It has been noted that historically, future generations of “Arminians” departed from the orthodox view of the Trinity, falling into the Unitarian heresy. The same sad state of affairs happened to many Presbyterian (i.e. Calvinistic) congregations during the eighteenth century. Therefore, it is puzzling how Arminianism is solely charged with inevitably leading one to a Unitarian understanding of God.
Monthly Archives For June 2010
Jacob Arminius: Disputant to Open Theism
Vincent of Lerins (early fifth century Christian writer in southern France) said that orthodoxy is “that which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.”1 What has been the orthodox view of the Church on the…
The Influence of Arminianism in England
The following is part of Geoffrey F. Nuttall’s address presented at the Arminius Symposium in Holland, August 1960: “The Influence of Arminianism in England.”
I am inclined to begin by recounting two recent incidents which together may serve as an interesting pointer. Among the papers required for a higher degree in one of the English universities is an essay with three or four alternative subjects, and one of these subjects a few years ago, I remember, was: “Since Wesley, we are all Arminians.”
One of the alternatives that year was an invitation to discuss the dictum, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” ~ so we need not assume that the assertion that Arminianism is now universally accepted was regarded as indisputable! It is interesting, nonetheless, that the assertion could be made.
Friday Files: Who is Episcopius
Hello. I know our Friday Files have been lax for a couple of weeks. Because of this, I wanted to take the time to mention what the Friday Files is all about. Our purpose is…
“Thoughts on Original Sin” by Robert Hamilton
You may view this article as a web page or as a downloadable .pdf file in it’s original formatting. To view it as a .pdf file, please click on the attachment located at the bottom of this page.
Thoughts on Original Sin
Bob Hamilton, Copyright 2000
Introduction.
The traditional view of “original sin” includes two related ideas:
John Piper on the Relationship between God’s Sovereignty and Tragedy
John Piper was asked by Cathy Grossman, from USA Today, what he would tell the children who lost their parents on 9/11. She understood Piper to be suggesting that a victim should concentrate on the…
Jack Cottrell on “Whether God Has Free Will If He Can’t Sin And What This Means For Human Free Will”
Taken from http://arminiantoday.blogspot.com/2010/06/jack-cottrell-on-free-will.html
QUESTION: Many (usually Arminians) argue that without free will in a significant (libertarian) sense, i.e., the ability to choose between good and evil, human actions would not be worthy of praise or blame. Thus in order to preserve moral responsibility, human beings must have free will in the libertarian sense—the freedom of opposite moral choice. But is this consistent with the freedom of God Himself, whom we assume to be the ultimate model for freedom? The following are said to be true of God:
1. God is surely the freest being in the universe. He is free to do whatever he pleases (Psalm 115:3), and all his choices are surely praiseworthy.
Open Theism: An Arminian Pentecostal Response
The following article by James H. Railey gives a brief critique of Open Theism and supports the traditional Arminian position that God foreknows all future events, including the free choices of His creatures.: Railey. Open…
The Historical Orthodoxy of Arminianism (Part Two)
It has been noted by some Calvinists that Calvinism was the dominant theological position of the Church throughout its history. For example, Calvinist Loraine Boettner writes:
- The great majority of the creeds of historic Christendom have set forth the doctrines of Election, Predestination, and final Perseverance, as will readily be seen by any one who will make even a cursory study of the subject. On the other hand Arminianism existed for centuries only as a heresy on the outskirts of true religion, and in fact it was not championed by an organized Christian church until the year 1784, at which time it was incorporated into the system of doctrine of the Methodist Church in England.1
The Historical Orthodoxy of Arminianism (Part One)
Arminianism was condemned at the Synod of Dort (1618-19). And what of it? A group of supralapsarian Calvinists joined theological and political forces, calling on foreign political allies, to ruin the reputation, ministry, and systematic…
Verses All Arminians Should Know
This list was compiled about a year ago by many members of The Society of Evangelical Arminians. I was asked to put it into blog form, and have finally sat down and gotten it done.
I hope for this to be a useful resource for any Arminian needing good scriptural texts that display his or her view. It should be cautioned that proof texting is far too easy for anyone to do, and with any of these verses the context should be considered. Far too often, context is ignored and erroneous interpretations are formed. So, use these verses, but corroborate their contexts. We strove to carefully consider the contexts and, in our minds, these verses and explanations faithfully represent the author’s intent, showing Arminianism to have strong Biblical support.
Also, if you see any verses that you think should be added, comment on the post and let me know.
Verses that show election is conditional:
James White says He could have Chosen Otherwise
I had previously listened to James White’s refutation of Molinism on the dividing line, but I just had a chance to listen to the full presentation on youtube. For the most part, it’s the same…
Corporate and Individual Election
Corporate election is the idea that election is primarily about a group and secondarily about individuals. It’s most clearly seen in the OT concept of Israel and the NT concept of the church. Philip Limborch…
Bavinck on supra/infra-lapsarian predestination
I recently read Herman Bavinck on supralapsarian and infralapsarian predestination (link). Bavinck’s approach is intriguing. He argues that both the supralapsarian and infralapsarian systems have their strengths and weaknesses, so he cherry-picks the strengths and…
Steve Gregg on Calvinism
The full title of the attached file, compiled and arranged by Steve Gregg, is “God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Salvation: Calvinism: Comparative Charts for Evaluating the Biblical Basis for Calvinist and Non-Calvinist Theological Constructs”. Please click…
