The history of the Calvinist-Arminian debate arguably extends back to the first century church but was not formulated until the fifth century.

Augustine and Pelagius

Pelagius was a British monk who journeyed to Rome around 400 AD and was apalled at the lax behavior within churches. To combat this lack of holiness, he preached a Gospel that began with justification through faith alone (it was actually Pelagius, not Luther, who first added the word alone to Paul's phrase) but finished through human effort and morality. He had read Augustine's Confessions and believed it to be a falistic and pessimistic view of human nature. Pelagius' followers, including Caelestius, went farther than their teacher and removed justification through faith, setting up the morality- and works-based salvation now known as Pelagianism. It should be mentioned that the only historical evidence of the teachings of Pelagius or his followers is found through the writings of his two strongest opponents - Augustine and Jerome.

In response to Pelagius, Augustine adopted a theological system that included not only original sin (which Pelagius denied) and justification through faith alone (with which Pelagius agreed), but also double predestination, limited atonement, and irresistible grace. Critics maintain that part of Augustine's philosophy might have stemmed from his expertise in Greek philosophy, particularly Platonism and Manichaeism, which maintained a very high view of a man's spirit and very low view of a man's body. Against the Pelagian notion that man can do everything right, he taught the notion that man can do nothing right. Thus, he reasoned, man cannot even accept the offer of salvation - it must be God who chooses for himself individuals to bring to salvation.

A group of Italian bishops, led by Julian, defended the Pelagian view against the Augustinian concept of predestination but were rejected by Pope Innocent I at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Later a monastic movement in Southern Gaul (modern-day France) also sought to explain predestination in light of God's foreknowledge, but a flurry of writings from Augustine (Grace and Free Will, Correction and Grace, The Predestination of the Saints and The Gift of Perseverance) helped maintain the papal authority of his doctrines.

Martin Luther and Erasmus of Rotterdam

Martin Luther came from an order called The Hermits of Erfurt, which held a semi-Pelagian view of salvation. They taught that salvation was initiated through the free will of man but that God alone was able to bring about the end result of salvation. After Luther rebelled against the Catholic church's doctrines of indulgences and salvation through works, he began to accept the Augustinian doctrines of predestination, irresistable grace, limited atonement, and perseverance of the saints.

Erasmus of Rotterdam, a supporter, friend, and advisor of Luther, reacted negatively to what he saw as determinism. In his De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio, Erasmus charicatures the limitations of free will that he saw Luther espousing. However, partially due to his sympathy towards semi-Pelagian thought, Erasmus' views were rejected by the reformers, and Luther's understanding of predestination, grace, and atonement upheld.

John Calvin

John Calvin did much to redefine and clarify the theological system that began with Augustine; indeed, his work has been repeatedly called "Systematic Augustinianism". However, Calvin disagreed with his

Secondly, Calvin was ambiguous about the possibility of losing salvation. His Institutes of the Christian Religion stated: "Still, our redemption would be imperfect if he did not lead us ever onward to the final goal of our salvation. Accordingly, the moment we turn away even slightly from him, our salvation, which rests firmly in him, gradually vanishes away. As a result, all those who do not repose in him voluntarily deprive themselves of all grace" (italics his).

Despite these two differences, Calvin worked tirelessly to defend Augustinian predestination (which he termed unconditional election), total depravity, and irresistible grace.

Jacobus Arminius & The Synod of Dort

Jacobus Arminius

Jacobus Arminius was a Dutch pastor born in 1559, only five years before the death of John Calvin. At the age of 17, Arminius enrolled at Leiden University and after five years of education - still too young for a pastorate - Arminius traveled to study at Calvin's academy in Geneva. Theodore Beza, Calvin's hand-picked successor, was the chairman of theology at the university, and admiration flowed both directions in his friendship with Arminius. Beza later defended Arminius by saying "let it be known to you that from the time Arminius returned to us from Basel, his life and learning both have so approved themselves to us, that we hope the best of him in every respect.." In late 1587, at the age of 28, Arminius returned to Amsterdam to fulfill his desire to be a pastor.

Arminius' entry into the predestination debate that was raging in Amsterdam happened only two short years after his return when he was asked by city officials to refute a modified form of Beza's high Calvinism. According to historic tradition, Arminius' study of the Scriptures led him to the conclusion that the Bible did not support Calvinism. Other scholars believe that Arminius never accepted Beza's views, even while a student at Geneva. Regardless, Arminius avoided adding to the controversey and, apart from two incidents regarding sermons on Romans 7 and Romans 9, he lived in peace for a little more than a decade.

When Arminius recieved his doctorate and professorship of theology at Leiden in 1603, the debate over Calvinism roared back to life. Arminius rose to the forefront of the debate, teaching and defending that Calvinist predestination and unconditional election made God the author of evil. Instead, Arminius insisted, God's election was an election of believers and therefore was conditioned on faith. Furthermore, Arminius argued, God's exhaustive foreknowledge did not require a doctrine of determinism.

Arminius and his followers believed that a national should confer to win tolerance for their views. His opponents, fearing any changes to the confessions of the Dutch Reformed Church (whose creeds were Calvinist), maintained the authority of local synods and denied the necessity of a national convention. When the Dutch State General finally called together both parties, Arminius' opponents (led by fellow professor Franciscus Gomarus) accused him of not only of the teaching doctrines which currently characterize Arminianism (see below) but also of errors on the authority of Scripture, the Trinity, original sin, and works salvation - all charges which Arminius not only denied, but cited agreement with both Calvinism and Scripture.

While Arminius was acquitted of any doctrinal error, the process left him terribly weak. Still seeking to win legal tolerance for his views, he accepted an invitation of the State General to a "friendly conference" with Gomarus but his health caused the conference to end prematurely. Two months later, on October 19, 1609,

The Remonstrants & Calvinist Reaction

After the death of Arminius, his followers penned a petition to the State General, called a "Remonstrance", which highlighted five aspects of their theology: (1) election was conditional on faith; (2) Christ's atonement was unlimited in extent; (3) total depravity; (4) prevenient and resistible grace; and (5) the possibility of apostasy. Leading influences among Arminius' followers (now called Remonstrants were Arminius' close friend and Roman Catholic-turned-Reformed pastor Jan Uytenbogaert, lawyer Hugo Grotius, and a scholar named Simon Epicopius.

Behind the theological debate lied a political one between Prince Maurice, a strong military leader, and his former mentor Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Grand Pensionary of Holland and personification of civil power. Maurice, who had Calvinist leanings, desired war with Holland's enemy, Roman Catholic Spain. Oldenbarnevelt, along with Arminius and his followers, desired peace. In the years after Arminius' death, Maurice became convinced that Oldenbarnevelt (and by association, Arminians) had strong Catholic sympothies and were working to deliver Holland to Spain. As insurance, Maurice and his militia systematically and forcibly replaced Remonstrant magistrates with Calvinist ones. Thus, when the State General called for a synod in 1618, its outcome was predetermined. Oldenbarnevelt and Grotius were arrested, and the synod, held at Dordrecht, convened.

This Synod of Dort included Calvinist representatives from Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, and France, though Arminians were denied acceptance. Three Arminian delegates from Utrecht managed to gain seats, but were soon forcibly ejected and replaced with Calvinist alternates. The synod ultimately ruled that Arminius' teachings were heretical, reaffirming the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism as its orthodox statements of doctrine. One of the results of the synod was the formation of the Five points of Calvinism in direct response to the five articles of Remonstrance.

Robert Picirilli summarized the aftermath of the Synod of Dort as follows: "Punishment for the Remonstrants, now officially condemned as heretics and therefore under severe judgement of both church and state, was severe. All Arminian pastors - some 200 of them - were deprived of office; any who would not agree to be silent were banished from the country. Spies were paid to hunt down those suspected of returning to their homeland. Some were imprisoned, among them Grotius; but he escaped and fled the country. Five days after the synod was over, Oldenbarnevelt was beheaded."

After Maurice died, the Remonstrants were accorded toleration by the state and granted the freedom to follow their religion in peace, to build churches and schools. The Remonstrant Theological Seminary was instituted in Amsterdam and Episcopius and Grotius were among its first professors. Today both the seminary and the church have shifted dramatically from their founders' theology.

17th Century English Politics

Early Stuart society was highly religious. Though King James I managed to remove religious conflict for most of the 1610s, most Protestants still maintained a fear of Catholicism. Though Arminians were Protestant, they were perceived as being less antagonistic to Catholicism than the Calvinists were. James I initially supported moves to keep them out of England, Scotland and Ireland, but he later changed his mind.

In 1618, the Thirty Years' War began. It was a highly religious war, and many of James' Puritan subjects (particularly in Parliament) wanted England to go to war on the side of the king's son-in-law, Frederick V, Elector Palatine. James, however, preferred diplomacy and did not want to involve Britain in it. The loudest of the supporters for war were the Puritans, who were declared enemies of the Arminians due to their differing beliefs regarding predestination. Some scholars believe that the Arminians' support for the king's efforts to prevent war led to him promoting a number of them in order to balance out the Puritans. Others argue that these promotions were simply the result of meritocratic considerations: 'James promoted Arminians because they were scholarly, diligent and able men in their diocese.' In any case, the growing influence of the Arminians proved important to keeping peace, but in 1625, James I died, leaving the throne to his son, Charles I.

Charles I fully supported the Arminians, and continued the trend of promoting them. However, while James was careful never to give any one group too much favor over another, Charles tended to promote only Arminians . The changes which Charles imposed on his subjects brought him into direct conflict with the Scottish Presbyterian Calvinists of the Church of Scotland, who already viewed Arminianism as a major problem. The resulting Bishops' Wars were a trigger for the English Civil War, both of them part of the larger Wars of the Three Kingdoms which has complex roots, among which religious beliefs were a major factor.

John Wesley and George Whitefield

The debate between Calvin's followers and Arminius' followers is distinctive of post-Reformation church history. The heated discussions between friends and fellow Methodist ministers John Wesley and George Whitfield were characteristic of many similar debates. Wesley was a champion of Arminius' teachings, defending his soteriology in a periodical titled The Arminian and writing articles such as Predestination Calmly Considered. He defended Arminius against charges of semi-Pelaganism, holding strongly to beliefs in original sin and total depravity. At the same time, Wesley attacked the determinism that he claimed characterized unconditional election and maintained a belief in the ability to lose salvation. Whitefield debated Wesley on every point (except for their agreement on total depravity) but did not introduce any additional elements into the Calvinists' conclusions set forth at Westminster.

Denominational Distinctions

To this day, Methodism and its offshoots (Pentecostals, Holiness denominations, Charismatics and Third Wave Charismatics) along with General Baptists usually subscribe to Arminianism, while Presbyterians, Reformed Churches, Particular Baptists, and others subscribe to Calvinism. Official Lutheran doctrine does not fully support either group but teaches a mediating view.

Further Reading

• Calvinism
  • Historic Figures: John Calvin, Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther, Theodore Beza, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards
  • Doctrines: Five points of Calvinism, Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, Perseverance of the Saints
  • Recent Theologians: R. C. Sproul, Wayne Grudem, John Piper, Michael Horton, D. A. Carson, James White
• Arminianism
  • Historic Figures: Jacobus Arminius, John Wesley, The Remonstrants
  • Doctrines: Five articles of Remonstrance, Total depravity, Conditional election, Unlimited atonement, Prevenient grace, Conditional Preservation of the Saints
  • Recent Theologians: Clark Pinnock, David Pawson, Robert Shank, William W. Klein, Stephen M. Ashby, Steven Harper
• Pelagianism
  • Historic Figures: Pelagius, Caelestius, Erasmus
  • Doctrines: Semi-Pelagianism, Limited depravity

Notes

1.   Pawson, David Once Saved, Always Saved? (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1996) Pg. 89
2.   Ibid., Pg. 91
3.   Bangs, Carl Arminius: A Study in the Dutch Reformation (Nashville: Abingdon, 1971) Pg. 73-74, ISBN 0687017440
4.   Wynkoop, Mildred Bangs Foundations of Wesleyan-Arminian Theology (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), Pg. 47-49, ISBN 0834102544
5.   Bangs, Pg. 138-141
6.   Picirilli, Robert Grace, Faith, and Free Will: Contrasting Views of Salvation - Calvinism and Arminianism (Nashville: Randall House, 2002) Pg. 10-11, ISBN 0892656484
7.   Ibid., Pg. 11-12
8.   Ibid., Pg. 14-16
9.   Ibid., Pg. 14-16
10.   Ibid., Pg. 15-16
11.   Ibid., Pg. 16
12.   Platt, Frederic "Arminianism", Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. James Hastings (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, n.d.) 1:811
13.   Schaff, Philip The Creeds of Christendom, Volume III: The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Etheral Library, 1889)
14.   Carrier, Irene James VI and I, King of Great Britain (Cambridge University Press, 1998), ISBN 052149947X