Arminianism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Theological legacy=== The original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius are commonly called Arminianism, but more broadly, the term may embrace the teachings of [[Simon Episcopius]],{{sfn|Episcopius|Ellis|2005|p=8|ps=. "Episcopius was singularly responsible for the survival of the Remonstrant movement after the Synod of Dort. We may rightly regard him as the theological founder of Arminianism, since he both developed and systematized ideas which Arminius was tentatively exploring before his death and then perpetuated that theology through founding the Remonstrant seminary and teaching the next generation of pastors and teachers."}} [[Hugo Grotius]], [[John Wesley]], and others. Arminian theology usually falls into one of two groups: Classical Arminianism, drawn from the teaching of Jacobus Arminius, and Wesleyan Arminianism, drawing primarily from Wesley. The two groups overlap substantially. In 529, at the [[Council of Orange (529)|Second Council of Orange]], the question at hand was whether the doctrines of Augustine on God's providence were to be affirmed, or if [[semi-Pelagianism]] could be affirmed. Semi-Pelagianism was a moderate form of [[Pelagianism]] that teaches that the first step of salvation is by human will and not the [[Grace (Christianity)|grace]] of God.{{sfn|Stanglin|McCall|2012|p=160}} The determination of the Council could be considered "semi-Augustinian".{{sfn|Oakley|1988|p=64}}{{sfn|Thorsen|2007|loc=ch. 20.3.4}}{{sfn|Bounds|2011|pp=39β43}} It defined that faith, though a free act of man, resulted, even in its beginnings, from the grace of God, enlightening the [[Christian anthropology|human mind]] and enabling belief.{{sfn|Denzinger|1954|loc=ch. Second Council of Orange, art. 5β7}}{{sfn|Pickar|1981|p=797|loc=ch. Faith}}{{sfn|Cross|2005|p=701}} This describes the operation of [[prevenient grace]] allowing the unregenerate to repent in faith.{{sfn|Olson|2009|p=81}}{{sfn|Stanglin|McCall|2012|p=153}} On the other hand, the Council of Orange condemned the Augustinian teaching of predestination to damnation.{{sfn|Denzinger|1954|loc=ch. Second Council of Orange, art. 199|ps=. "We not only do not believe that some have been truly predestined to evil by divine power, but also with every execration we pronounce anathema upon those, if there are [any such], who wish to believe so great an evil."}} Since Arminianism is aligned with those characteristic semi-Augustinian views,{{sfn|Bounds|2011|pp=39β43}} it has been seen by some as a reclamation of [[early church]] theological consensus.{{sfn|Keathley|2014|p=703|loc=ch. 12}} Moreover, Arminianism can also be seen as a soteriological diversification of Calvinism{{sfn|Magnusson|1995|p=62}} or more specifically, as a theological middle ground between Calvinism and semi-Pelagianism.{{sfn|Olson|2014|p=6}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page