BEN: It seems reasonably clear that Arminius took the Calvinistic view that regeneration precedes conversion. I suppose it depends on what one means by regeneration— the ability to repent? In any case, various later Arminians…
Arminian Heritage
A. W. Tozer Sermon: Calvinism & Divine Sovereignty
From the sermon’s YouTube page, which can be accessed here: A. W. Tozer preaches a powerful sermon on the sovereignty of God and the false doctrine of Calvinism. Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897 – 1963) was…
A Roundup of Obituaries for Distinguished Wesleyan-Arminian Theologian Thomas Oden
Christianity Today’s obituary for Thomas Oden: “Died: Thomas Oden, Methodist Theologian Who Found Classical Christianity.” Mark Tooley’s Gospel Coalition obituary: “Thomas Oden (1931–2016), Theologian and Friend.” Michael Bird’s notice: “The Passing of Thomas Oden (1931-2016).” The…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 10”
BEN: How would you distinguish the Calvinist notion of God’s providence from the Arminian one? It is interesting to me that if one reads Wesley’s Journal, one finds the phrase ‘a singular providence of God’…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 9”
BEN: The issue of how to interpret the phrase ‘only begotten of the Father’ has bedeviled Christological debates forever it seems. Is this Scriptural notion the basis of Arminius and various his successors arguing that…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 7”
BEN: I take it as given that you have established both that there are some strong incompatibilities between Calvinism and Arminianism, but at the same time there are some strong agreements between the two theological…
Andrew Hnatiuk, “Prevenient Grace: An Introduction”
Understanding the doctrine of prevenient grace was one of the most valuable studies for me after leaving Calvinism. It provided an answer to one of the simplest arguments I used to make for Calvinism: I…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 5”
BEN: One of the major emphases in Stanglin and McCall’s fine book on Jacob Arminius is that Arminius did not agree with Beza et al. on the issue of monergism, which is to say that…
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…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 2”
BEN: Roger you seem to spend a good deal of effort trying to say that Arminian theology could rightly be called a form of Reformed theology, though one distinct from high Calvinism at various points.…
Ben Witherington, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology– Part One”
Roger Olson’s fine book entitled Arminian Theology. Myths and Realities (IVP, 2006, 266 pages) is a must read for those who don’t really know much about the differences and similarities between Arminian theology and Calvinist…
Wesley’s 22 questions
These are 22 questions the members of John Wesley’s Holy Club asked themselves every day in their private devotions over 200 years ago. Interesting how they are still relevant today. 1. Am I consciously or…
Gospel Coalition Interview of Arminian Scholar Matt Pinson: “Meet a Reformed Arminian”
Jeff Robinson, a senior editor for The Gospel Coalition, interviewed Arminian scholar Matt Pinson on Robinson’s Gospel Coalition blog. Please click on the link to view the interview: “Meet a Reformed Arminian”.
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…
Reformed Forum Interview of Arminian Scholar Keith Stanglin
Please click on the link to listen to the interview. Here is the Reformed Forum’s description of the interview from the interview’s web page, which also has a bibliography of Dr. Stanglin’s works: Dr. Keith…
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 Fourteen
BEN: As we conclude this discussion, let’s talk about the practical implications of Arminius’ thought for today. It seems clear to me that Arminius, and Wesley as well, would have rejected recent ideas that have…
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…
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…
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…
Recent Posts
How Does Arminianism Respond to Calvinism’s Deterministic Claims and Its Appeal to Texts that Seem to Suggest God Ordains Evil?
Steve Lemke on How Jesus’ Encounter with the Rich Young Ruler Implies Grace Is Resistible
Three Brief Book Reviews by Roy Ingle
William Burt Pope on Prevenient Grace and Free Will
