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Arminian Basics
by Mike Stine
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Arminianism
was started by Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609). He
was born slightly before John Calvin died and was actually taught by
Calvin's son-in-law. He was a Calvinist until one day
when forced to defend his beliefs and found that his
opponent could more ably defend his views against
Calvinism. This caused Arminius to reject his
Calvinistic background and “sought to modify
Calvinism so that ‘God might not be considered the
author of sin, nor man an automation in the hands of
God.’”
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Arminius’s
views stirred up controversy in Holland, his home. Arminius asked to speak to the government on the issue but it
was never brought before them until 1618, nine years
after his death.
It was soundly rejected and his followers faced
persecution from Calvinists; 200 pastors losing their
posts, statesman John van Olden Barneveldt beheaded,
Hugo Grotius imprisoned for life but escaping two
years later.
By
1625 the persecution had waned and followers began to
return to Holland once again.
They spread a principle of toleration
throughout the churches in Holland so that there was
much more religious toleration.
England
had been Arminian to some extent before Arminius was
born but faced the struggles of the Purituan revolt,
Oliver Cromwell, and the Glorious Revolution.
This caused “Charles II, who despised the
Presbyterians, to reinstitute Arminian doctrine in the
Church of England.” This Arminianism wasn’t
exactly the same as that taught by Arminius but was
similar. John
Wesley (1703-1791) later championed the Arminian
beliefs, “traveling more than 250,000 miles and
preaching 40,000 sermons.”
Arminians
followers responded to the five points of Calvinism
(see Calvinistic basics for more explanation) with
five points of their own. The following explanation of
the five points is as per the Moody Handbook of
Theology.
| Election
Based on (fore)knowledge- God elected those whom He
knew would of their own free will believe in
Christ and persevere in the faith |
| Unlimited
Atonement- In His atonement, Christ provided
redemption for all mankind, making all mankind
savable. Christ's atonement becomes effective
only in those who believe |
| Natural
Ability- Man cannot save himself; the Holy
Spirit must effect the new birth |
| Prevenient
Grace- Preparatory work of the Holy Spirit
enables the believer to respond to the gospel
and cooperate with God in salvation |
| Conditional
Perseverance- Believers have been empowered to
live a victorious life, but they are capable
of turning from grace and losing their
salvation |
These are just the very basics of the Arminian
theology. For
a more in depth discussion, check out
Arminianism
vs Calvinism.
*
selected quotes taken from The Moody Handbook of
Theology by Paul Enns
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