BEN: On p. 55, you talk about Wesley’s treatise on divine sovereignty compared to Calvin’s view. Would you say that while Wesley agrees with Calvin that God is sovereign, absolutely so, and could do what…
Arminius
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 3”
BEN: On p. 51 you quote the Westminister Confession about ‘the chief end of humans being to glorify God and enjoy him forever’. You go on to quote Arminius to that effect. But what that…
Calvinist Misconceptions: The Arminian View Of Man’s Fallen State
Calvinists often accuse Arminians of being Pelagian, or Semi-pelagian at best, when it comes to original sin and the depravity of man. And it’s no wonder, as many Calvinist websites paint quite an inaccurate picture…
The Gift of Faith
When Calvinists accused Jacobus Arminius of insisting that faith in Christ is not the gift of God, he responded: “I never said this, I never thought of saying it, and, relying on God’s grace, I never…
The Loss of Arminius to the Remonstrants
One of the most frustrating aspects for the followers1 of Jacob Arminius’ teachings on God’s nature, character, salvation — including grace, election unto salvation, justification and conditional perseverance with an accompanying final or ultimate salvation…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Thirteen
BEN: What are the four testimonies that can bolster assurance of salvation, according to Arminius? In what sense is clear belief in Christ as savior a basis for assurance of salvation? KEITH: Arminius delineates what…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Twelve
BEN: What Arminius has to say about final justification seems to exclude the idea that works of piety and charity have anything to do with it (rather he opts for simple persevering in the faith…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Eleven
BEN: Arminius seems to be clear on the possibility of both intellectual and moral apostasy by a believer. Can you unpack his views for us briefly? Does he take the malicious rejection of Christ or…
Joshua Woo Sze Zeng, “James Arminius on the Significance of John Calvin’s Works”
I came across this interesting statement wrote by James (or Jacobus) Arminius, the founder of Arminianism: “After the holy scriptures, I exhort the students to read the Commentaries of Calvin… for I tell them that…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Ten
KEITH: Arminius did agree that the righteousness resulting from this reckoning comes to believers on the basis of Christ’s righteous obedience to the Father. Thus, in a sense, it is Christ’s righteousness that is imputed…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Nine
BEN: One of the things that is not clear to me from reading your book is the relationship between the Holy Spirit and prevenient grace in the thought of Arminius. Does by grace Arminius simply…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Seven
BEN: Why was Arminius accused of Pelagianism or semi-Pelagianism if in fact he was clear that prevenient grace comes to a person purely by unmerited divine initiative? KEITH: This controversy is inherent in the Protestant…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Six
BEN: In regard to the old chestnut about God’s knowing and willing it seems clear that Calvin would say God knows it because he wills it, and therefore Calvin makes God’s will (and its exercise…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace – Part Five
BEN: Would it be correct to say that Arminius rejects Calvin’s strong distinction between the secret decrees and will of God and the revealed will of God, which allowed for the possibility that God’s revealed…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace– Part Four
BEN: Arminius seems to work hard to avoid making God the author of sin, or of anything evil for that matter, including the Fall. He is very willing to talk about God’s ‘permissive’ will when…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace– Part Three
BEN: There is also a strong emphasis early on in the book on what is called the ‘intellectualist’ approach to the nature of God, which is to say that God’s knowledge is given priority over…
Why Calvinists Should Advance Arminius
Arminianism, as with the overall theology of the early Church fathers, will never die. Calvinism experiences ebb and flow in popularity but Arminianism and other non-Calvinistic theological systems remain constant. I argue, though, that Calvinists…
Ben Witherington and Keith Stanglin, Jacob Arminius, Theologian of Grace– Part Two
BEN: Jacob Arminius seems to be a frequently misrepresented theologian, whose works have been neglected, and lack readily accessible translations into English from the Latin and Dutch. To what would you attribute this neglect, and…
Ben Witherington, “Jacob Arminius. Theologian of Grace– Part One”
Of late there has been an attempt, rightly in my view, to clear away a lot of misconceptions and in fact misrepresentations of Arminian theology, including the misrepresentation of Arminius himself as either a Pelagian…
Lion-Hearted Arminius in a Fist Fight
Arminius’ mild-mannered temperament is noted in the pages of history from both his friends as well as his foes: The personal character of Arminius was irreproachable; and he attracted the esteem and applause of his…
