James,
I so much appreciate the ministry of Roger Olson, a convinced Arminian and defender of Arminianism. This is what Olson said in that interview (by the way I've read that book of his on
Arminian Theology):
What I say in the book is what I found in my research—there is no one Arminian view of the Perseverance of the Saints. Arminius himself never came to a definite conclusion about that subject. Arminius said several times in his various writings that Scripture wears two aspects—two things about Perseverance that we haven’t figured out yet how to reconcile—there are the warnings passages against apostasy such as Hebrews 6 and the assurance passages like Romans 8.
How to reconcile those two types of Scriptures, Arminius did not figure out. So, he left them as an open question.
He adamantly insisted he did not deny Eternal Security. However, some later Arminians did reject Eternal Security—many of the Remonstrants, for example—and opt for the belief that a Christian can reject the grace of God. They used such examples as Paul’s warning to the Galatians who turned back to the Law that they would “fall from grace” (Gal 5.4). [Available at:
http://peterlumpkins.typepad.com/peter_lumpkins/2006/11/professor_roger.html ]
So, Arminius did not deny eternal security, but he struggled with what I struggle with: (1) The warning passages against apostasy and shipwrecking the faith (Heb 6:4-6; 1 Tim 1;19-20) and (2) The assurance passages of Romans 8.
Are you able to satisfactorily reconcile these two challenges?
Oz