Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Chapter 4 Part 2

The Life of James Arminius
Chapter 4, Part 2 of 3.


This biography of James Arminius was written in Latin by Caspar Brandt, published by Gerard Brandt in 1724, and translated to English by John Guthrie in 1854.
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In the meantime, Arminius, while watching to the very utmost of his ability over the interests of others, whose labours he deemed most essential for reducing ecclesiastical affairs to a better condition, was himself obliged to put up with many calumnies and injurious judgments in regard to his own aims. In what spirit he contemplated ecclesiastical matters at this time, may be inferred from one of his familiar letters to Uitenbogaert, written en the first of August, in which he pours out, in the following expressions, a soul lacerated and oppressed by the evils that overspread the Christian community: — 'How can he rejoice who, over and above the abounding impiety and unrighteousness that riots throughout the whole world, perceives in the very Church of Christ, in Christianity itself, such a great diversity of sentiment on the subject of religion — so great a license in men, it matters not of what description, to vent any sort of opinion in opposition to the truth—so much confidence and vehemence in the most of those who are in authority with their own party, in imposing and obtruding on the entire Christian Church whatever seems good to themselves, as articles of faith necessary to salvation? Truly when I think of these things, my soul melts within me, and is agitated and tost on so impetuous a tide of conflicting thoughts, that, unable to decide what part to act amid these convulsions, it finds relief only in exclaiming to its God — Give, O Lord, peace to thine Israel: peace be within its walls, prosperity within thy palaces! Heal the stripes and wounds of Joseph, that brethren and kindred, united by the one girdle of truth necessary for thy glory, and for the salvation of men, and by the one bond of steadfast love, may be allowed to celebrate thy praises in thine own house, from generation to generation.'

Almost in the same frame of mind as that in which he thus portrays the state of the Church, he, in a letter dated 8th September 1599, takes a survey also of his own position, on which he opened his mind to the same friend, in the following terms [Ex Epist Arm. ad Uitenb. 8 Sept. Script. 1599.]:— 'I am exerting myself to the utmost in teaching the truth already known to me, and in searching out what is not; yea also, in more thoroughly investigating the truth which I do know, and in establishing and confirming it on solid grounds. But these things I do in silence and in hope; putting up, meanwhile, with the preposterous zeal and scarcely sufferable vehomence of not a few, till God see meet to rid me of that annoyance, or impart to them a spirit of discretion and prudence, to temper and moderate their zeal. It is on the best of grounds, as it appears to me, that I ascribe to them a zeal without knowledge; for in nothing do I find them less engaged than in that which they are bound to by their office, of which it constitutes a part, and indeed the principal part, to investigate the truth. By reason of this, they have got possessed of an opinion and persuasion that they have already mastered the truth, so potent in the case of some of them that they venture, without premeditation, to give forth a peremptory judgment on any point, no matter what, even though a point the most difficult, and which up to that hour they had never thoroughly examined, to the great disadvantage, unquestionably, of the Christian Church, and to the certain injury of truth.'

While, however, matters were in this state, the Annual Synod of the Church of South Holland, of which at that time he acted as president, imposed upon him the task of discussing and refuting, in a single book, all the errors of the Anabaptists [Vid. Parentis mei G. Bran'ii Hist. Reform, par. ii. pag. 6.]. Not unwillingly at first did he allow this province to be entrusted to him, partly because he was of opinion that such a work might be of some use to the Church, and partly also because he rejoiced to anticipate that by this decree of the Synod he would be placed beyond all suspicion of error, and beyond all controversy. But although he had scarcely entered on the first year of this century till he addressed himself with alacrity to the work assigned him — collecting from all quarters the writings of the Anabaptists, and carefully perusing them in order to expiscate more thoroughly their ideas and sentiments on the several articles of faith — various circumstances conspired latterly to deter him from the undertaking. For the conviction gained upon him every day, that by most of his brethren this task [Ex Arm. Epist. ad Uitenb. 26 Jan. et 26 Maii Script. 1600.] had been presented to him, not in a spirit of sincerity, but with the mind and intent to elicit from himself a full expression of opinion on certain controverted points — particularly on the doctrines of Predestination and Free Will, on which these same Anabaptists had stirred controversy with the Reformed Church — that thence they might snatch occasion, in larger measure, of accusation against him; on which account he resolved, in the first instance, to prosecute the work but very coolly, and then eventually, on the ground of sundry engagements from different sides that distracted his attention, to abandon it altogether.

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