*First read my first six posts in this series. They set forth my fundamental “principles” for living and thinking. *Now continues a second part of this series; this series is about my reasons for being…
History
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…
Video Lecture: Keith Stanglin, “How Much Purer Is the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae? A Comparison of Leiden Theology before and after Dordt”
This lecture was given on March 31, 2016 at the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research’s Colloquium entitled, “The Leiden Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1625) and Theological Disputation in the Era of Orthodoxy” held at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary…
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…
Matthew Pinson, “Who’s Afraid of the Word ‘Synergist’?”
A Theological Dirty Word Recently I’ve noticed that, over the past century, Arminians have increasingly used the word “synergist” to describe themselves, rather than seeing it as a negative epithet, as most Christian theologians have.…
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…
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…
The Cause of God and Presuppositions: Irenæus
English Baptist and theological hyper-Calvinist John Gill (1697-1771), in his work, The Cause of God and Truth, is found guilty of not only committing numerous logical fallacies regarding the writings of the early Church fathers…
Reformed Arminianism: Oxymoron or Historically Orthodox?
Someone asked whether one should refer to classical Arminianism as Reformed Arminianism (some prefer Reformation Arminianism). Arminian Baptist James Leonard commented to me personally that his hope is that people will not think that we…
How Is Arminianism Different From Pelagianism?
Introduction When asked the difference between Arminianism and Pelagainism, I always have trouble knowing exactly where to start. It is a bit like being asked about the difference between Republicanism and Monarchy: the simple answer…
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…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 8: Conclusions
I hope to have demonstrated the value and necessity of placing Paul’s election language back in its original context, which was a decidedly Jewish one. As we reviewed the Jewish literature, we discovered a view…
Life after Arminius: The Arminians and Dordt
After the death of Arminius, anti-Arminian Calvinists become emboldened, which merely attests to the place of prominence granted Arminius within his own lifetime: with Arminius still alive, the anti-Arminians find lording their doctrines over the…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 7
BEN: In terms of the modus operandi of this book, one of the basic approaches you take is to argue that if an idea is not found elsewhere in early Jewish literature, then it is…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 6
BEN: The discussion in chapter six about the heavenly tablets in Jubilees and their relationship to the book of life and the book of destruction is especially interesting in light of the discussion in Revelation…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 5
BEN: In Chapter 5 it becomes clear that early Jews mostly thought that election was conditional, and the condition was faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant and its Law. You quote deSilva approvingly as follows “fidelity…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 4
BEN: Chad in this chapter you talk about the ‘limited non-nationalistic understanding of election’ (p. 135) as permeating early Jewish literature. By this I take you to mean that Jews did view themselves as God’s…
Ben Witherington and Chad Thornhill on *The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism*, Part 3
BEN: One of the greatest difficulties to overcome in trying to get people to see the Bible with ancient rather than modern assumptions, is the problem of modern radical individualism warping the way we read…
Recent Posts
Why Does God Deny the Opportunity of Choice for or Against Him to Young Children Who Die and the Mentally Impaired?
Mark K. Olson, “Wesley’s ‘Warmed Heart’ at Aldersgate – What Really Happened?”
Adam Roe, “The Crucial Thread of Prevenient Grace: A Wesleyan Perspective on Divine Drawing”
Video: Joel Korytko, “How Romans 9 Doesn’t Support Calvinism”
