretched pilgrimage.” It is one, however, that is conducted under the shepherding care of Jesus, our high priest, who has “entered the heavenly sanctuary to go to his Father,” who is fulfilling the Great Promise behind the Great Commission: “A Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20). Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (18): It Was God’s Sovereign Will To Accomplish Complete Salvation For All The Elect

There are those, who one suspects, have spent little time investigating the actual differences between the Reformed Churches and their Remonstrant critics, who have attempted to position themselves between the Reformed and the Remonstrants. Some of these call themselves “tweeners.” There are . . . Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (26): Perseverance Is Good News For Sinners

Under this head of doctrine we have considered the errors that Synod rejected—the Remonstrants turned the perseverance into a covenant of works—so now we turn to what Synod confessed positively about how Christ graciously preserves his people through their pilgrimage in this . . . Continue reading →

New Resource Page: On The Atonement

Few Christians doctrines have been as controverted, in the modern period, as the atonement. For whom did Christ die? What did he accomplish in his death? Should we say that Christ died for all? These are just some of the questions addressed . . . Continue reading →