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! ===Divergence with Calvinism=== The two systems of Calvinism and Arminianism share history, many doctrines, and the [[History of Christianity|history of Christian theology]]. However, because of their differences over the doctrines of divine predestination and election, many people view these schools of thought as opposed to each other. The distinction is whether God desires to save all yet allows individuals to resist the grace offered (in the Arminian doctrine) or if God desires to save only some and grace is irresistible to those chosen (in the Calvinist doctrine). Many consider the theological differences to be crucial differences in doctrine, while others find them to be relatively minor.{{sfn|Gonzalez|2014|p=180}} ====Similarities==== * [[Total depravity]] β Arminians agree with Calvinists over the doctrine of total depravity. The differences come in the understanding of how God remedies this human depravity.{{sfn|Olson|2009|pp=31β34, 55β59}} ====Differences==== * Nature of election β Arminians hold that election to eternal salvation has the [[Conditional election|condition of faith]] attached. The Calvinist doctrine of [[unconditional election]] states that salvation cannot be earned or achieved and is therefore not conditional upon any human effort, so faith is not a condition of salvation but the divinely apportioned means to it. In other words, Arminians believe that they owe their election to their faith, whereas Calvinists believe that they owe their faith to their election. * Nature of grace β Arminians believe that, through [[prevenient grace|grace]], God restores free will concerning salvation to all humanity, and each individual, therefore, is able either to accept the Gospel call through faith or resist it through unbelief. Calvinists hold that God's grace to enable salvation is given only to the elect and [[irresistible grace|irresistibly]] leads to salvation. * Extent of the atonement β Arminians, along with four-point Calvinists or [[Amyraldian]]s, hold to a [[Unlimited atonement|universal atonement]] instead of the Calvinist doctrine that atonement is [[limited atonement|limited]] to the elect only.{{sfn|Olson|2009|p=221}} Both sides (with the exception of [[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinists]]) believe the invitation of the gospel is universal and "must be presented to everyone [they] can reach without any distinction."{{sfn|Nicole|1995}} * Perseverance in faith β Arminians believe that future salvation and eternal life is secured in Christ and protected from all external forces but is [[conditional preservation of the saints|conditional on remaining in Christ]] and can be lost through [[apostasy]]. Traditional Calvinists believe in the doctrine of the [[perseverance of the saints]], which says that because God chose some unto salvation and actually paid for their particular sins, he keeps them from apostasy and that those who do apostatize were never truly regenerated (that is, [[Born again Christianity|born again]]) or saved. Non-traditional Calvinists and other evangelicals advocate the similar but distinct doctrine of eternal security that teaches if a person was once saved, his or her salvation can never be in jeopardy, even if the person completely apostatizes. 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