What is Calvanism & Arminianism

[Analog]

G'day I've been looking into Calvanism & Arminianism and from what I gather they are the two big thought models in Christanity. I've flicked through a few websites and threads on the subject but all I could find was "my system is better than yours" type info. Which when your just trying to find out the basics is very :o.

Without getting into a debate could someone please explain what each system is and how they are different ? Edit: Are there any other major thought system, if so, I'ld appricate info on them too

 

[Adstar]

I am not to sure about arminianism? Most of the time i have discussed calvinism with calvanists. I am not a calvinist. But i will give you a run down on the 5 points of calvinism.

There are 5 dogmas in calvanisim each one is supported by the other 4 to be a true calvinist one must believe the 5. The 5 are abbreviated as TULIP the flower.



"T" in "TULIP" stands for "Total Hereditary Depravity."

"Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not - indeed he cannot - choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance to bring a sinner to Christ - it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God's gift of salvation - it is God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God."



"U" in "TULIP" stands for "Unconditional Election" (also known as Predestination).

"God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He selects. These acts are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation."



"L" in "TULIP" stands for "Limited Atonement."
"Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation."



"I" in "TULIP" stands for "Irresistible Grace."
"In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man's will, nor is he dependant upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended."



"P" in "TULIP" stands for "Perseverance of the Saints." ( also known as Once Saved Always Saved OSAS )
All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of the almighty God and thus preserved to the end."



I hope that explains it to you. I must stress that i am not a calvinist. I am sure someone will be able to post something on arminianism. I have an idea of it but i am not sure.



All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[BalaamsAss51]

Hello Adstar.

I've tried to extrapolate some information from "History of Theology" by Bengt Haggluns.

Calvin put forth his ideas, then reactions set in. The Synod of Dort (1618-1619) was held to deal with the growing opposition to the Calvinistic doctrine of predestination. The leader of the opposition party was Jacobus Arminius. Even though Arminius's position was rejected at Dort, it nevertheless came to be of great significance.

Arminianism came to absorb the Socinian movement, and it anticipated the thought patterns of the age of Enlightenment. It is characterized by a moralistic strain (faith was looked upon as a human achievement).

Jumping ahead to William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury from. He opposed Puritanism and strict Calvinism with which Puritism was often related. Laud allowed freedom in doctrinal items. Laud is associated with the Anglican faith. During the 17th century Anglican theology departed further and further from the norm of Calvinism. This leads us to the Wesley brothers who broke with Anglican theology over several issues. Wesley proclaimed universal grace in the Arminian manner. George Whitefield followed the more strict Calvinistic way, thus the split in Methodism.

Here is a bit from "The Church in the Age of Orthodoxy and the Enlightenment; Consolidation and Challenge 1600 to 1800" by Robert G. Clouse.

The conflict between the Arminians and the strict Calvinists centered in the Netherlands. The Arminian party was named for Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609), a Dutch theologian who was trained at Leiden and Geneva before he became pastor at Amsterdam. The Calvinist theology of Arminus's day had been developed from the view of its founder John Calvin (1509-64), by Theodore Beza (1519-1605) and other leaders of the Reformed scholastic movement. These men emphasized Biblical literalism (the tendency to adopt literal interpretations), predestination, and presbyterian church government. Arminius, reacting against this rigid system, proclaimed that God's offer of grace was universal and that individuals possessed the freedom to respond to God in faith.

A controversy developed which lead to a division in the ranks of the Reformed church. After the death of Arminius his followers issued (1610) a document called Remonstrance, which, in the course of a plea for toleration, stated the five major points of Arminianism: 1. The eternal decree of salvation refers to those who believe and perserve in the faith. 2. Christ died for all. 3. One can do nothing truly good until born again by the Holy Spirit. 4. Grace is not irresistible. 5. One can fall from grace.

The Synod of dordrecht was convened, the Arminian or Remonstrants were condemned in a fivefole series of decrees that defined the classic Calvinist faith. There were political consequences. (This is fascinating stuff, but I'll skip it) He talks about Bishop Laud in England and his followers (Laudians) and the Unitarians who were Arminian, as well as John Wesley and Methodism.

Hope this helps.
Pax

 

[Scholar in training]

As Adstar pointed out, Calvinism is based on the TULIP. Arminianism also has five main points to express its position (taken from here):

Conditional Election: God has decreed to save through Jesus Christ, out of fallen and sinful mankind, those foreknown by Him who through the grace of the Holy Spirit believe in Christ; but God leaves in sin those foreseen, who are incorrigible and unbelieving.

Universal Atonement: Christ's death was suffered on behalf of all men, but God elects for salvation only those who believe in Christ.

Free Will with Partial Depravity: Freedom of will is man's natural state, not a spiritual gift - and thus free will was not lost in the Fall, but cannot be exercised toward good apart from the grace of God. Grace works upon all men to influence them for good, but only those who freely choose to agree with grace by faith and repentance are given new spiritual power to make effectual the good they otherwise impotently intend. As John Wesley stated more forcefully, humans were in fact totally corrupted by original sin, but God's prevenient grace allowed free will to operate.

Resistible Grace: The grace of God works for good in all men, and brings about newness of life through faith. But grace can be resisted even by the regenerate.

Uncertain Perseverance: Those who are incorporated into Christ by a true faith have power given them through the assisting grace of the Holy Spirit, sufficient to enable them to persevere in the faith. But it may be possible for a believer to fall from grace.

I am closest to Arminianism. Note that Arminianism is NOT the same thing as "neotheism" (called open theism on CF), which is an abuse of the Arminian position. The Eastern Orthodox go about interpreting salvation in still another way, called theosis (deification). This does not literally mean "becoming God" in substance or in an ontological sense, as other religions may teach, but it does mean becoming like Christ, and participating in God. This is where Orthodox Pan-entheism, God in all things (not panen-theism, which says that all things are God), comes into play.

 

[Analog]

it always results in conversion. ...nor is he dependant upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended."

How can you have freewill and a holy spirt that decides 'I'm gonna convert you and no matter what you do, your gonna be converted and your gonna like it !'

 

[Adstar]

How can you have freewill and a holy spirt that decides 'I'm gonna convert you and no matter what you do, your gonna be converted and your gonna like it !'

That’s right Analog the two things cannot add up.

All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[Analog]

heh, well in any case I think I'll worry about the basics before getting this deep down into the details. Thanks for the replies

 

[Sojourner<><]

How can you have freewill and a holy spirt that decides 'I'm gonna convert you and no matter what you do, your gonna be converted and your gonna like it !'

Hello Analog,

Here is a rather crude assessment I've made on the topic. I hope it helps.

If we take the extreme Calvanist position, basically God is totally sovereign and has complete control over us which sort of cancels out free will.

If we take the extreme Arminian position, free will is not hindered at all and God's sovereignty fades out of the picture.

I believe both extreme positions are wrong but are correct when they are combined. If God is in control of reality I think that would give him the ability to 'direct our steps' as the Bible says and yet preserve our free will to make the choice to follow Him and to do His will. Here's how... picture a small beetle - that's you. Now if you were to pick it up and put it in your hands (which represent the hands of God) but let him wander, he'll eventually stray to the edge and possibly fall off. However, if you continuously lay one hand after another directly in his path, he'll just walk from hand to hand. In this way, the beetle has the free will to travel in any direction he chooses, but you are in total control of where he ends up.

This is just my opinion though. I doubt anyone really understands how God does what He does.

 

[CoffeeSwirls]

I will disagree that God's changing of a man's wants is a contradiction. I was an Arminian for years and ignored many passages of the Bible, assuming that they were beyond my comprehension. Then one day I made a comment to a friend that God couldn't do anything against my will. He did a double-take and asked me if the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was unable to change my heart. God is credited throughout the Bible as one who changes the hearts and minds of man.

We were created to live in close communion with God, but our sin broke that bond. That sin also made us morally unable to obey Him, even though we are perfectly able to do so in a physical sense. Since we cannot rely on our own means to salvation, we are humbled by having to rely on God to do this for us. This truth empowers missionaries around the world with the knowledge that the task of converting others is not their responsibility but God's. All they are required to do is preach the gospel.

A Calvinist will follow these basic concepts:

Total Depravity is not the belief that man is as bad as we can be. It is the truth that man is corrupted from every angle. Our thought patterns, our desires, our definition of love, everything is corrupt, making us unfit for the communion with God for which we were created. This is just, as God created us without blemish and it is not our place to lower His standards.

Unconditional Election is the definition of grace. Since we cannot meet any condition to gain the favor of God, He grants it to whomever He will without condition. Salvation cannot be worked for or earned through good works.

Limited Atonement is the most controversial of the acronym. Since God has chosen us and not the other way around, the blood of Christ was shed to redeem those He came to save. The atonement, the redemption of the lost, is not granted to someone who will never accept Christ.

Irresistible Grace is another one that many disagree with. They say that since there are unsaved people, the grace of God is resistable. Consider what I said about Limited Atonement, though. Of course there are some who will reject God. For what it's worth, I think it is easier to understand if the word "irresistible" is replaced with the word "intoxicating." God changes the heart of man and our eyes are opened. We "see" the beauty of God and the horror of our sin. We see the worthlessness of our previous attempts to satisfy God and the treasure of God's provision. Then we make a choice. Yes, we make a choice. It is a choice based on the knowledge of both options, and nobody who can see clearly the value of Christianity will reject it.

Perseverence of the Saints is often mistaken for "once saved, always saved." It is the doctrine that, since salvation is from the power of God, the power of man is not great enough to disqualify someone of their salvation.

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We also follow the 5 Solas.

Sola Scriptura says that the Bible alone has the power to convict one of their sin and that it alone contains all the information we need to make a rational choice between salvation and damnation.

Sola Gratia says that we are saved by the grace of God. The definition of grace (look it up) is unmerited favor. There is nothing we can do to earn God's favor.

Sola Fide says that we are saved by faith alone. There is no good work that is good enough to count toward our salvation. Our righteousness is found nowhere but in Christ.

Sola Christus says that it is the atoning work of Christ alone that can save us. We preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, not a gospel of emotional/psychological help or anything but. We are saved only by what God has done for us, not what we have done for Him.

Sola Deo Gloria is the simplest one to understand. In all things, glory belongs only to the Lord. When someone is saved, the person who led them to Christ is not the one receiving a bit of credit. When we write a song, paint a picture, preach the gospel, finish a day on the job, everything without exception, we do so to the glory of God.

------------

There are some minor disagreements within those who hold to the doctrines of grace, mostly around the method and mode of the sacraments. The sacraments do not save a person of their sins, though, so we allow for some latitude. If you have any Calvinism questions, feel free to ask. I am on a tight schedule but will make some time for you. I do believe that it is best for a Calvinist to answer any questions about Calvinism.

Finally, let me go on record that I despise the use of a man's name to be used as the name of this doctrine. It may as well have been Paulism or Peterism, as they both taught predestination and the sovereignty of God. I prefer to call it the Doctrines of Grace, but I won't jump out at you for calling it Calvinism. It is a name, nothing more.

If you do accept the free offer of salvation through Christ (whether you agree with what I have said or not) you can change your status to Christian and then be able to post any questions you may have in Semper Reformanda. Feel free to lurk until then and you will see that we don't bite.

I didn't mention this earlier, but there was a debate between a Calvinist and Arminian that first introduced me to this subject. I approached the Calvinist for more details of what he was saying and never contacted the Arminian again because the Arminian was so hostile and argumentative in the fight and I wanted to hear from the one who was more loving. This does not mean that all Calvinists are loving and all Arminians are unloving. It is just used as one example that election and all of that does not make us into harsh people.

 

[M Paul]

G'day I've been looking into Calvanism & Arminianism and from what I gather they are the two big thought models in Christanity. I've flicked through a few websites and threads on the subject but all I could find was "my system is better than yours" type info. Which when your just trying to find out the basics is very :o.

Without getting into a debate could someone please explain what each system is and how they are different ? Edit: Are there any other major thought system, if so, I'ld appricate info on them too

I wrote this article to explain it as simply and as quick as possible. No conclusions are added, but I just set out the different positions, and outline how they arose in history.

Can Anyone Understand Predestination?

Regards,

Paul

 

[CoffeeSwirls]

Looks pretty good at a glance. Thanks!