Arminius - AStudy in the Dutch Reformation by Bangs, Carl (1998) Paperback

by Carl Bangs

A definitive biography of the intriguing and controversial Dutch thinker of the late sixteenth - early seventeenth centuries. Not merely a biography in the traditional sense, the book involves much intellectual history as well as a short history of Amsterdam.

Genres: Biography, Theology, History, Christian

Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Alec · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative and thorough book on the Dutch Reformation during the time of Arminius.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit that my opinion of this book was rather low for the first hundred plus pages. However, that is because I wanted a biography on Arminius, and the author presents much more. I was aware of this because in the preface, the author states that the book "is not a biography in the narrow sense." He states that he must tell much of Amsterdam and the Dutch Reformation in order for the reader to understand Arminius.
My issue with the first part of the book is the speculation. In defense of the author, he states in the preface: "This effort has been made with particular vigor for his early life, where so little has been known. For this later life there is much more evidence. The early part of the book, then, may appear inflated as it grasps at every straw of evidence, attempting in many cases reasonable conjectures where hard evidence is lacking. For his later life, the situation is relatively different, and the reader is begged to believe that a great deal of condensation has taken place."
His assessment of his book is accurate, which means that the first part of the book has lots of names, lots of history about people who came in contact with Arminius, and an inordinate amount of dates. All of this makes it somewhat difficult to follow.
So why 5 stars? Once you make it past the first 9 chapters, the book becomes difficult to put down. The conflicts Arminius endures swell like an approaching storm. The financial, political, and military conflicts pour over into theology--all affecting Arminius' position (as pastor and professor) and positions (regarding theology). The author does a marvelous job weaving all of this together.
After Arminius' death, the author provides a few more chapters that are a fitting close for Arminius' biography. They deal with a summary of Arminius' theology which has been presented throughout the book as it fit in with the events. It is nice to have everything together, although by necessity it is brief. Finally, the Epilogue was a nice touch as it wrapped up some loose ends about various family, friends, and foes that were involved in the story of Arminius.
If a person started at Chapter 10 they would shave off 138 pages of the book and not miss a lot from Arminius' life. Part of the background information would be missing, but you would get the meat of the battles and theology.

[Ken Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find it hard to imagine how this book could have been better. I thoroughly enjoyed delving into a time period from so long ago, and Carl Bangs does a brilliant job of describing the religious and political contexts of the times, basing many of his descriptions on obscure town and university records from nearly 400 years ago. Bangs achieves a very helpful balance in this biography between historical details and theological details, as well as sensitively including personal details about a man who experienced such tragedy, and so much opposition from many ungracious enemies. This biography is educational as well as enjoyable, and I so appreciated being able to learn about Arminian doctrine from the words of Arminius himself.

[Brian Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bangs’s biography has long been the standard biography of Arminius. He provides abundant historical background. He writes sympathetically. He should be read alongside more recent works such as those by Muller, McCall, and Stanglin.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent. Poor.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, extremely informative regarding the Dutch Reformation and the debate regarding the nature of salvation.