Beyond Dordt and De Auxiliis

February 13, 2019 | By Jordan Ballor

This is a project that has been in the works a long time, and so I’m very happy to announce that Beyond Dordt and De Auxiliis: The Dynamics of Protestant and Catholic Soteriology in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries will be appearing in the Studies in the History of Christian Traditions series, published by Brill.

I had the distinct honor of co-editing this volume along with David S. Sytsma, research curator at the Junius Institute, as well Matthew T. Gaetano, associate professor of history at Hillsdale College. The origin of the project was conversations some years ago concerning intriguing cross-confessional dialogue among and between the Reformed, Dominicans, Arminians, and Jesuits in the early modern era, particularly over issues related to predestination and free choice.

Here’s more detail about this volume:

Beyond Dordt and De Auxiliis explores post-Reformation inter-confessional theological exchange on soteriological topics including predestination, grace, and free choice. These doctrines remained controversial within confessional traditions after the Reformation, as Dominicans and Jesuits and later Calvinists and Arminians argued about these critical issues in the Augustinian theological heritage. Some of those involved in condemning Arminianism at the Synod of Dordt (1618-1619) were inspired by Dominican followers of Thomas Aquinas in Spain who had recently opposed the vigorous defense of free choice by Jesuit Molinists in the Congregatio de auxiliis (1598-1607). This volume, appearing on the 400th anniversary of the closing of the Synod of Dordt, brings together a group of scholars working in fields that only rarely speak to one another to address these theological debates that cross geographical and confessional boundaries.

More details will be forthcoming as the volume progresses through the publishing process. But in the meantime, I have posted a document including the table of contents, list of contributors (including JI senior fellow Richard A. Muller), and a draft of the substantive introduction to the volume.

Colloquium: The Synod of Dordrecht Project

March 7, 2014 | By Jordan Ballor

Dr. Donald Sinnema

Last month Dr. Donald Sinnema, one of the general editors of the Synod of Dordrecht project, presented at the Junius Institute Colloquium on “The Project to Publish a Critical Edition of the Documents of the Synod of Dordt, 1618-19.”

Dr. Sinnema is a professor of theology emeritus at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. His main field of scholarship is historical theology, with a focus on Post-Reformation studies. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the Synod of Dordt, and he is currently one of three general editors working on producing a nine volume critical edition of all the documents of the Synod of Dordt (1618-19).

As the project describes, “Alongside the Westminster Assembly (1643-1649), the Synod of Dordrecht is one of the most important church councils in the history of the reformed tradition.” Moreover, “The goal of the edition project is to produce a critical edition of all the documents of the Synod of Dordrecht in their original languages (predominantly Latin, but some in Dutch, English, German and French) by an international team of institutions and scholars, mostly partners of Refo500. This critical edition will be published by publishing house Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht as a multi-volume series, and will be made available in digital format as well.”

A screencast of Dr. Sinnema’s presentation with audio is embedded below. More information about the project is available at the Refo500 website, where interested scholars can find more details about how to get involved.

Spring 2014 Colloquium Series Announced

January 15, 2014 | By Jordan Ballor

We’ve posted the details for the Spring 2014 Junius Institute Colloquium series. First up is Dr. Donald Sinnema, professor of theology emeritus at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. He’ll be discussing “The Project to Publish a Critical Edition of the Documents of the Synod of Dordt (1618–1619): The Sources, with a Focus on the Drafting of the Canons of Dordt” on Friday, February 7.

Join us if you’re in the area, and check out the rest of the details for the series at the project page here.