A. The Arminians
1. Jacobus Arminius was born in the Netherlands in 1560.
2. He studied in Leyden, Geneva, and Italy.
3. In 1588, he became pastor of a church in Amsterdam.
4. He later became a professor in theology at the University of Leyden.
5. Arminius came to believe that man is not totally depraved and therefore has some ability to believe.
6. He also believed that election depends on human will and that Christ died for everyone.
7. These were very controversial ideas at the time, because they denied basic Reformation beliefs.
8. Arminius died in 1609.
B. The Synod of Dort
1. The Dutch Arminians published their beliefs in a document called The Remonstrance of 1610.
2. A synod was held in Dort, the Netherlands, in 1618-19 to settle the issues brought up by the Arminians, who were also known as Remonstrants.
3. Delegates came from Holland, England, Germany, and France.
4. They issued the Canons of Dort, condemning the beliefs of the Arminians.
5. They were to be banished if they refused to stop preaching and teaching their beliefs.
6. Arminian theology survived, though, in the Anglican church.
7. By the 1700s, John Wesley held Arminian beliefs and this influenced Methodism.
8. Today, the majority of the churches in America would be classified as Arminian.
C. The Quakers
1. George Fox was born in England in 1624.
2. He had very little formal education.
3. As a teen, he noticed that many Christians had empty professions of faith.
4. He sought to know the truth, but found that no one could help him.
5. He finally found salvation in an intense spiritual experience and afterward began preaching.
6. Fox emphasized spiritual experience and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
7. Because the Spirit is necessary, Fox thought all ritual to be unnecessary.
8. Preaching should be by the Spirit, or nothing should be said at all.
9. Though the name of Fox's group was the Society of Friends, they were nicknamed Quakers.
10. Fox was arrested many times for blasphemy because of his vague view of the Trinity.
11. The Quakers later set up the colony of Pennsylvania in America.
12. George Fox died in 1691.