The Arminian heresy

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The Arminian heresy

The beliefs of Jacobus Arminius (Jacob Harmanszoon, 1560-1609), a Dutch theologian, reflected dissatisfaction with the principal tenets of Calvinism. According to R. L Colie in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arminius "came to doubt the deterministic doctrine of damnation, and believed that election, dependent in part on man’s free will, was not arbitrary but arose from God’s pity for fallen men" (I:164). As a professor of theology at Leiden from 1603 until his death, Arminius had a great influence on the doctrinal debates of his time, and Dutch Arminianism was closely linked to secular intellectual life. * The Great Remonstrance published in 1610 by the Arminian clergy codified Arminius’s beliefs into five major points: 1. Rejection of the doctrine of election 2. Rejection of predestination 3. Rejection of the belief that Christ died for the elect alone 4. Rejection of the belief in irresistible grace 5. Assertion of the belief that saints could fall from grace.

In 1618, at the Synod of Dort (Dordrecht), these tenets were declared heretical, and orthodox Calvinism was upheld. (See the "Five Points" of refutation.) Arminians (Remonstrants) were arrested on charges of treason and given the choice of recantation or exile, although some later returned to Holland.