In view of its required adherence by all ministers of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), Eugene P. Heideman offers this volume setting the Canons of Dort in its historical context, clarifies the positive aspects of its theology, and examines whether all of the facets of its theology can be biblically sustained. In the process, he reveals much about our theological heritage and its piety and offers a biblical way forward. The structure of the canons by the Synod of Dort (1618-19) immediately creates difficulty for the contemporary reader. The strict supralapsarian Calvinism was challenged in 1610 by “remonstrants” who gave that name to those who held this theological belief; they were, therefore, the Remonstrants. The strict Calvinists who opposed Remonstrant views became the Counter-Remonstrants. When the Synod of Dort was given the task to conduct a theological evaluation of those “remonstrants,” the result was the Canons of Dort. To the canons were appended the “Rejection of the Errors by Which the Dutch Churches Have for Some Time Been Disturbed,” as found in the 1610 Remonstrants. Rev. Dr. Eugene Paul Heideman brought an acute theological mind to bear on the theological and biblical thought of Dort in its original context and as it again became a matter of contention in nineteenth-century Dutch theology. Reference is made to a few of the best-known Dutch theologians of the twentieth century, but Heideman passed away before he could add an analysis of the theology of Karl Barth and Jürgen Moltmann as their work pertained to Dort. Many people have shared in the background of this publication. I cannot begin to presume the many colleagues with whom Gene may have discussed these issues. Among them, however, is Donald Sinnema, the consummate scholar of Dort, and Suzanne McDonald, with her own book, Re-imagining Election (Eerdmans, 2010). It is said that, when writing, John Calvin quoted Scripture from memory—Gene Heideman may have done the same. In any case, student research assistant Mackenzie Rhode did the meticulous work of making every quotation from Scripture and the canons adhere strictly to the text. I thank those who have encouraged me to persevere in this task; Jacob E. Nyenhuis, editor-in-chief of the Van Raalte Press; Donald A. Luidens, director of the Van Raalte Institute; and James Hart Brumm, general editor of the Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America. Finally, as the one who brings all of our work as close to perfection as possible, our incredible project editor JoHannah Smith, who manages to cover our faults and make every book she touches a paragon of publishing virtue.