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[German Version] The General Synod of the Reformed Congregations of the Netherlands, meeting between Nov 1618 and May 1619 in Dort (Dordrecht) for the first time since 1586 (The Hague) ended theological and church-political disputes that had erupted in the 1580s. These disputes were centered on the doctrine of predestination, the binding …

[German Version] (Dec 22, 1610, Stettin – Aug 3, 1688, Königsberg) studied in Jena, Wittenberg, Rostock, and Copenhagen. From 1638, he taught in the faculty of philosophy at the University of Königsberg; in 1644, Dreier, who enjoyed the special favor of the Prince Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick William I, was called, despite the objection of professors of theology Johannes Behm and C. …

[German Version] (Dorsch, Dorsch[a]eus; Nov 13, 1597, Straßburg – Dec 25, 1659, Rostock) received the M.A. in 1617 after attending the Gymnasium illustre in his home city; he studied theology (1619–1621…

[German Version] In its original usage by E. Troeltsch the term “confessional age” designated the 16th and 17th-century period of European history, distinct from the Middle Ages and the modern era, in which the “power of ecclesial culture,” in principle broken by Protestantism or the Reformation, continued to shape culture and society in the form of three “mutually exclusive and restrictive infallible churchdoms” ( …

[German Version] (Jacob Hermansz/Harmensen/ Hermanszoon; Oct 10, 1560, Oudewater aan de IJssel, Holland – Oct 19, 1609, Leiden). The significance of Arminius lies especially in his denial of the doctrine of supralapsarian predestination (Infralapsarianism) of nascent orthodox Calvinism, which had become systematized as a specific point of doctrine in confessio…

[German Version] (1576, Uplewert, East Frisia– Sep 11, 1637, Franeker). The son of a pastor, Bogerman was a vigorous exponent of Reformed orthodoxy in the Netherlands. After studying at major centers with important teachers of orthodox Reformed theology (Franeker [1591], Heidelberg [1596: D. Pareus, D. Toussain], Geneva [T. Beza…

[German Version] (De…

[German Version] (Oct 16, 1619, Dresden – Sep 15, 1664, Rostock). After studying philosophy and theology in Leipzig (M.A.,1639) and Wittenberg (1644; adjunct to the faculty of philosophy), König entered Swedish service in 1649 as the court chaplain of Count Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie. König was appointed assistant professor of theology in Greifswald in 1651. In 1656, he accepted a call from the duke of Mecklenburg, Adolf Fried…

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Political and Legal Aspects; Spread – III. Characteristics I. Terminology The term was originally used mostly in the plural to denote individual legal and political measures taken against the Protestants by Roman Catholic rulers on the basis of the …

[German Version] (Amesius, Guilelmus; 1576, Ipswich, Suffolk – 1633, Rotterdam), the most important single theological figure for the early connection of English Puritanism and the Dutch “Nadere Reformatie”. In Cambridge Ames became familiar, through W. Perkins, with deeply puritanical appropriation o…

[German Version] I. Origins and Spread – II. Great Britain – III. North America I. Origins and Dissemination The public criticism of the Calvinist doctrine of predestination by J. Arminius was increasingly associated after his death (1609) with church-political and general political motives a…

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Christianity – III. Judaism – IV. Islam I. Terminology The term orthodoxy derives from Greek ὀρϑός/ orthós, “right, true, straight,” and δόξα/ dóxa, “opinion, teaching.” The word and its derivatives appear in pre-Christian literature (Liddell & Scott, s.v.) but acquired their specifically religious sense only in the context of Christianity, where confession of Jesus as Lord or Christ plays a constitutive role in religious practice (Rom 10:10; Matt 10:32f.) and the need appeared early on to identify a…

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Liturgical History – V. Practical Theology – VI. Missiology I. New Testament 1. Background Sacred meals are common to all religions. Before examining them in …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Early Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Systematic Theology – VII. Practical Theology – VIII. Law – IX. Missiology I. Religious Studies Over the course of history, the word office has been used for a wide variety of functions. In every case, however, what is peculiar to the term is that it refers to an activity independent of the unique personal characteristics of the officeholder. In the context of religious studies, what first comes to mind is the office…