The controversy thus begun in the lifetime of Arminius, ended not with his death, and for a long time roused the violence of contending passions*. His tenets include the five following propositions: 1st. That God has not fixed the future state of mankind by an absolute unconditional decree; but determined from all eternity, to bestow salvation on those whom he foresaw would persevere to the end in their faith in Jesus Christ, and to infliet punishment on those who should continue in their unbelief, and resist to the end his divine assistance. 2dly. That Jesus Christ, by his death and sufferings, made an atonement for the sins of all mankind in general, and of every individual in particular: that, however, none but those who believe in him can be partakers of this divine benefit. 3dly. That mankind are not totally depraved, and that depravity does not come upon them by virtue of Adam's being their public head, but that mortality and natural evil only are the direct consequences of his sin to posterity. 4thly. That there is no such thing as irresistible grace in the conversion of sinners. And, 5thly. That those who are united to Christ by faith, may fall from their faith, and forfeit finally their state of grace. Thus the fol

* Arminius's motto was a remarkable one" A good conscience is a paradise."

lowers of Arminius believe that God, having an equal regard for all his creatures, sent his Son to die for the sins of the whole world; that men have the power of doing the will of God, otherwise they are not the proper subjects of approbation and condemnation; and that, in the present imperfect state, believers, if not particularly vigilant, may, through the force of temptation, fall from grace, and sink into final perdition. The Arminians found their sentiments on the expressions of our SAVIOUR respecting his willingness to save all that come unto him; especially on his prayer over Jerusalem, his Sermon on the Mount, and above all, on his delineation of the process of the last day, where the salvation of men is not said to have been procured by any decree, but because they had done the will of their Father, who is in heaven. This last argument they deem decisive; because it cannot be supposed that Jesus, in the account of the judgment day, would have deceived them. They also say, the terms in the Romans respecting election, are applicable only to the state of the Jews as a body, without reference to the religious condition of individuals, either in the present or future world.

Dr. Whitby, the commentator, who was originally a Calvinist, has written a large and elaborate defence of Arminianism; and the reader should consult Dr. Taylor's Key to the Epistles to the Romans, which has been much admired

on the subject. Since the days of Laud (who was archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of Charles the First) by far the majority of the English clergy have taken this side of the question. Bishop Burnet has given a full account of the opinions of this sect, in his Exposition of the Seventeenth Article.

In the last century disputes ran very high in Holland between the Calvinists and the Arminians. On each side considerable talents and learning were displayed; but some shamefully called in the interference of the civil power, and thus terminated a controversy, which for some years had agitated the religious world. For this purpose the famous synod of Dort was held, 1618, and a curious account of its proceedings may be seen in the series of letters written by the ever-memorable John Hales, who was present on the occasion. This synod was succeeded by à severe and scandalous persecution of the Arminians. The respectable Barnevelt lost his head on a scaffold, and the learned Grotius, condemned to perpetual imprisonment, escaped from the cell and took refuge in France. The storm, however, some time after abated; and Episcopius, an Arminian minister, opened a seminary in Amsterdam, which produced some able divines and excellent scholars.

The principal Arminian writers are, Episcopius,

Vorstius, Grotius, Limborch, Le Clerc, Wetstein; not to mention many others of modern times, particularly Mr John Wesley, in his Arminian Magazine, and Mr. Fellowes, in his Religion without Cant, and in his elegant work, entitled Christian Philosophy.

The Arminians are sometimes called the Remonstrants, because they, in 1611, presented a REMONSTRANCE to the States General, wherein they pathetically state their grivances, and pray for relief. See an interesting work, entitled An Abridgement of Gerrard Brandt's History of the Reformation in the Low Countries, 2 vols. 8vo.

BAXTERIANS,

THE Baxterian strikes into a middle path, between Arminianism and Calvinism, and thus endeavours to unite both schemes. With the Calvinist, he professes to believe that a certain number, determined upon in the divine councils, will be infallibly saved; and with the Arminian he joins in rejecting the doctrine of reprobation as absurd and impious; admits that Christ, in a certain sense, died for all, and supposes that such a portion of grace is allotted to every man, as renders it his own fault if he does not attain to eternal life. This conciliatory system was espoused by the famous non-conformist Richard Bax

ter, who died in the year 1691, and who was equally celebrated for the acuteness of his controversial talents, and the utility of his practical writings. Hence came the term Baxterians; among whom are generally ranked both Watts and Doddridge. In the scale of religious sentiment, Baxterianism seems to be with respect to the subject of the divine favour, what Arianism is with respect to the person of Christ. It appears to have been considered by some pious persons as a safe middle way between two extremes. Baxter was an extraordinary character in the religious world. He wrote about 120 books, and had above 60 written against him! Though he possessed a very metaphysical genius, and consequently sometimes made a distinction without a difference, yet the great object of most of his productions was peace and amity. Accordingly his religious system was formed, not to inflame the passions and widen the breaches, but to heal those wounds of the Christian church, under which she had long languished*.

*For the particular detail given of the Calvinistic, and Arminian sentiments, see a brief but useful history of the Christian Church, in 2 vols. by Dr. Gregory. The best and amplest ecclesiastical history is Mosheim's, in 6 vols. translated from the Latin into English by the late Dr. Maclaine, who has enriched it with many valuable notes. Dr. Priestley also published, in six octavo volumes, a History of the Christian Church, from the birth of the Messiah down to the present time.