Arminius died in 1609, which was nine years before the Synod of Dort convened in 1618-1619. Yet it was his original ideas, teachings, and requests that led to the infamous Synod. From the writings of Arminius, it appears that he had hopes that the national synod would be a place for him to 1) defend himself against all charges of heresy, and 2) to defend his views regarding changes he saw needed in the Calvinistic confessions of faith. Arminius felt that the Scriptures were the highest authority to appeal to, and he felt that the Confessions of faith and Catechisms needed to be changed in light of clear teaching in Scripture. The Calvinists of his day disagreed and argued that the Confessions and Catechisms were the judges of what true believers should confess and believe (and it appears to me to be regardless of what Scripture said).
History
Arminian Confession of 1621 and Apostasy
Arminian Confession of 1621 and Apostasy – an article about the Remonstrants’ position on the possibility of apostasy. Click on the pdf to view Arminian Confession of 1621 and Apostasy
Arminius vs. Calvin on Limited Atonement
Theologians are divided as to whether Calvin held to an Unlimited or Limited view of the Atonement. And while most Christians, whether Arminian, non-Calvinist, Amyraldian, or four-point compatibilist Calvinist, would agree that Christ’s atoning sacrifice…
Arminius vs. Calvin on Irresistible Grace
Irresistible Grace, also known as Effectual Calling, is, according to Calvinist Wayne Grudem, “an act of God the Father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in which he summons people to himself in…
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:
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:
David Pawson – Audio Series on Romans 9-11
Here is a good audio series on Romans 9, 10, and 11 by historian / preacher David Pawson. The series is not specifically about Calvinism or Arminianism, however, the subject of the nature of election…
Arminian Internet Resources on Romans 9
Reviewed Commentaries Ranked One to Eleven The commentaries listed in the table below were subjectively ranked from one to eleven; one being the best, two the next best and so on. Linguistics was scored based…
On Man’s Free Will: What the Early Church Believed
“On Man’s Free Will: What The Early Church Fathers Believed” [Quotes are from The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson; 1885-1887; repr. 10 vols. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994. They are cited in A…
ANSWERING COLIN MAXWELL, A FREE PRESBYTERIAN IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Colin Maxwell informed the Society of Evangelical Arminians, of which I, William Birch, am a member, that he had “robustly . . . answered Mr. Birch’s satire,” entitled “Reinterpreting Cain and Abel: A Disturbing Satire.”…
Adoption – The Inheritance of a Son
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galations 4:7 Adoption (huiothesia) is a term that the apostle Paul uses several times in his…
Arminius answers Beckwith
Beckwith states: Because the list of canonical books is itself not found in Scripture—as one can find the Ten Commandments or the names of Christ’s Apostles—any such list, whether Protestant or Catholic, would be an…
Another Middle Knowledge Passage
Middle knowledge is mostly an implication of the scriptural truths of God’s providential governance of the world and man’s choices. But there are some passages that do directly teach that God knows what we would…
Conflating Arminianism and Secularism
Calvinist Southern Baptist pastor Mark E. Dever, having reviewed Richard A. Muller’s 1991 book, God, Creation, and Providence in the Thought of Jacob Arminius, notes, in his concluding remarks: Personally, as a pastor with Reformed…
Calvinist Scholar Finds: “The Remonstrants Clearly Were Not Pelagians”
“The Remonstrants clearly were not Pelagians.” You would think that such a statement comes from the lips or pen of an Arminian scholar or pastor, but it originally came from Reformed Baptist scholar Mark A.…
Friday Files
Shortly after the death of James Arminius in 1609, his followers summarized his views into the five points of the remonstrants. At Dort, the Calvinists requested a clarification of the remonstrants views. Lead by Episcopius,…
Recent Posts
Mark K. Olson: Famous Sermons of John Wesley 7: Salvation by Faith
How Do You Deal with the Limited Atonement Argument that If Jesus Paid the Penalty for All, Then People Sent to Hell Would Be Paying the Penalty a Second Time?
Roy Ingle, “Preach Perseverance”
X-Calvinist Corner Files: Testimony # 41
