Calvins concept of divine sovereignty and grace has led him to envision a double predestination. The difference between them has to do with how both the sovereignty and grace of God are understood, and the implications these different conceptions had on their understanding of human salvation.
Like Calvin and the other reformers, Arminius also emphasised the sovereignty of God and the significance of His grace, without which there can be no salvation. What can be more equitable, he wrote, than that all things should be referred to Him from whom they have derived their origin. Thus, the goal of human existence for Arminius is found in God alone. That Arminius was in total agreement with this fundamental assertion is evidenced in his second oration where he wrote: In this act of the mind and the will in seeing a present God, in loving Him, and therefore in the enjoyment of Him the salvation of man and his perfect happiness consist. To the question What is the chief end of man? the Catechism replies: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This is eloquently and memorably expressed in the famous words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. For Calvin and his theological disciples, the true purpose of human beings is to glorify God. Before examining the issues that led Arminius to diverge from the teachings of Calvin, it is important to stress the common ground that the two theologians share.Ĭalvin, and the Reformed theology that developed after him, stressed the glory of God, not only as a great theological theme but also as the goal of all creation. In 1833, the Methodist author Moses Stuart wrote that Arminius resolve to teach only what he perceived to be the clear biblical doctrine was evident up to the very end: In his last will, made on his death bed, he solemnly testifies that he had, with simplicity and sincerity of heart, endeavoured to discover the truth by searching the Scriptures and that he had never preached or taught anything, which he did not believe to be contained in them. When he died in 1609, at only 49 years of age, Arminius was still locked in controversy over his criticisms of Calvinism, and waiting for the General Synod to be convened so that he could defend his views. At the height of the controversy, violent riots broke out in Leiden where Arminius was university professor and spread to many provinces of the Netherlands. The latter group is named after the controversial Dutch Reformed theologian, Jacob (James) Arminius, who achieved notoriety for his critique of John Calvins doctrine of predestination. ONE OF THE MOST FEROCIOUS and enduring theological debates within Protestant theology in general and Reformed theology in particular is between the Calvinists and the Arminians. His teachings on predestination shaped Methodist theology Other Methodist Employment Opportunities.
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