Arminianism, Take 1

Being a Methodist, I am naturally an Arminian but truth be told, I do not know so much about what it is other than the fact that it is an “archrival” of Calvinism especially in the subject of predestination. Over the long weekend, I downloaded Wikipedia’s entry on Arminianism and found out some information about it. Here is a summary of what I read and found out from www.wikipedia.org.

In short, Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought or in other words, thoughts on the study of salvation, in Protestant Christian theology.

History
It originated from the Dutch pastor and theologian Jacobus Arminius in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His teacher was a hand-picked successor of Calvin, whose teachings Arminius rejected. His teacher’s theology of making God the author of sin was rejected and in return, he proposed that the election of God was of believers, making it conditional on faith. Arminius died before a national synod could occur when his views were challenged by the Dutch Calvinists. Due to some political maneuverings, Arminian magistrates were removed from office and Arminianism labeled a heresy. The five points of Calvinism was a result of its respond to Arminianism. Arminians across Holland were removed from office, imprisoned, persecuted, banished and sworn to silence. It was only until 12 years have passed that they were finally granted protection as a religion. But animosity between Arminians and Calvinists continued.

John Wesley
John Wesley was a champion of Arminius' teachings, defending his soteriology in a periodical titled The Arminian and writing articles such as Predestination Calmly Considered. He defended Arminius against charges of semi-Pelagianism, holding strongly to beliefs in original sin and total depravity. At the same time, Wesley attacked the determinism that he claimed characterised unconditional election and maintained a belief in the ability to lose salvation. Wesley also clarified the doctrine of prevenient grace and preached the ability of Christians to attain to perfection.

Current landscape
Arminianism is mainly advocated by the Anglicans, Methodists, Free Will Baptists, General Baptists, Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentecostals and Charismatics. Calvinist on the other hand are advocated by the Reformed Churches including the Particular Baptists, Reformed Baptists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists. The current scholarly support for Arminianism is wide and varied. One particular thrust is a return to the teachings of Arminius.

Perspectives
While Arminianism is most accurately used to define those who affirm the original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius himself, the term can also be understood as an umbrella for a larger grouping of ideas including those of Hugo Grotius, John Wesley, Clark Pinnock, and others. Arminian theology usually falls into one of two groups — Classical Arminianism, drawn from the teaching of Jacobus Arminius — and Wesleyan Arminian, drawing primarily from Wesley. Both groups overlap substantially. Critics include Pelagianism but supporters from both primary perspectives would deny this vehemently.

Tenets
Arminianism holds to the following tenets:
• Humans are naturally unable to make any effort towards salvation
• Salvation is possible by grace alone
• Works of human effort are not cause or contribution to salvation
• God's election is conditional on faith in Jesus
• Jesus' atonement was potentially for all people
• God allows his grace to be resisted by those unwilling to believe
• Salvation can be lost, as continued salvation is conditional upon continued faith

I will touch on its theology and comparison with other views tomorrow, God willing.

Maeghan
Picture from Andover-Harvard Theological Library.
The portrait of Arminius is from the Library's Dutch portrait collection which came to the Library as part of the library of Jan Pieter de Bie(1871-1959).