When times of trial and persecution come to an end, the absence of external tension may create opportunities for internal strife and division. With the threat of Spanish invasion no longer uniting the Dutch people, controversy surrounding the teachings of the late Jacobus Arminius began to polarize the Reformed churches in the Netherlands. At the resulting Synod of Dort, church leaders responded to this crisis by officially adopting the doctrinal positions that have become one of the distinguishing marks of Reformed Christianity.