Van Os, of Zwolle, attacked the accepted covenantal theory, and the
doctrine of immediate imputation. The latter was a mere scholastic
opinion, not accepted among the doctrines of the church, but yet
maintained by the people as a requisite of orthodoxy. Having gone thus
far, Van Os proceeded to deny a form of infralapsarianism, which was
termed "justification from eternity." Many prominent but bigoted minds,
having long entertained these ultra ideas he was endeavoring to refute,
and some having gone so far as to attempt their introduction into a
revised edition of the confession of faith, Van Os was censured for
heresy. But he took the first opportunity to preach the Protestant
doctrine that every one had the right to test the church-creed by the
word of God. In the opinion of the people this course amounted to a
total renunciation of the creed, and he was accordingly dismissed.
Another dispute, which created attention and attracted the suspicion of
the watchful church, was on toleration. All who dared to defend even the
word, were stigmatized as unpardonable heretics, for Voltaire had just
written in its favor.
Pages:
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569