The Synod of Dort and the Canons

1. Lectures Listen to the lectures in order. Those marked supplementary are optional.

   • Continental Confessions, lecture 10 of 10: The Canons of Dort, TULIP Dr. Peter Lillback 34 min Open source Doctrinal Westminster Theological Seminary (Westminster Media)
   • History of the Synod of Dort Dr. Stephen Pollock 41 min Open source History Free Presbyterian Church of Malvern (Free Presbyterian Church of North America), via SermonAudio
   • Dordt400 conference series (15 items) Russell Dykstra, Barry Gritters, Brian Huizinga, Ronald Cammenga, Douglas Kuiper, Angus Stewart, Mark Shand, William Langerak 15 sermons/lectures, 25-26 Apr 2019; e.g. 'The Canons as the Original Five Points of Calvinism' (Stewart) 50:01, 'The Polity of Dordt' (Langerak) 57:19, 'Assurance' (Gritters) 53:51 Open source Doctrinal Trinity Protestant Reformed Church evangelism committee, via SermonAudio PRC holds the Three Forms but adds distinctives: denial of common grace and of the well-meant offer, and an unconditional-covenant polemic against conditional-covenant views held by other Three Forms churches (and against the Westminster 'offer' language, WCF 7.3, Canons II.5, III/IV.8). Keep as...
   • The Synod of Dort collection (Ligonier Learn) W. Robert Godfrey, Cornelis Venema, Joel Beeke, Daniel R. Hyde, Stephen Nichols 11 items: 1 video (Godfrey, 'How Did We Get the Five Points of Calvinism?'), 1 interview video 25 min (Godfrey), 2 podcasts (Nichols; Nichols with Godfrey), 7 articles Open source Doctrinal Ligonier Ministries

   Total: 2.5 hours

2. Reading Read in the order given. Public-domain and free texts are linked; purchases are optional and never required.

   • The Canons of Dort (text with introduction by Daniel R. Hyde) introduction by Daniel R. Hyde Open source Primary text Free online
   • Creeds of Christendom, Vol. 1, par. 65: The Arminian Controversy, A.D. 1604-1619 Philip Schaff Open source History Public domain
   • The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. 3 (Canons of Dort text) Philip Schaff and David S. Schaff 983 pp (whole volume) Broken link Primary text 1919 ed.. Public domain
   • Experiences of Revival in the Dutch Nadere Reformatie Tradition: The Legacy of Four Divines in the Netherlands and North America Joel R. Beeke and Maarten Kuivenhoven 29 pp (SBJT 28.3, pp. 6-34) Open source History 2024. Free online
   • But for the Grace of God: An Exposition of the Canons of Dort Cornelis P. Venema 164 pp Open source Supplementary Purchase (optional)
   • Grace Worth Fighting For: Recapturing the Vision of God's Grace in the Canons of Dort Daniel R. Hyde 437 pp Open source Supplementary Purchase (optional)

   Total: 1,613 pages

3. Assignment Write a research paper of 30 pages on a topic drawn from the lectures and readings of this course. Argue from Scripture, the Westminster Standards (1647 text) and the Three Forms of Unity, cite the primary sources you read, and state the points on which the sources differ.

   Open the assignment

Every lecture and reading carries its role. "Under review" means the teacher's subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms of Unity is not yet established; "Read as comparison" means the material teaches the 1788 American text of WCF 20.4, 23 or 31 or of Larger Catechism Q.109, which the school reads beside the 1647 text. Nothing has been removed.