his defense of traditional Calvinist doctrine, Arminius became convinced of his opponent’s teaching. Later, Arminius preached a series of sermons on Romans in which he emphasized free will and stressed the government’s authority in ecclesiastical and religious matters. Many began to doubt whether Arminius was really in line with the doctrinal standards of the Dutch church: the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession (especially Article 16 on the doctrine of election). In 1603 Arminius was
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