Die Dordtse Leerrels as belydenis van volkome troos n bydrae tot die hermeneutiek van belydenisskrifte.

Abstract

The Canons of Dordt as a confession of complete comfort – a contribution to the hermeneutics of confessions
This article presents a reading of the Canons of Dordt as a confession of complete comfort, in order to show, by way of this case study, how our hermeneutical approach to confessions can influence our understanding of their message and purpose. Even though the Canons of Dordt is a highly controversial confession with some very problematic formulations, when reading it as a confession of complete comfort, it becomes clear that all four the subdivisions of the Canons of Dordt give witness to the complete comfort of God’s grace. It does so by showing that 1) an alterable election would imply an uncertain comfort, that 2) an election based on a decision of faith would imply a conditional comfort, that 3) if the election needs to be supplemented by the general grace it would imply an insufficient comfort and that 4) a call to continuous responsibility would imply a short-lived comfort.