QUESTION: BRIEFLY EXPLAIN THE DOCTRINES OF CALVINISM AND ARMINIANISM, POINTING OUT THE ONE THAT IS IN LINE WITH THE SCRIPTURES.
INTRODUUCTION:
Within the broad scope of the history of Christian theology Arminianism is closely related to Calvinism and the two systems share both history and many doctrines. Nonetheless, they are often viewed as rivals within evangelism because of their disagreement over details of the doctrines of divine predestination and salvation.
CALVINISM:
Calvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life. It is also referred to as Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology. The reformed tradition was advanced by several theologians such as Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullier etc but this branch of Christianity bears the name of the French reformer John Calvin because of his prominent role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates through out the 16th century. Today this term also refers to the doctrines and practices of the Reformed churches of which Calvin was an early leader.
Calvinism, the creed of John Calvin (1509 -1564) was largely as formulated in his institutes, published in 1536. Calvin was greatly influenced by St. Augustine in inferring predestination from divine foreknowledge, and therefore presumed that the elect, chosen for salvation were known to God from before the creation. Free will was an illusion. Church organization followed from that basic premise, that the chosen of God, the elect should share government with Ministers.
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Taken into Scotland from Calvin’s Geneva in 1559 by John Knox, Calvinism became the national creed and was recognized as the established church in 1690. In England it struggled first to influence Anglicans, then to overthrow it. After 1660, it was at first the most powerful of the dissenting sects but lost ground rapidly to the Baptists and in the early 18th century was infiltrated by socinianism and Unitarianism.
THE MEANING OF CALVINISM:
It is a series of theological beliefs first promoted by John Calvin (1509 – 1564) one of the leaders of Protestant reformation. They were affirmed by the Synod of Dordt (1618 – 1619) as being the doctrine of salvation which is contained in the bible. It laid the foundation of reformed theology.
Calvinism is often summarized by the five points of Calvinism, which are easy to recall by using the acronym “TULIP”
1) T: This stands for “total depravity” as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God, the entire human race is affected; all humanity is dead in trespasses and sins. Man is unable to save himself. This fall of man has extended sin to all parts of every person’s being: “his thinking, his emotions and his will” (Gen 6:5, Jere 17:9, Rom 3:10-18).
Sometimes this has been called “total inability” this is the concept that it is impossible for the ordinary ‘natural’ man to understand the Gospel message. They are spiritually helpless. First, God must decide to intervene in the form of the third personality within the trinity, Holy spirit, otherwise the person is lost forever. (Rom 5:12, Mk 4:11)
2) U: This stands for “unconditional election”. This is the concept of predestination: that God has divide humanity into two groups. One group is ‘elected’. It includes all those whom God has chosen to make knowledgeable about himself. The rest will remain ignorant of God, and the Gospel. They are dammed and will spend eternity in hell without any hope of mercy or cessation of the extreme tortures. God made this selection before the universe was created, and thus before any humans existed. The grands or grounds that God uses to select the lucky few is unknown. What is known is that it is not through any good works on the part of the individual. It is not that He extends knowledge to some in order to find out who will accept salvation and who will not (Rom 8:29 – 30, 9:11, Eph 1:4-6, 11)
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3) L: This stands for ‘Limited Atonement’ Because God determined that certain ones should be saved as a result of God’s unconditional election He determined that Christ should die for the elect alone. All to whom God has elected and Christ died for will be saved 9Matt 1:21, Jn 10:11, 17:9, Acts 20:28, Rom 8:32, Eph 5:25)
4) I: This stands for ‘Irresistible Grace’ Those to whom God elected and Christ died for, God draws to Himself through irresistible grace. God makes man’s will to come to Him. When God calls, man responds. (Jn 6:37, 44; 10:16).
5) P: This stands for ‘Perseverance of saints’. The precise ones God has elected and drawn to Himself through the Holy spirit will persevere in faith. None who God has elected will be lost; they are eternally secure. (Jn 10:27 -29; Rom 8:29-30); Eph 1:3-14)
While all these doctrines have or some of them. So called “four point Calvinists” accept total depravity, unconditional election, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints as biblical doctrines. Man is definitely sinful and incapable of believing in God on his own. God elects people based on His will alone – it is not based on any merit in the person chosen. All those whom God has chosen will come to faith. All those who are truly born again will persevere in faith. As for limited atonement, however, four point Calvinists believe that atonement is unlimited, arguing that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, not just for the sins of the ‘elect’ And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the world. (Jn 2:2) Verses in opposition to limited atonement are Jn 1:29, 3:16, 1Tim 2:6, IIPet 2:1)
The five-point Calvinists however, see problems with four-point Calvinists. First, they argue that if total depravity is true, the unlimited atonement cannot possibly be true because if Jesus died for the sins of every person, then whether or not His death is applicable to an individual depends on whether or not that person “accepts” Christ. But as we have seen from the above description of total depravity, man in his natural state has no capacity to choose God, nor does he want to. In addition, if unlimited atonement is true, then hell is full of people for whom Christ died and He shed His blood in vain for them. To five-point Calvinists, this is unthinkable.
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ARMINIANISM:
This is a school of setriological thought within protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminus (1560 – 1609) and his historic followers, the Remonstrants. The doctrines acceptances stretch through much of Christianity from the early arguments between Athanasius and Origen, to Augustine of Hippo’s defense of origin of sin.
Since the 16th century, Christians of many sects, including the Baptists, have been influenced by Arminian views. So have the Methodists, the Congregationalists of the early New England colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries and the universalities and Unitarians in the 18th and 19th centuries.
TENETS OF ARMINIANISM
a) Humans are naturally unable to make any effort towards salvation. They possess free will to accept or reject salvation.
b) Salvation is possible only by God’s grace, which cannot be merited.
c) No works of human effort can cause or contribute to salvation.
d) God’s election is conditional on faith in the sacrifice and Lordship of Jesus Christ.
e) Christ’s atonement was made on behalf of all people
f) God allows his grace to be resisted by those who freely reject Christ.
g) Believers are able to resist sin but are not beyond the possibility of falling from grace through persistent, un-repentance of sin.
Arminianism is most accurately used to define those who affirm the original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius himself, but the term can also be understood as an umbrella for a larger grouping of ideas including those of Hugo Grotius, John Wesley and others. There are two primary perspectives on how the system is applied in detail; Classical Arminianism, which sees Arminius as its figurehead, and Wesleyan Arminianism, which sees John Wesley as its figurehead. Wesleyan Arminianism is sometimes synonymous with Methodism. In addition, Arminianism is often misrepresented by some of its critics to include Semiplegianism or even Pelagianism, though proponents of both primary perspectives vehemently deny these claims.
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BACKGROUND:
Jacobus Arminius was a Dutch pastor and theologian in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was taught by Theodore Beza, Calvin’s hand-picked successor, but after examination of the scriptures, he rejected his teacher’s theology that God is who unconditionally elects some for salvation. Instead Arminius proposed that the election of God was of believers, thereby making it conditional on faith. Arminius’s views were challenged by the Dutch Calvinists, especially Franciscus Gomarus, but Arminius died before a national synod could occur.
Arminius’s followers, not wanting to adopt their leader’s name, called themselves the Remonstrants. When Arminius died before he could satisfy Holland’s State General’s request for a 14-page paper outlining his views, the Remonstrants replied in his stead crafting the five articles of Remonstrance. After some political maneuvering, the Dutch Calvinists were able to convince Prince Maurice of Nassau to deal with the situation. Maurice systematically removed Arminian magistrates from office and called a national synod at Dordretch. This synod of Dort was open primarily to Dutch Calvinists. (Arminians were excluded) with Calvinists representatives from other countries, and in 1618 published a condemnation of Arminian and his followers as heretics. Part of this publication was the famous Five Point of Calvinism in response to the five articles of Remonstrance. The Remonstrators were inconsistent with the soteriological thought of Arminius.
Arminius across Holland were removed from office, imprisoned, banished, or sworn to silence. Twelve years later, Holland officially granted Arminianism protection as a religion, although animosity between Arminians and Calvinists continued.
This same dynamic between Arminianism and Calvinism can be seen in the heated discussions between friends and fellow Methodist ministers John Wesley and George Whitefield. Wesley was a champion of Arminian teachings, defending his soteriology in a periodical titled The Arminian and the writing articles such as Predestined Calmly Considered. He defended Arminianism 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 characterized 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. While Wesley freely made use of the term “Arminian” he did not self-consciously root his soteriology in the theology of Arminius but was highly influenced by 17th-century English Arminnianism and thinkers such as John Goodwin, Jeremy Taylor and Henry Hammond of the Anglican “Holy Living” school, and the Remonstrants Hugo Grotius.
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THE DOCTRINES IN CONTEMPORAY TIME
Advocates of both Arminianism and Calvinism find a home in many Protestant denominations, and sometimes both exist within the same denominations as with the Puritans. Faith leaning at least in part in the Arminian direction include Methodist, Free will Puritans, General Baptists, Disciples of Christ, Church of Nazarene, Seventh Day Adventist, The Salvation Army, Pentecostal and Charismatics.
Denominations leaning in the Calvinist direction are grouped as the Reformed churches and include Particular Baptist, Reformed Baptists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists. The majority of Southern Baptists, including Billy Graham, accept Arminianism with an exception allowing for a doctrine of perseverance of the saints (“eternal security”).
Many see Calvinists as growing in acceptance, and some prominent Reformed Baptists, such as Albert Mohler and Mark Dever, have been pushing for the southern Baptist Convention to adopt a more Calvinist orientation. Lutherans espouse a view of salvation and election distinct from both the Calvinist and Arminian schools of soteriology.
The current scholarly support for Arminianism is wide and varied. One particular thrust is a return to the teachings of Arminius F. Leroy Forlines, Robert Picirillu, Stephen Ashby and Matthew Pinson are four of the more prominent supporters. Forlines has referred to this type of Arminianism as “Classical Arminianism” or “Reformed Arminianism”. Other scholars who show sympathy with this view include the Christian churches scholar Jack Cottrell, the Churches of Christ scholar John Mark Hicks and Jonathan R. Wilson. Through Methodism, Wesley’s teachings also inspire a large scholarly following, with vocal proponents including J. Kennteh Grider, Stanley Haurewas, Thomas Oden, Thomas Jay Oord and William Willimon.
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Recent influence of the New Perspective on Paul movement has also reached Arminianism – primarily through a view of corporate election. The new perspective scholars propose that the 1st century, Second Temple Judaism understood election primarily as national (Israelites) and racial (Jews), not as individual. Their conclusion is thus that Paul’s writings on election should be interpreted in a similar corporate light. Leading proponents of this view include the British Anglican theologians, James Dunn and N. T. Wright. Other Arminian theologians holding similar perspectives but not directly linked with the New Perspective movement include Robert Shank, Paul Marston, Roger Forster, Jerry Walls, Thomas Jay Oord, Roger Oslon and Joseph Dongell. However, another stream of Arminian scholarship, represented by thinkers such as Jack Cottrell, Leroy Forlines, and Robert Picirilli, views election to salvation, similarly to Arminius, as personal and individual in nature.
CONCLUSION:
In my own view, Arminianism with its seven tenets as stated above is in line with the scriptures and I recommend that all true believers should hold to it and continue to teach same.