The PuritanBoard - View Single Post - Continental reformed vs. Puritan reformed

VirginiaHuguenot · #9 (**permalink**) 09-25-2007, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guido's Brother

In the time of the Puritans, there was an equivalent movement in the Netherlands known as the Nadere Reformatie (pronounced, "Nader Reformatsy"). There was a lot of sharing of ideas and there were translations of each others' works and so on. Several figures, including William Ames (Amesius), went back and forth across the North Sea.

This is very true and serves as a reminder of the international scope of the (first and) second reformation. Ames and others from the UK and elsewhere were consulted at the Synod of Dordt, an international Synod which received the approbation of Puritans on the other side of the channel. The Netherlands served as a place of refuge for many English/Scottish Puritans and Covenanters. Matthew Poole died in Amsterdam. The Nadere Reformatie shared the same devotional piety and doctrinal integrity as the English/Scottish/New England Puritan movement. I rate the leaders of the Nadere Reformatie among my heroes of the faith. The Scottish General Assembly acknowledged its bonds to their Contintental brethren and expressed its desire for broader reformation in this 1644 letter.

There are some differences, however. Often overlooked in current discussions is the Second Helvetic Confession which is a wonderful document, except that it teaches the lawfulness of ecclesiastical calendar days (ie., man-made holy days), with which, for example, Turretin agreed, though the Westminster divines said otherwise (see Westminster Directory of Public Worship); Jacobus Koelman and Wilhelmus a'Brakel agreed with Westminster. This is both a second and fourth commandment issue, which shows a divergence of Continental and English/Scottish/New England Puritan views. Koelman decried the observance of St. Nicholas day and the widespread profantion of the Lord's Day in the Netherlands (not unique to the Netherlands by any means). The earlier Dutch synods promoted exclusive psalmody (commended by Wilhelmus a'Brakel; see also Ted Postma, Psalmody Through the Ages on this subject), as did the Westminster Assembly; the 1619 Synod of Dordt allowed for some non-canonical songs to be sung in public worship.

Koelman went on to state his opinion of how the Continental creeds stood in relation to Westminster:

Quote:

Originally Posted by VirginiaHuguenot

Quote:

Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
... it's also worth quoting Jacobus Koelman (1632-1695) (there is a good article about him in the November 2005 The Outlook), the Dutch Reformed minister who wrote a well-known book called The Duties of Parents in which he said (p. 31 of the Reformation Heritage Books edition):

Quote:

The catechisms composed by others have served me as aids and guides. The reason why in this process I do not follow so much the Heidelberg Catechism as I do the Westminster Shorter Catechism of England, Scotland, and Ireland is simply that the latter is in all respects superior. For why should we not honestly acknowledge such an obvious truth? It would be good if the church of The Netherlands would be willing to learn and take over a variety of things from the churches in England and Scotland, things which they formulated in their church order and other formularies more clearly in accordance with God´s Word than our church has done.

[Edited on 12-10-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]

Quote:

Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot

I read a comparison chart which looked the doctrinal emphases of Calvin's Genevan Catechism, the HC, the WSC and the WLC recently (all of which have a different number of questions and answers). It was interesting to see that 24% of the HC is devoted to the person and work of Christ compared to 13% of the WLC. And 18% of the HC is devoted to the law of God while 30% of the WLC covers that topic. And just 4% of the HC is devoted to the doctrine of the church while 13% of the WLC addresses that topic. These emphases complement one another as a whole.

Edited on 12-12-2005 VirginiaHuguenot
...
The chart that I referenced appears in the introduction to J.G. Vos' The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary, edited by G.I. Williamson, which is entitled An Introduction to the Westminster Larger Catechism by W. Robert Godfrey. This piece also appeared as "The Westminster Larger Catechism," chapter 6 in To Glorify and Enjoy God: A Commemoration of the 350th Anniversary of the Westminster Assembly, edited by John L. Carson and David W. Hall.

Posted on 20-12-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot