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: 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…
Too many Arminians have pushed their tray through the theological cafeteria, accepting a helping of whatever sounded good. Before we accept all the popular theology of the celebrity teachers, we had better determine upon what…
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…
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: 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…
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…
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…
There is a flurry of activity at present from quarters in the Arminian theological community on the doctrine of corporate election. The exponents of this view are able and must be reckoned with, both by…
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…
Luis Henrique asked the director of the Arminius Instituut of the VU University of Amsterdam, Bert Dicou, to translate portions of the original Act of Remonstrance (1610) that are not normally translated. They have been combined…
I. Howard Marshall (1934-2015), one of the top New Testament scholars of our time, has recently passed away. Here are some tributes to the man and his legacy: Ray Van Neste, “I. Howard Marshall, New…
The title of this post is a bit controversial in itself: Was Arminius a supralapsarian Calvinist at one time? That is a possibility. I believe that he was a supralapsarian. At least twice in Arminius’…
The Assemblies of God denomination is one of the largest, if not the largest, evangelical Christian denomination that is historically-theologically primarily, if not exclusively, Arminian in theology. I grew up Pentecostal but not “AG.” However,…
A gadfly is a “persistent irritating critic; a nuisance.” (link) The late Anglican priest John R.W. Stott comments that the Church needs gadflies to “sting and harry us into action for change,” even though gadflies…
What we must first understand about Arminius’ theological thought process is his positional biblicistic framework. Calvinist theologian Richard A. Muller confesses as much: “Had Arminius been a biblicistic pietist,” i.e., a devotional writer, “promulgating a…
After the death of Arminius in 1609 the Remonstrants petition the States for protection and safe conduct. Why? Why would the early Arminians fear for their physical safety? By the era of Arminius’ death in…
If not for the early Dutch Reformed Arminians rejecting five tenets of Calvinistic ideology, there would be no TULIP today, as TULIP is merely a reaction to Arminian theology. After the death of Arminius, in…
In Bible College, I took a philosophy course where a heated discussion erupted about the conflict between a Calvinistic view of predestination and the philosophical position of free will. I believe my professor, a Calvinist,…
The question was put to me over lunch earlier this week and not for the first time. So I thought it worthwhile to post here a few reflections on the difference between the Reformed doctrine…
Please click on the link to view Mildred Bangs Wynkoop, A Theology of Love: The Dynamic of Wesleyanism (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1972). A modern classic of Arminian theology.