Chapter Two. Arminius And His Academic Context

Abstract

Because the biography of Jacobus Arminius is readily accessible to modern readers, it is not desirable to summarize Bertius, C. Brandt, or Bangs. It is appropriate, however, to position Arminius in the context of his colleagues on the theological faculty of Leiden University and in the context of their standard pedagogical and theological methods. Thus, rather than a traditional biographical sketch of Arminius with passing reference to Leiden University, this chapter offers a narrative of some aspects of university life as they relate to the context of Arminius. The chapter—consisting of a brief “biographical” sketch of the theological college at Leiden, an analysis of the disputation method within the curriculum, and a survey of Arminius’s theological method—helps fill in some gaps, especially for English readers, in our knowledge of the details of Arminius’s academic life and professorial career.Keywords: academic life; Jacobus Arminius; Leiden University; pedagogical method; professorial career; theological method