Articles of the Synod of Dort [pp. 239-255]

artieles of the Synod of Dort.
other fathers who had written against Pelagius. He, at the
same time, solemnly promised, that he would never inculcate
any doctrine different from that received by the churches;
upon which he was admitted to the professorship of theology.
And in the course of this same year, he laboured to remove
from himself all suspicion of heterodoxy, by holding public
disputations in favour of the doctrine of the Reformed
Churches.
But after Arminius had been established in his office a year
or two, he began, both in public and private, to attack the
commonly received doctrines of the Reformed Churches, with
the same arguments which were used to impugn them, by the
Jesuits and Socinians; and it has been ascertained, that he circulated among the students compositions of his own in manuscript, in which he treated contemptuously the characters of
Calvin, Beza, Zanchius, and Ursinus; while he extolled the
writings of certain authors who were suspected of being inimical to orthodoxy. And he now openly avowed, that he
had many animadversions to make on the commonly received
doctrines; and his scholars, when they left the University,
petulantly insulted the Reformed Churches, by disputing, contradicting, and reviling their doctrine.
When these things were understood, the deputies of both
north and south Holland, to whom the care of the churches
had been committed, went to Arminius and told him what
rumours were every where circulated about him and his doctrines; and entreated him, if he had discovered any thing defective or erroneous in the system received by the churches,
that he would sincerely and ingenuously open his mind to
his brethren, that there might be an opportunity of removing
his difficulties, by a friendly conference, or by carrying the
whole affair before a lawful Synod. To which he answered,
that he had never given any just cause for these rumours; nor
did he deem it expedient to enter into any conference with
them, in their official capacity, although he had no objection
to confer with them as private pastors, on condition, that if
there should be found some difference of opinion between
them, no report of their conversations should be made to the
Synod. But this the deputies declined, as no how calculated
to remove the uneasiness which existed in the churches; and
so they departed without accomplishing their object; but they
learned from the other professors of the University, that since
the coming of Arminius, various questions were agitated
ee *- ce ee**e
eee.-'!
243