John Calvin's own position is often disputed, and subsequent Calvinism was frequently infralapsarian, although supralapsarianism has been revived recently.
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In fact, Johannes Bogerman, president of the synod, himself a Supralapsarian, argued for the inclusion of the Infralapsarian position in the Canons. The more extreme views of Dutch Calvinists were moderated in the detailed debates.
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The Conclusions of the Synod of Utrecht were the result of a 1905 synod of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. They included authoritative pronouncements on the disputed points of Infralapsarian/Supralapsarian, justification from eternity, mediate/immediate regeneration, and presumptive regeneration.
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In 1770, Allen published The Spirit of Liberty.Allen was a high Calvinist with supralapsarian leanings. He was considered to be slightly unorthodox in some of his views; the Canons of Dordt (1618-19) adopted the infralapsarian order. While praising John Wesley as a gentleman, scholar, and historian, Allen questioned his Christian faith in The Spirit of Liberty.
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Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper initiated neo-Calvinism Neo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is the movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper. James Bratt has identified a number of different types of Dutch Calvinism: The Seceders—split into the Reformed Church "West" and the Confessionalists; and the Neo-Calvinists—the Positives and the Antithetical Calvinists. The Seceders were largely infralapsarian and the Neo-Calvinists usually supralapsarian.James Bratt, Dutch Calvinism in Modern America.
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Neo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is the movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper. James Bratt has identified a number of different types of Dutch Calvinism: The Seceders, split into the Reformed Church "West" and the Confessionalists; the Neo-Calvinists; and the Positives and the Antithetical Calvinists. The Seceders were largely infralapsarian and the Neo-Calvinists usually supralapsarian. Kuyper wanted to awaken the church from what he viewed as its pietistic slumber.
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Judaism does not have a concept of "the fall" or "original sin" and has varying other interpretations of the Eden narrative. Lapsarianism, understanding the logical order of God's decrees in relation to the Fall, is divided by some Calvinists into supralapsarian (prelapsarian, pre-lapsarian or antelapsarian, before the Fall) and infralapsarian (sublapsarian or postlapsarian, after the Fall). The story of the Garden of Eden and the fall of man represents a tradition among the Abrahamic peoples, with a presentation more or less symbolic of certain moral and religious truths.
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This strain was in many ways aligned with a second strain, the school of Voetius. Unlike the Voetians, however, the followers of the theologia traditiva were infralapsarian, arguing that God's decree to create men and allow the Fall logically precedes the decree to elect some men to salvation. They also, contrary to the Voetians, approved of some degree of governmental involvement in church affairs, were more lax with respect to Sabbath observance, and were in general more moderate polemicists. Differences between these groups decreased throughout the 17th century, as they positioned themselves against a third strain, the Cocceians.
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English hypothetical universalism was developed by John Preston, John Davenant, and James Ussher. This scheme teaches that God ineffectually decrees that all men be saved, but because God knows that some men will not have faith he makes an effectual decree to save those whom he predestines to salvation. Amyraldian hypothetical universalism, associated with John Cameron and Moïse Amyraut, differs by asserting that God decrees the election of some to salvation logically subsequent to the decree to provide salvation through Christ. This represents a change to the traditional infralapsarian scheme of the logical order of God's decrees, where God's decree to save some was conceived of as logically preceding his decree to provide salvation.
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In contrast, infralapsarians hold that God planned the race to fall logically prior to the decision to save or damn any individuals because, it is argued, in order to be "saved", one must first need to be saved from something and therefore the decree of the Fall must precede predestination to salvation or damnation. These two views vied with each other at the Synod of Dort, an international body representing Calvinist Christian churches from around Europe, and the judgments that came out of that council sided with infralapsarianism (Canons of Dort, First Point of Doctrine, Article 7). The Westminster Confession of Faith also teaches (in Hodge's words "clearly impl[ies]") the infralapsarian view, but is sensitive to those holding to supralapsarianism. The Lapsarian controversy has a few vocal proponents on each side today, but overall it does not receive much attention among modern Calvinists.
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