The Collegiants​—Bible Study Made Them Different

Have you heard of the Collegiants?

This tiny 17th-century Dutch religious group was different from the established churches of that time. How so, and what can we learn from them? To find out, let us travel back in time.

IN 1587, Jacobus Arminius (or, Jacob Harmensen) arrived in the city of Amsterdam. He had no trouble finding employment, for his résumé was impressive. At the age of 21, he was graduated from Holland’s Leiden University. After that, he spent six years in Switzerland, studying theology under Théodore de Bèze, the successor to Protestant Reformer John Calvin. No wonder that Protestants in Amsterdam were pleased to appoint 27-year-old Arminius as one of their pastors! A few years later, though, many church members regretted their choice. Why?

The Predestination Issue

Soon after Arminius stepped into the pulpit, tension arose among Amsterdam’s Protestants about the doctrine of predestination. This doctrine formed the core of Calvinism, but some church members felt that a God who had predestined salvation for some and damnation for others was harsh and unjust. The Calvinists expected that Arminius, being a pupil of Bèze, would straighten out the dissenters. However, Arminius sided with the dissenters instead, to the consternation of the Calvinists. By 1593 the dispute had grown so heated that it split the city’s Protestants into two groups​—those who supported the doctrine and those who rejected it, the moderates.

Within a few years, this local dispute turned into a nationwide Protestant schism. Finally, in November 1618 the stage was set for a showdown. The Calvinists, backed by the army and public opinion, summoned the dissidents (then called Remonstrantsa) to a national council, the Protestant Synod of Dordrecht. At the end of the meeting, all Remonstrant ministers were given a choice: Sign a pledge never to preach again, or leave the country. Most chose exile. Strict Calvinists occupied the pulpits that the Remonstrant ministers had left. Calvinism had triumphed​—or so the synod hoped.

Birth and Growth of the Collegiants

Like elsewhere, the Remonstrant congregation in the village of Warmond, near Leiden, lost its pastor. Unlike elsewhere, however, the congregation did not accept the synod-approved replacement. Moreover, when a Remonstrant minister risked his life to return to Warmond in 1620 to care for the congregation, some congregation members rejected him as well. These members had begun holding their religious meetings in secret without the help of any clergyman. Later, these meetings were called colleges and those attending, Collegiants.

Though the Collegiants arose more out of circumstance than out of principle, that situation soon changed. Congregation member Gijsbert van der Kodde argued that by meeting without clerical supervision, the group was conforming more closely to the Bible and to the way of the early Christians than were the established churches. The clergy class, he said, had been invented after the death of the apostles to create jobs for men unwilling to learn a trade.

In 1621, Van der Kodde and like-minded members moved their meetings to the neighboring village of Rijnsburg.b Some years later, when religious persecution had given way to tolerance, the reputation of the Collegiants’ meetings spread throughout the country and attracted “birds of different feathers,” as historian Siegfried Zilverberg put it. There were Remonstrants, Mennonites, Socinians, and even theologians. Some were farmers. Others were poets, printers, physicians, and tradesmen. The philosopher Spinoza (Benedictus de Spinoza) and the pedagogue Johann Amos Comenius (or, Jan Komenský), as well as the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn, sympathized with the movement. The different ideas that these pious people brought with them influenced the development of Collegiant beliefs.

After 1640 this dynamic group grew rapidly. Colleges sprang up in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Leeuwarden, and other cities. Professor of history Andrew C. Fix notes that between the years 1650 and 1700, “the Collegiants . . . grew into one of the most important and influential religious forces in seventeenth-century Holland.”

The Collegiants’ Beliefs

Since reason, tolerance, and free speech were the hallmarks of the Collegiant movement, individual Collegiants were free to hold different beliefs. Still, they were bound together by some common convictions. For example, all Collegiants appreciated the importance of personal Bible study. Each member, wrote one Collegiant, should “investigate for himself and not come to know God from another.” They did. According to the 19th-century church historian Jacobus C. van Slee, more Bible knowledge was found among Collegiants than in other religious groups of the time. Even opponents praised the Collegiants for their ability to use the Bible skillfully.

The more the Collegiants studied the Bible, though, the more they developed convictions that differed from those held by mainstream churches. Sources dating from the 17th to the 20th century describe some of their beliefs:

The Early Church. Collegiant and theologian Adam Boreel wrote in 1644 that when the early church became involved in politics at the time of Emperor Constantine, it broke its covenant with Christ and lost the inspiration of the holy spirit. He added that as a result, false teachings multiplied and continued until his day.

The Reformation. The 16th-century Reformation led by Luther, Calvin, and others had not gone far enough in reforming the church. Instead, according to leading Collegiant and physician Galenus Abrahamsz (1622-1706), the Reformation made the religious situation worse by giving rise to quarreling and hatred. True reform should change the heart, which the Reformation failed to do.

The Church and the Clergy. The established churches are corrupt, worldly, and devoid of divine authority. Whoever takes religion seriously could do no better than leave the church to which he belongs so as not to become an accessory to its sins. The office of clergyman, said the Collegiants, is contrary to the Scriptures and “injurious to the spiritual welfare of the Christian congregation.”

Kingdom and Paradise. One of the founders of the Amsterdam college, Daniel de Breen (1594-1664), wrote that Christ’s Kingdom was not a spiritual kingdom residing in one’s heart. Teacher Jacob Ostens, a Collegiant in Rotterdam, said that “the patriarchs looked forward to earthly promises.” Likewise, Collegiants awaited the time when the earth would be transformed into a paradise.

Trinity. Some leading Collegiants, influenced by Socinian beliefs, rejected the Trinity.c For instance, Daniel Zwicker (1621-78) wrote that any doctrine contrary to reason, such as the Trinity, was “impossible and false.” In 1694 a Bible version translated by Collegiant Reijnier Rooleeuw was published. It rendered the latter part of John 1:1: “And the word was a god” instead of the orthodox rendering: “And the word was God.”d

Weekly Meetings

Although the Collegiants were not all in accord as to beliefs, their colleges in different cities functioned quite similarly. Historian Van Slee reports that in the early days of the Collegiant movement, meetings were hardly prepared in advance. The Collegiants felt that based on the apostle Paul’s words about the need to “prophesy,” all male members could address the college freely. (1 Corinthians 14:1, 3, 26) As a result, meetings often lasted far into the night and some in attendance fell “fast asleep.”

Later, meetings became more organized. Collegiants met not only on Sundays but also on weekday evenings. To enable the speaker and the congregation to prepare in advance for all the meetings of that year, a printed program listed the Bible verses to be considered as well as the speakers’ initials. After the meeting was opened with song and prayer, a speaker explained the Bible verses. When finished, he asked the men to express themselves about the topic just discussed. Then a second speaker showed the application of the same verses. Prayer and song closed the meeting.

Collegiants in the town of Harlingen, in the province of Friesland, had a novel way for keeping their meetings on schedule. A speaker who talked longer than he was supposed to had to pay a small fine.

National Assemblies

The Collegiants also felt the need for larger gatherings. Thus, starting in 1640, Collegiants from all over the country traveled twice a year (in spring and summer) to Rijnsburg. These gatherings, writes historian Fix, allowed them to become “acquainted with the ideas, feelings, beliefs, and activities of their brothers from far and wide.”

Some of the visiting Collegiants rented rooms from the villagers while others stayed in the Groote Huis, or Big House, a mansion of 30 rooms owned by the Collegiants. Communal meals for 60 to 70 people were served there. After dinner, visitors could stroll through the mansion’s sizable garden to enjoy ‘God’s works, a quiet conversation, or a moment of contemplation.’

Although not all Collegiants felt that baptism was necessary, many did. Thus, baptism became a feature of the large gatherings. Historian Van Slee says that the ceremony usually took place on Saturday morning. Song and prayer were followed by a discourse on the need for immersion. Then the speaker invited those adults who wanted to be baptized to make a confession of faith, such as, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God.” After the discourse was closed with prayer, all present walked to the baptism pool and witnessed men and women kneeling in the pool, so that the water reached their shoulders. The baptizer then slowly pushed the head of the new believer forward and under the water. After the ceremony, all returned to their seats for another discourse.

On Saturday afternoon at 5:00 p.m., the actual meeting began with a short Bible reading, song, and prayer. To ensure that there was always a speaker on hand, the colleges of Rotterdam, Leiden, Amsterdam, and North Holland took turns providing speakers for each assembly. Sunday morning was reserved for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. After a discourse, prayer, and song, the men and then the women partook of the bread and the wine. More discourses followed on Sunday evening, and on Monday morning everyone came together for the closing talk. Most talks given at these conventions, notes Van Slee, were of a practical nature, stressing application over explication.

The village of Rijnsburg was pleased to host these gatherings. One 18th-century observer wrote that the influx of strangers, who consumed quite a bit, generated good revenue for the village. In addition, after each convention the Collegiants donated a sum to Rijnsburg’s poor. The village, no doubt, felt the loss when those meetings were discontinued in 1787. After that the Collegiant movement faded away. Why?

Why They Faded Away

By the end of the 17th century, a dispute had arisen about the role of reason in religion. Some Collegiants felt that human reasoning should take precedence over divine revelation, but others disagreed. Eventually, the dispute divided the entire Collegiant movement. Only after the major proponents of both sides of the dispute had died did the Collegiants unite again. Nevertheless, after this schism the movement “was never again the same,” notes historian Fix.

Increasing tolerance within the 18th-century Protestant churches also contributed to the Collegiants’ decline. As the Collegiant principles of reason and toleration became more accepted by society at large, “the once lonely light of Collegiantism dissolved into the bright dawn of the Enlightenment.” By the end of the 18th century, most Collegiants had been absorbed by the Mennonites and other religious groups.

Since the Collegiants did not aim for unity of thought within their movement, there were about as many different views as there were Collegiants. They recognized this and, therefore, did not claim to be “united . . . in the same line of thought,” as the apostle Paul urges Christians to be. (1 Corinthians 1:10) At the same time, however, the Collegiants looked forward to the time when fundamental Christian beliefs, such as unity of thought, would become a reality.

Considering the fact that the true knowledge had not yet become abundant in the days of the Collegiants, they set an example many religions today could note. (Compare Daniel 12:4.) Their stressing the need for Bible study was in line with the apostle Paul’s counsel: “Make sure of all things.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Personal Bible study taught Jacobus Arminius and others that some long-held religious doctrines and practices were not based on the Bible at all. When they realized this, they had the courage to differ with established religion. Would you have done the same?

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 24]

Rembrandt van Rijn

[Pictures on page 26]

Village of Warmond where Collegiants first began, and De Vliet River where baptisms took place

[Picture Credit Line on page 23]

Background: Courtesy of the American Bible Society Library, New York