Remonstrants

Remonstrants
Remonstrants
Classification	Protestant
Theology	Arminianism
Origin	early 17th century ; Netherlands
Separated from	Dutch Reformed Church
Official website	www.remonstranten.nl/engels/

The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a

Calvinism. Condemned by the synod of Dort (1618–1619), the Remonstrants remained a small minority in the Netherlands

. In the middle of the 19th century, the Remonstrant Brotherhood was influenced by the liberal Dutch theological movement.

History

Arminian one, but it has a sword on it. The sword symbolizes state support granted the Dutch Reformed Church by the Republic

.

Foundation

In formulating Arminianism, Jacobus Arminius disagreed with Calvin, especially on predestination. He defended free examination as superior to the doctrines of established churches.

In 1610, Arminius followers presented to the

Calvinism as adopted by the Dutch Reformed Church.^[1] Supporters of Arminius were called "Remonstrants", but they were also called "Arminians".^{[citation needed}

]

Their adversaries, inspired by

Maurice of Orange.^[1] Their foremost ally, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, was executed, and other leaders were imprisoned. In Amsterdam, as in various other cities, the city government was purged of Oldenbarnevelt supporters; Jacob Dircksz de Graeff and Cornelis Hooft

fell victim to this action.

In 1618–1619 the

Schleswig, where they built the town of Friedrichstadt.^[1]

Institutionalization

The doctrine of the Remonstrants was embodied in 1621 in a Confession^[3] written by Episcopius, their major theologian. This Confession serves as a base for the Remonstrant church since his return to the Netherlands in 1626. It confirms the opinion of the remonstrants already expressed in 1618.^[4]

Le Clerc. Their school of theology, which grew more liberal and even rationalistic, forcefully debated the official Dutch Reformed state church and other Christian denominations.^[1]

After the death of Maurice of Orange in 1625 some exiles returned. The government became convinced that they posed no danger to the state, and in 1630 they were formally allowed to reside again in all parts of the Republic.

Schuilkerken (house churches).^[5]

Liberalism

In the mid-19th century, the Remonstrant Brotherhood was influenced by liberalism,[6]^[7] which in Holland was embodied by Petrus Hofstede de Groot (1802–1886).^{[citation needed]} His theology had a wide audience in Europe, which is characteristic of the romantic phase of Christian humanism; in the Netherlands, this line of thought has been represented by the "theologians of Groningen" since 1830.

De Groot sums up the purpose of this movement of which he is the leader by writing that "the most important thing in Christianity is the revelation and the education as given by God in Jesus Christ, so as to make us more and more like God". The "Groningers" reject the dogma of the Trinity, predestination and expiatory justice of God. They recognize the dual divine and human nature and the ability of man to fulfill God's will with His help.

Early Remonstrants’ theological legacy

Most of the early Remonstrants followed classical Arminianism.

Protestant

denominations.

Modern Remonstrant Brotherhood

The church

The Remonstrant Brotherhood continues as a church in the Netherlands. The Remonstrants first received official recognition in 1795. Their chief congregation has been in Rotterdam.^[9]

In 2016, the Remonstrant Brotherhood has about 5,000 members and "friends", in more than 40 congregations in the Netherlands,^[10] and one congregation in Friedrichstadt, in northern Germany (2008).^[11]

The Remonstrant Brotherhood of Holland keeps fellowship with the European Liberal Protestant Network. Besides it is a full, charter member of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. It is also a member of the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe.

In line with the progressive views on religion, Remonstrants have been blessing same-sex partnerships on an equal footing as different sex weddings from 1986 onwards (church weddings have no legal status in the Netherlands, where the legally acknowledged civil same-sex marriages became possible in 2001).^[12]^[13] In this the Remonstrants were the first Christian church in the world to bless same-sex relationships similar to other relations.^[14]

Remonstrants place big emphasis on personal faith and are not in agreement with one another on questions of faith and social issues. They consider that the message of the Gospel can not be separated from true choices in the struggle to live together, on the road to a world with peace and justice.^[11] What binds them is the Statement of Principle:

The Remonstrant Church is a community of faith which, rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and true to its principle of freedom and tolerance, seeks to worship and serve God.

Confessions of faith

In addition to the Statement of Principle, most contemporary Remonstrants write their own declaration or profession of faith when they become a member of the community. The brotherhood did express at three times in their history the faith they share in a confessional statement, in 1621, 1940 and 2006. Remonstrants however, being a non-creedal denomination, consider no confession to have indisputable authority.^[12]

Notes and references

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Chisholm 1911.
^ Schaff & Herzog 1953, Chap. 2.
^ Episcopius & Ellis 2005.
^ De Jong 1968, pp. 220–. 1. that the divine decree of predestination is conditional, not absolute; 2. that the Atonement is in intention universal; 3. that man cannot of himself exercise a saving faith; 4. that though the grace of God is a necessary condition of human effort, it does not act irresistibly in man; and 5. that believers are able to resist sin but are not beyond the possibility of falling from grace.
^ Benedict 2008, p. 313.
^ Zijpp 1959.
^ Olson 2012. I completely omit [as a reference for defining Arminianism] “Arminians of the head,” those Remonstrants and their heirs who veered off into rationalism, deism and liberalism. For the most part they stopped identifying as Arminians anyway.
^ Olson 2012, ..
^ Schaff & Herzog 1953, Chap. 3–4.
^ LBR 2016.
^ ^a ^b LBR 2015.
^ ^a ^b LBR 2019.
^ nu.nl 2011.
^ Trouw.nl 2010.

Sources

Benedict, Philip (2008). Christ's Churches Purely Reformed: A Social History of Calvinism.
ISBN 978-0300127225
.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Remonstrants". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 82.
De Jong, Peter (1968). "The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618)". Crisis in the Reformed Churches: Essays in Commemoration of the Great Synod of Dordt, 1618–1619 (PDF). Grand Rapids: Reformed Fellowship.
Episcopius, Simon; Ellis, Mark A. (2005). The Arminian confession of 1621 (PDF). Eugene: Pickwick Publications.
nu.nl (2011). "Kerken komen uit de kast in boek" (in Dutch). nu.nl. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
LBR (2019). "Belijdenis" (in Dutch). Landelijk Bureau Remonstranten. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
LBR (2015). "Remonstrant Church". Landelijk Bureau Remonstranten. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
LBR (2016). "Deel 2 Commissie tot de Zaken - Activiteiten" (PDF) (in Dutch). Landelijk Bureau Remonstranten. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
Olson, Roger E. (2012). "Who Is (or Might Be) an Arminian?". Roger E. Olson: My evangelical, Arminian theological musings. Patheos. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
Trouw.nl (2010). "Remonstranten en Boomsma krijgen homo-emancipatieprijs" (in Dutch). Trouw.nl. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
Schaff, Phillip; Herzog, Jakob (1953). "Remonstrants". The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 9. Grand Rapids: Baker.
Zijpp, Nanne van der (1959). "Remonstrants". Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

External links

Official website

[FOOTNOTEChisholm1911-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Chisholm 1911.

[FOOTNOTESchaffHerzog1953Chap._2-2] Schaff & Herzog 1953, Chap. 2.

[FOOTNOTEEpiscopiusEllis2005-3] Episcopius & Ellis 2005.

[FOOTNOTEDe_Jong1968220–-4] De Jong 1968, pp. 220–. 1. that the divine decree of predestination is conditional, not absolute; 2. that the Atonement is in intention universal; 3. that man cannot of himself exercise a saving faith; 4. that though the grace of God is a necessary condition of human effort, it does not act irresistibly in man; and 5. that believers are able to resist sin but are not beyond the possibility of falling from grace.

[FOOTNOTEBenedict2008313-5] Benedict 2008, p. 313.

[FOOTNOTEZijpp1959-6] Zijpp 1959.

[FOOTNOTEOlson2012-7] Olson 2012. I completely omit [as a reference for defining Arminianism] “Arminians of the head,” those Remonstrants and their heirs who veered off into rationalism, deism and liberalism. For the most part they stopped identifying as Arminians anyway.

[FOOTNOTEOlson2012.-8] Olson 2012, ..

[FOOTNOTESchaffHerzog1953Chap._3–4-9] Schaff & Herzog 1953, Chap. 3–4.

[FOOTNOTELBR2016-10] LBR 2016.

[FOOTNOTELBR2015-11] LBR 2015.

[FOOTNOTELBR2019-12] LBR 2019.

[FOOTNOTEnu.nl2011-13] u.nl 2011.

[FOOTNOTETrouw.nl2010-14] Trouw.nl 2010.

[note_n0-15] Not in communion with the rest of the Catholic Church, part of the Union of Utrecht

[note_n0-17] Those are legal umbrella bodies which represent their member churches before the national government. They encompass multiple individual autonomous churches of differnet traditions which are themselves members of the CPCE.

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Eastern Orthodox		Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe Greek Metropolis of Belgium and the Netherlands Russian Orthodox Diocese of The Hague and the Netherlands Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Western Europe
Catholic	Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

United	Protestant Church in the Netherlands
Calvinist	Christian Reformed Churches Continued Reformed Churches in the Netherlands Covenant of Free Evangelical Congregations in the Netherlands Dutch Reformed Churches Indonesian Christian Church in the Netherlands Korean Reformed Church in the Netherlands Moluccan Evangelical Church Old-Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands Old-Reformed Congregations (unconnected) Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Restored) Reformed Congregations Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands (unconnected) Restored Reformed Church
Anabaptist	Mennonites
Baptist	Union of Baptist Churches in the Netherlands Brotherhood of Baptist Churches
Methodist	Salvation Army
Adventist	Seventh-day Adventist Church
Pentecostal	United Pentecostal and Evangelical Churches
Other	Anglicanism Remonstrants

v t e Arminianism
Background	Protestantism Synod of Dort Remonstrants Calvinist–Arminian debate
Documents	Five Articles of Remonstrance Remonstrant Confession
Doctrine	Total depravity Conditional election Unlimited atonement Prevenient grace Conditional preservation of the saints
Historical theologians	Jacobus Arminius Simon Episcopius Hugo Grotius John Goodwin Thomas Grantham John Wesley Richard Watson Thomas Osmond Summers John Miley William Burt Pope Henry Orton Wiley
Modern theologians	J. Kenneth Grider David Pawson Thomas C. Oden Grant R. Osborne Ben Witherington III Roger E. Olson Craig S. Keener B. J. Oropeza
Movements	Arminianism in the Church of England General Baptists Methodism Wesleyan theology Adventist church Holiness movement Pentecostalism