View source for Doreslaer, Abraham à, (d. 1655)

Abraham à Doreslaer (Dooreslaer), a Dutch Reformed preacher, was coauthor with Austro-Sylvius of the only scholarly work comparing the doctrines of the Calvinists with those of the Mennonites, entitled, <em>Grondige en klare Vertooninghe van het onderscheijdt in de voornaemste hooftstucken der Christelijcker Religie, tusschen De Gereformeerde ende de Weder-dooperen, . . . </em>The book contains many quotations from extremely rare or now nonexistent books. The 1626 synod at Alkmaar commissioned [[Austro-Sylvius, Petrus Jakobus (d. 1647)|Petrus Jakobus Austro-Sylvius]] to write this work, considering it necessary because of the confession of faith published by [[Outerman, Jacques (ca. 1547-ca. 1639)|Jacques Outerman]], a Mennonite preacher, in 1626. At the synod of 1627 Austro-Sylvius was already looking for help, and Doreslaer was appointed to the task. Doreslaer was the pastor at Oude Niedorp in 1602, and at Enkhuizen in 1605. In addition to several sermons, Dooreslaer also made a new translation of the Bible with explanations (Amsterdam, 1614), a forerunner of the<em> Statenvertaling. </em>He must therefore have been one of the most learned of the Calvinist theologians. After the outline of statements and counter statements had been approved by the synod committee ([[Antonides, Henricus (1546-1614)|Antonides]] and Sibema), the two authors proceeded to work out the comparison. The book is divided into 24 chapters and contains no less than 856 pages (in two columns) with an exhaustive index. Dooreslaer died at Enkhuizen 19 March 1655. His three sons, Samuel, Isaac, and David, also became Reformed preachers.
= Bibliography =
Dooreslaer, Abraham à and Petrus Jakobus Austro-Sylvius.<em> Grondige en klare Vertooninghe van het onderscheijdt in de voornaemste hooftstucken der Christelijcker Religie, tusschen De Gereformeerde ende de Weder-dooperen</em>. Enkhuizen, 1637, second printing 1649.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff.<em> Mennonitisches Lexikon</em>, 4 vols. Frankfurt &amp; Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 466.

Visscher, H. and L. A. van Langeraad. <em>Biographisch Woordenboek von Protestantsche Godgeleerden in Nederland</em>. Utrecht, 1903-: II, 557-560.
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