“Pelagianism? Monergist? Martin, I think you need to recheck your definitions.” No, it’s true! For those that read mostly internet Calvinist literature, the word “monergism” is understood to be synonymous with determinism. However, the term…
Pelagianism
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.…
Prereformation Church History & the Calvinist/Arminian Debate
Calivinists have a rich heritage – one that they can be proud of. It’s unquestionable that Augustine, many of the Reformers and Puritans, held Calvinist ideas. But after reading Boettner’s introduction of the Reformed Doctrine…
Misrepresenting Arminian Theology: John MacArthur’s Straw Man
At the 2008 Together for the Gospel Conference, John MacArthur delivered a message entitled “The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability” in which he grossly misrepresented Arminian theology by saying: “So…
A COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION OF SEMI-PELAGIANISM WITH THE TEACHINGS OF JAMES ARMINIUS
Born Jacobus Harmenszoon (ca. 1559-1609),[1] James Arminius’s name has been associated with Socinianism, Pelagian- and semi-Pelagianism, Unitarianism, Roman Catholicism, and most notably with the doctrine of conditional perseverance. As a matter of fact, for better…
The Biblical Doctrines of Grace (Part One)
The word grace, from Genesis 6:8 to Revelation 22:21, is a word meaning “graciousness of manner or act” (literally), or “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life” (figuratively).1
Grace is a special favor bestowed upon an undeserving individual. Thus when a Christian minister quotes Paul as saying, “For it is by grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:8), he or she means that the one saved was saved not by merit but by grace, undeserved favor. This is how to use the word grace biblically. In this we do not go beyond its clear meaning, nor do we fall short of what the Bible teaches.
Are Arminians Semi-Pelagian?
Calling Arminians Pelagian or Semi-Pelagian is somewhat of a tradition within Calvinism. The Synod of Dort repeatedly did so, clearing the path for generations to come. I recently completed a study on John Owen’s book…
Eric Landstrom, Semi-Pelagian or Semi-Augustinian?
The term “Semi-Pelagian” is often bandied about by laymen as a summary term that is descriptive of those persons who follow in the Arminian and Wesleyan theological traditions. AA. Hodge defined the term, stating: Semi-Pelagianism…
Point by Point with John Piper on Arminianism
This point/counterpoint is inspired from John Piper’s “How I Distinguish Between the Gospel and False Gospels,” a message he delivered at the 2008 Resurgence Conference. I’d like to comment on some of the statements…
Regeneration Precedes Faith, and Faith is the Gift of God?
In his book How to Be Born Again, Billy Graham states, “Jesus said that God can change men and women from the inside out. It was a challenge -a command. He didn’t say, ‘It would…
The Differences between Pelagians, semi-Pelagians, Arminians, Sub-lapsarians and Supra-lapsarians
Ever wonder what the differences between Pelagians, semi-Pelagians, Arminians, Sub-lapsarians and Supra-lapsarians are? These terms often get thrown around, and people sometimes get mad when they are labeled in one group or another. The best…
Challies: Defending Arminians Unfair to Their Accusers
The content of this post was authored by J.C. Thibodaux and is posted on his behalf.
Recently, Tim Challies did a review of Roger E. Olson’s Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities,
He cites a paragraph from the book:
“When conservative theologians declare that synergism is a heresy, they are usually referring to these two Pelagian forms of synergism. Classical Arminians agree. This is a major theme of this book. Contrary to confused critics, classical Arminianism is neither Pelagian nor semi-Pelagian! But it is synergistic. Arminianism is evangelical synergism as opposed to heretical, humanistic synergism.”
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Adam Roe, “The Crucial Thread of Prevenient Grace: A Wesleyan Perspective on Divine Drawing”
