Five Brothers and a War

Religion in Holland

The van Pelt house was a very religious place. Central to the family was the Protestant religion, and specifically the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk or NHK (“Dutch Reformed Church”), as distinctly different from the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland or GKN (“Reformed Church in the Netherlands”). This should not be confused with the Christian Reformed Church. What they all have in common is the roots in the Reformation, hence that word appears in all the names. The underlying theology is nearly identical in that they are based in Calvinism. Calvinistic doctrine holds five basic tenets, which are coincidentally captured under the acronym “TULIP”: • "Total depravity," also called "total inability," asserts that as a consequence of the fall of man into sin, every person is enslaved to sin. • "Unconditional election" asserts that God has chosen from eternity those whom he will bring to himself not based on foreseen virtue, merit, or faith in those people; rather, his choice is unconditionally grounded in his mercy alone. This is predestination. • "Limited atonement," also called "particular redemption" or "definite atonement", asserts that Jesus's substitutionary atonement was definite and certain in its purpose and in what it accomplished. • "Irresistible grace," also called "efficacious grace", asserts that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (that is, the elect) and overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith. • "Perseverance of the saints“, or perseverance of God with the saints, (the word "saints" is used to refer to all who are set apart by God, and not of those who are exceptionally holy, canonized, or in heaven) asserts that since God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end. Calvinism was a very strong reaction to Catholicism, and the various trappings of the Catholic religion—including many parts that are extra-Biblical, particularly in the areas where Catholics believe that church traditions are on an equal footing with the Bible. Calvinism stripped away Catholicism and ended with a far simpler religion. That certainly extended to physical accoutrements as well. Calvinist church buildings are typically very simple, again in reaction to the ostentatiousness found in Catholic Churches. The differences between the various branches of the Dutch Reformed Churches lie in the continuum between liberalism and conservatism, as well as governance. As a move toward liberalism was orchestrated, a conservative reaction followed. In terms of governance, the issues dealt with who was able to manage church functions, particularly in the relationship between the monarchy and the church.

holland

Five Brothers and a War

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