He is the kind of God who weeps—as Jesus wept over Jerusalem—when people reject his mercy. Also, Arminians can and do interpret every passage Calvinist use as support for their view differently. Others name and describe something different, but I will say the second one is “liberal” versus “conservative” or “progressive” versus “evangelical.” There are degrees and varieties among these two tribes or types of Baptists, but, in my opinion, based on years of studying Baptist theology, the line of division here has to do with attitudes towards the relative authorities of the Bible and contemporary culture. Also, if Calvinism is true, our fellowship with God is a condition imposed on us rather than a freely chosen relationship. In the South, especially, for whatever historical-theological reasons, Southern Baptists came to equate being “Arminian” with believing salvation can be lost. Superb book which deals exactly with what it says on the cover - the myths and reality of Arminian Theology and points out the serious problems of Calvinism. His effort to correct common misperceptions is highly readable but well supported by thorough scholarly research. Investigating the issue of Calvinism and Arminianism, I read both Olson's book as well as listened to a set of seminars by John Piper (a Calvinist) that differentiated between the two. Of such is this book by Roger Olson. Saving grace is either resistible or irresistible; it can’t be both at the same time. The most common serious theological charge against Arminianism and Arminian theology, the theology of the earliest Baptists, among others, is that it amounts to the heresy of “semi-Pelagianism.” Some uninformed or dishonest Calvinist critics of Arminianism go so far as to accuse it of outright Pelagianism, but most know better and settle for “semi-Pelagianism.” Many of them call Arminian theology “man-centered theology” and “salvation by works.” Many Calvinists, going back more than a century to English Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, call Calvinism “the doctrines of grace” and allege that Arminianism, which was the theology also embraced by John and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist movement, is a betrayal of salvation by grace alone. During the Second Great Awakening of the early part of the nineteenth century and through later revivals many Baptists who earlier leaned toward Calvinism adopted Arminianism without calling it that. The book spends too much time defending Arminianism against Calvinist slander. . Roger E. Olson (Ph.D., Rice University) is professor of theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. ", "Arminian Theology should prove to be a seminal text in understanding the historical contours of Arminianism. I already addressed that, but I’ll repeat that Arminianism is a theology of grace because it teaches that no person could or would ever turn to God in repentance and faith apart from God’s empowering and freeing grace. In 1618 and 1619 the state church of the Netherlands held a “synod” or convention called the Synod of Dort at which the Remonstrants were condemned as heretics and exiled from the Netherlands. They also believed that God genuinely wants all people to be saved and that if someone is not saved it is because they have freely resisted God’s will and if someone is saved it is because they have freely repented and trusted in Christ alone for salvation. When a person seeks to truly gain a better understanding of someone else's faith, they should not first approach the enemies of that faith. Prevenient grace, Arminius argued, is necessary because, left to themselves, without the Holy Spirit’s convicting, calling, illuminating and enabling power, sinners would never repent or believe in Christ. A few days ago, I responded to Roger Olson’s opinion that Open Theism is a form of Arminianism but Molinism is not. It can happen and I have seen it happen, but I worry that it only happens because the pastors avoid the subject of God’s sovereignty and our free will in salvation, the subject of God’s electing grace and our freedom to choose, entirely. Now imagine further than he then goes about boasting that he “contributed” to his being saved from starvation by freely accepting the gift of money. The only answer is that this would undermine his purpose which is to glorify himself by manifesting all his attributes including his justice. I’ll be as concise as possible, but please consider reading my book Against Calvinism and its companion volume For Calvinism by my Reformed friend Michael Horton who teaches theology at mostly Calvinist Westminster Theological Seminary. Calvinism teaches that sinners are not only helpless but passive in the event of salvation; that they are mere pawns or robots being acted upon by God without any consent or cooperation on their part. True, classical Arminian theology is God-centered. The idea of “Calminianism” is to combine Calvinism and Arminianism. In Arminian theology God is sovereign over his own sovereignty; he restricts his power and condescends to allow us to thwart his perfect, antecedent will because the only alternative would be to have robots instead of loving children and friends. You might be wondering about “the rest of the story,” so let me offer a sidebar mini-lecture in historical theology. Today, as of 2017, the whole Southern Baptist Convention, like smaller Protestant denominations, is being rocked by this controversy. Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019. Many, perhaps most, Baptists who care about these matters call themselves “Calminians” in order to deflect debate and avoid division. "Arminian Theology is a much-needed book, addressing many of the myths and caricatures about Arminianism that plague and muddle many contemporary theological discussions. Second, how can salvation be all of grace through faith alone, not of works, if we decide to be saved? Please also opt me in for Exclusive Offers from Patheos’s Partners, A (Seemingly) Very Rare but Interesting Mental/Emotional Disorder: A Case Study for Medical Ethics. Now that I have your attention, the title of my review is accurate, and the 5* rating is intended. ", "Olson's purpose is to clear the good Arminian name of false accusations and charges of heresy. So where in the Bible do Calvinists find support for their belief in “double predestination,” which is implied even when some Calvinists prefer to all it “single predestination?” The standard locus classicus or classical passage appealed to is Romans 9. Roger Olson has addressed an interesting question: are open theism and Molinism forms of Arminianism or not? ", "I heartily recommend this book to all who wish to gain a true grasp of authentic Arminianism. Olson's gracious and irenic spirit shines through the text even while his scholarly documentation of point after point shreds the many misperceptions of Arminian theology so prevalent today. On this episode of Seminary Dropout I’m joined with Dr. Roger Olson. Finally, he never decided about perseverance; he said the Bible seems to offer grounds for both views—that the saved can never become “unsaved” and that salvation can be lost by unbelief. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. If you are not Calvinist and want to be sure of what Arminius taught and not find yourself defending a folk version, or if you're a Calvinist and want to be sure you are not fighting a strawman, you really need to read this book. Eventually these two British tribes of Baptists wrote two different statements of faith. Can’t there be a hybrid, a middle ground, a bridge between them? Says the same things over and over. I cannot agree with that interpretation. I have benefited much from his blog and from his book Against Calvinism (to be fair, the companion book by Michael Horton, For Calvinism, is great too! He thinks that open theism is but Molinism is not.. Please try your request again later. But the issue here goes deeper than exegesis of Bible passages; it goes down to the level of belief about God’s character. Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2013. If you do not share my evangelical Christian perspective (very broadly defined), feel free to ask a question for clarification, but know that this is not a space for debating incommensurate perspectives/worldviews. Roger Olson makes no apologies for being an evangelical Arminian. In his contents page alone he provides more clarity on the contested issues in the Calvinism/Arminianism debate than many books on the subject. While few readers of New Horizons will be in much sympathy with Olson's theology, it is nonetheless useful to have a book on Arminianism written by an Arminian. R. C. Sproul, Arminianism, and Semi-Pelagianism February 22, 2013 Roger E. Olson Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Arminianism stands on its own 2 feet. All people have free will to do many things, but free will to repent and believe unto salvation is always a gift of God’s grace. All others are secondary. All that is to say that Calvinism has enjoyed a great resurgence around the world in the past several years. In this book, Roger Olson sets forth classical Arminian theology and addresses the myriad misunderstandings and misrepresentations of it through the ages. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One says he is of Apollo and another of Paul. I argue that classical, historical Arminianism is the middle ground people are looking for! Since most Southern Baptists held onto that one point of TULIP Calvinism, even when they rejected the other points, they shied away from using the label “Arminian” and still do—for the most part. But some Arminians, such as Jacob Arminius himself, also argue that Calvinism violates the loving and good character of God by making him arbitrary and narcissistic—caring more about his own glory demonstrated in saving some and rejecting others than about keeping sinners out of hell. It should be required reading for all students of theology. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. I’ll wrap that conversation up with these citations of our further conversation in the comment thread of Roger’s post, particularly regarding Molinism. God is glorious because he is loving. Roger olson’s book Against Calvinism represents a contemporary pre-sentation and defense of evangelical Arminianism that not only merits but requires careful and sympathetic reading by non-Arminians as well. In other words, according to Calvinists, the elect are “born again” before they know it; otherwise they would never repent and believe because they are “totally depraved.” The “P” stands for “perseverance of the saints”—the idea that the elect will never fall entirely away and lose their salvation even if they “backslide” for a time. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. Keep any comment (including questions) to minimal length; do not post essays, sermons or testimonies here. “I guess I do feel a bit lonely,” said Olson, a professor of Christian theology and ethics at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary. Like “Calvinism,” however, “Arminianism” as a belief system predates Jacob Arminius by many years. To me, that’s not enough. However, it’s interesting that no Christian before Augustine in the early fifth century interpreted Romans 9 as teaching what we today call “Calvinism.”. There are slight variations, but all true Arminians … Progressive Christians are More Political than... What Is the Purpose of a Christian College... Slip Sliding Away: Culturally Accommodated "Christianity". Only then will you really understand this long-standing and resurgent fault line, continental divide, in any depth. Olson explains that Pinson’s book is a defense of “Reformed Arminianism” which he treats as the historical theological tradition of Free Will Baptists—as opposed to other Baptists and Wesleyans/Methodists. In other words, Israel and the church are the “elect” but God does not decide which individuals will be among them without consideration of their faith. He also rejected limited atonement and preached and taught that Christ provided atonement for all people—even those he foreknew would reject him. For the most part these fundamentalist Baptists elevated secondary beliefs such as “young earth creationism” and “rapture eschatology” to the status of dogmas, essentials of authentic Christianity. Also, the author should leave "denominations" out of the discussion. Isn’t that decision itself a “good work” that merits salvation, thus undermining the graciousness of salvation? “Arminianism” is simply the word theologians use for any Protestant belief that God gives sinners who hear the gospel the ability freely to choose whether to repent and believe, have faith, or not. The “particular” in Particular Baptist refers to the belief that Christ died only for particular people, the elect, chosen by God, and not for everyone. When he died the Remonstrants returned to the Netherlands and founded a seminary and a denomination that still exist. I argue that they can and do, but it is difficult for a single congregation to include both. Insofar as a church cares about theology, which I believe it should, it will tend to be either Calvinistic or Arminian in its theology of God’s sovereignty and salvation. In the United States alone there are, among Baptists, as with Heinz ketchup, approximately “57 varieties.”. On the other side of this first fault line or continental divide between Baptists, from near the beginning, stands the Particular Baptists, under whatever label, who believe that God sovereignly chooses to save some sinners, the “elect,” for whom alone Christ died, and calls and draws them irresistibly into repentance and faith. Conservative, evangelical Baptists, have always held that the Bible is our ultimate, final authority for all matters of Christian faith and practice—even when that means taking a skeptical approach to modernity and even separating from secular culture and liberal, progressive Christians. Why? He introduces his readers to a large world which many will never before have entered, the world of Arminian and Wesleyan theology, and even those familiar with this world will become more informed about it. So the “General” in “General Baptist” meant and means that God’s offer of salvation through Christ is for all people without exception. In other words, when I look for a Baptist church to join, I care much less about what translation of the Bible it uses and what style of worship it prefers than about whether it generally believes that God’s saving grace is for all people and whether it holds the Bible to be the supernaturally inspired and authoritative Word of God above and not alongside of secular culture. You will find those mostly among the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A., the old Northern Baptist Convention, but also, increasingly, among Baptists in the South who run as far and as fast as possible away from fundamentalism. 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