This lesser known story from church history is helpful on a number of levels. It reminds us that Christians should watch their tone (Eph. 4:15) and be careful how they disagree with other believers during intramural debates. Today's church history lesson goes as such. Two delegations were divided among themselves on intricate details related to particular redemption. Quoting Dr. Lee Gatis, "Those from Britain and Bremen gave minority reports to the Synod, and aroused some very strong passions. The British delegation HAD TO WRITE HOME FOR HELP RECONCILING THEIR INTERNAL DIVISIONS, but John Davenant claimed he would rather have his right hand cut off than change his mind, so some compromise was inevitable. When Matthias Martinius from Bremen delicately expressed some of his more Arminianizing opinions on this subject Franciscus Gomarus was so incensed that he threw down the gauntlet and challenged him to a duel! The Synod president tried to calm things down, but after prayers Gomarus renewed his request for combat. The two would fight again (verbally) in the Synod, in AN UNDIGNIFIED MANNER which did not impress the other (Christian) foreign delegates, and though others in the Bremen delegation did not agree with Martinius, they nearly left because of this incivility." What we say, how we say what we believe, and how we disagree with fellow believers during intramural debates is important.
