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What Calvinism and Pelagianism Have In Common
I want to put aside for a moment the question of the validity of Calvinism. There are many Calvinists I respect – none of which I would consider to be in the same camp as the neo-reformed. Mike Bird, Michael Patton, Denny Burk, to name a few. But rather than argue against the validity of Calvinism, I want to zero in on one tiny but enormous point Calvinists would rather seekers just not know.
Often when people convert from one intra-Christian tradition to another, it’s usually for reasons other than doctrinal validity as the book Journey’s of Faith reveals clearly enough. People convert for many reasons, not least because they have a sense of incompleteness. They feel that another tradition offers something that their current tradition lacks. Whether it be a worship style and attitude, freedom or liturgical structure, perhaps sacraments, people are always moving back and forth between traditions in search for a sense of something.
In the case of Calvinism, I believe the number one feature which draws people to it is the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. They want to feel eternally secure. Exhibit A: I have grown up with people personally who have become Calvinists because of the attractiveness of this very doctrine. I knew one man whose brother, a Pentecostal minister, was decidedly Pelagian when he taught. As a result my friend, who had difficulty managing those things he desired most – women, alcohol and popularity – wanted to find eternal security. Obviously his brothers Pelagian tendencies, and the insecurity that comes with it, lended itself to my friends decision to become a Calvinist. Of course there were other complex factors involved, but escaping a perceived Pentecostal Pelagian insecurity seemed to be a vital one.
Exhibit B: I am a member of an online Arminian group where a few months back William Birch, upon announcing his resignation from the group (and before his recent heart wrenching shenanigans) had stated that his views on the preservation of the saints had changed. He had hoped that holding to a doctrine of once saved always saved will help make his Arminian soteriology more palatable to his Baptist Calvinist brethren. The general response among the Arminian group was to cheer and applaud this move, acknowledging that less people would convert to Calvinsim if more Arminians embraced once saved always saved. Or, to put that backwards as the very idea suggests, many Baptists Calvinists are Calvinists primarily because of the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. People want to feel secure and Arminianism doesn’t offer that (supposedly).
Exhibit C: On the progressive scholarly front, Michael Bird embraces this view as a part of the package of his Calvinist soteriology. Scot McKnight rejects the Calvinist soteriology at preciously this point. Since Hebrews teaches that someone can abandon their faith, the Calvinist soteriology must be wrong. N.T. Wright chimes in, coming up the middle between these views since it seems he doesn’t embrace a Calvinist soteriology wholesale, but he also pushes back a bit on McKnight by saying of Hebrews, “that’s not the right question.” (But I think if it’s not the question Hebrews is asking, it is at the very least precisely the issue Hebrews takes up.)
But no matter where you land on this issue, whether you believe in the perseverance of the saints or you believe that it is possible for an individual to abandon the faith to which they once clung, one thing is certain: the idea that God elects some to salvation and “passes over” most others is not the most difficult idea that Calvinism has to offer. No. The most difficult idea Calvinism has to offer is that there is no way in this life that you can know if you have been passed over or not. No way to know if you are one of the elect!
I feel like repeating that last three sentences. Read it again.
The most terrifying part of Calvinism’ soteriology (and it’s best kept secret) is that there is no way to know if you are one of the elect. None. Read on.
While documenting the rise of the so-called new Calvinism, Collin Hanson interviews many young Piper cubs who admit that the most difficult part to accept while journeying towards Calvinism was the idea that God elects to salvation some and passes over others. This is Exhibit D that many people who convert to Calvinism have not thought through it’s doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Because surely I would think the most difficult part to accept while journeying to Calvinism wouldn’t be that God passes over others, but that God may have passed over you! And there’s no way to know.
Let me say this another way – and yes, I am hammering home this point until you get it! – Calvinism offers about as much security to the believer as full blown Pelagianism!
Let me explain how by making three points about Calvinism:
1. Calvinism fits squarely within the holiness tradition (as does Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism). That some people run around claiming to teach that someone can make a sincere confession of faith and then live their life nilly-willy any way they wish and still get to heaven is patently not Calvinism. Whatever it is – and yes, I have people like Charles Stanley in mind – it is not Calvinism.
In the book Why I Am Not An Arminian the co-authors – both Calvinists – Robert Peterson and Michael Williams write:
“Easy believism, the view that persons are to be regarded as Christians who have made professions of faith but whose lives are unchanged, is incompatible with biblical teaching. On this point Arminians and Calvinists agree.” (p.81, emphasis mine)
2. Calvinism teaches that if God has elected someone for salvation, that person will be saved by the grace of God. There is no chance that they will not be saved. No one can snatch them from the Fathers’ hand (John 10:28).
3. If someone who was among God’s people walks away, this is clear evidence that this person was never really saved in the first place (1 John 2:19). Peterson and Williams write again:
“If they don’t believe to the end, they have not come to share in Christ. This indicates not a loss of salvation but a demonstration that the professed Christians had not really been united to Christ in the first place.” (p.80, emphasis mine)
So far this is pretty standard stuff. Calvinism does not shy away from teaching that if someone “falls away” it is clear proof that they were never saved in the first place. But there’s a catch. An emphasis that is never brought up either by Calvinists, Arminians or otherwise.
Its easy to judge a person who walks away as being someone who was never saved after the fact. But what about before they walk away?
The person comes to church week after week, singing with all sincerity of heart. Perhaps preaching or teaching your children in Sunday School. Perhaps they lead your Churches mission and evangelistic programs. Or maybe they were your worship leader. And how did they get to those positions unless others around them also saw “fruit” of their salvation. Are we to say that through all of those years they were just pretending? Perhaps for some small portion of them that is true, but it is beyond reason to suggest that every person who has shown clear fruit of a life devoted to Christ was just faking all along. No. Rather these people – at the time – where as sincere a follower of Jesus are you are today. But for whatever reason – perhaps church abuse, tragedy in their lives or any number of other reasons – they then abandoned the faith. What do we make of those situations?
Calvinism’ teaching is clear enough. If they do not hold firm to the end, it is proof that they were never saved in the first place.
But then what were they, if not genuine Christians?
Or perhaps, the more pressing question is, if they were as sure in their salvation then as you are now, how can you be certain that you are really saved?
How does Calvinism answer these question? Have you read any books by Calvinists where the doctrine of the preservation of the saints is dug into deep enough to acknowledge this dilemma and offer some type of answer?
Because the unspeakable answer seems clear enough. It’s terrifying really. The Calvinist John Frame, in his book against Open Theism titled No Other God, does reveal Calvinism’s answer to this question, albeit in a footnote:
“There are also cases where God chooses someone for a task and for a limited kind of fellowship with him, without the intention of giving him the full benefits of salvation.” (p.117, n.9, emphasis mine)
Read that answer again.
How do you know that does not describe you? How do you know that you have been given the “full benefits of salvation” and not just a “limited kind of fellowship with him”?
How?
For those who convert to Calvinism because in it they think will have obtained a teaching of eternal security that offers them assurance in their faith, answer that question:
How can you know?
You can’t.
In Calvinism you may have been chosen for a limited fellowship with God, a specific task of – say – a missionary or pastor or evangelist, and not for the “full benefits of salvation”.
And for Arminians who think that we need to adopt a doctrine of eternal security to make Arminianism more palatable, I suggest you think again.
Tagged Arminianism, Calvinism, Eternal Security
Arminius: A Study in the Dutch Reformation (in Review)
Arminius: A Study in the Dutch Reformation
By Carl Bangs
5 Star (out of 5)
I am having difficulty containing how much I like this book. At the risk of tipping over the top let me go on record in saying that Arminius: A Study in the Dutch Reformation is quite simply the number one book I’ve read (so far) in 2010, and in all probability it is the best academic biography I have ever read!
Carl Bangs sifts through old church archives, marriage records, municipal records and birth certificates in his investigation into the life and times of Jacob Arminius (1559-1609). Through this study you will discover the very sad upbringing of young Jacob, the tragedy of his hometown Oudewater with the massacre of his family. You will also learn about the socio-political context of Holland, particularly Amsterdam and Leiden. As this context is laid it will quickly become evident that the Dutch Reformation was unlike any other places of Reformation, such as France, England or Germany, in that the Dutch spirit was one of religious tolerance within the Reformers circles. It is largely because of the Dutch spirit – both in the Church and in the political magistrate – that Arminius was able to fairly defend himself against his critics and – on most all occasions – silence them through reasoned arguments and scripture.
But you will also discover, as the context is laid, how it is the by 1618-19 the Reformers were able to hold a non-tolerant Kangaroo court which – for a brief period – led to the persecution of Arminius’ friends. So much change of the political landscape of Holland – and particularly Amsterdam – in between 1590 and 1610, with the rise of the East Indie Trade Company and many other external factors, which resulted in an influx of non-Dutch Reformers (mostly from places like France) that political arm-wrestling began between the older tolerant Reformers/magistrates and the new influx of non-tolerant Genevian-styled Reformers. Arminius found himself in the epicenter of that clash.
Carl Bangs also clears away the debris of folklores, tall-tales, rumors and slanders which have been circulating about Arminius for centuries by those who opposed him theologically. And as an add-on, Bangs devotes whole sections of the story, during the development of a particular event, to look at Arminius’ theology of that time based on the writings. The book also concludes with an overview, section by section, of what Jacob Arminius believed. So this is not only a history book or a biography, it is also a theology book!
Arminius should be required reading of all who claim to follow in the tradition of Jacob Arminius; all who resist Arminianism ought to read this book to know precisely what it is they are resisting, and anyone interested in the era of the Reformation, or who has done a serious study of Luther or Calvin, needs to read this book and hold it on par with them.
Of all things, I believe what impressed me most was the character of Jacob Arminius. Rare is it that one finds, in this whole era (1500-1600), a leading reformer who is also equally as tolerant, wise, intelligent, but also transparent, humble and – to the surprise of many – non-confrontational. Arminius was a scholar/pastor with a shepherd’s heart and a back-bone. Perhaps that is why so many opposed him without being able to find fault with what he actually taught or believed.
Tagged Arminianism, Carl Bangs, Jacob Arminius
Why Did Wesley Attack Whitefield’s Calvinism?
While dialoguing with my friend Danny in a recent post, I discovered that John Wesley was not so tolerant of “Calvinism” when it came to George Whitefield. Danny also told me that George, “for his part”, did not generally respond to John in kind. For someone who looks up to and admires John Wesley, I wanted to probe further into the “why” question. Why would John, a man so adamant in support of unity and tolerance within Methodism and the Church of England and whose theology is based squarely on the love of God, equally adamantly oppose his friends Calvinism?
The next day I pulled a book off my shelf which I haven’t had an opportunity to read yet, Wesley and the People Called Methodists, only to discover – to my disappointment – that what Danny told me is absolutely correct. But I also found the historical context of their (often one sided) debate very telling, and I want to propose a hypothesis as to why John (justifiably?) opposed George as he did. Disclaimer: I use the term “seems” often and in a critical fashion because this is the only book I’ve read on the subject and so I am endeavoring to keep that in mind. Any historical fallacies in this analysis are probably my own failure to accurately retell the story I’ve read in the book. And now I begin. (more…)
Tagged Anglican, Arminianism, Calvinism, George Whitefield, John Wesley, Methodist
Time To Unlearn A Few Things
I suggest that if we put the question of Calvinism and Arminianism aside for a time and study God as he has revealed himself in the scriptures we will not discover Aristotle’s Unmoved Mover as Calvinism has always espoused; in fact we may not even discover God as the Arminian understands him. It may be, after seeking to discover the God of the scriptures on their own terms, that we may discover the God of Open Theism quite by accident! Not of Calvin’s Unmoved Mover, but of Pinnock’s Most Moved Mover.We will, in all probability, discover as John Sanders said, a God Who Risks. This – I believe – is the truth we all must wrestle with whether or not we embrace Open Theism.
Walter Brueggemann, one of the foremost Old Testament scholars, seems quite disinterested in questions of determinism and foreknowledge – except when specific texts’ call attention to such speculation – and in the debates between Calvinism and Arminianism (and Open Theism). But in his studies of the God of the Old Testament, the “Hebrew testimony” and portrayal of YWHW, he writes: “the defining category for faith in the Old Testament is dialogue, whereby all parties – including God – are changed in a dialogic exchange that is potentially transformative for all parties… including God.” And again, “The Old Testament is an invitation to reimagine our life and our faith as an on-going dialogic transaction in which all parties are variously summoned to risk and change.” He goes on:
“When we are freed of static categories of interpretation that are widely utilized among us, we are able to see that the articulation of God in the Old Testament partakes exactly of the quality of complexity, dynamism, and fluidity that belong to the post-modern world… such an open and thick articulation of faith may be threatening to some and may require unlearning by us all”. An Unsettling God; 2009, p.xii; italics added.
What a powerful statement from a man who is not interested in sustaining “static categories of interpretation” such as Calvinism or Arminianism; neither, it is prudent to add, is he interested in Open Theism. When Brueggemann approaches the scriptures he does not ask, is the God of Calvin here or the God of Arminius or the God of Pinnock? When Brueggemann approaches the Old Testament he asks the question to the ancient Hebrews, “Who do you say that He is?” Sometimes we see the categories of Calvin and sometimes we see the categories of Arminius, this is partly what makes God “unsettling”, because YWHW cannot be made to easily fit into our “static categories of interpretation” – He is too big, and we are too fallible.
Yet it is a fearful road Brueggemann offers, it is a road of discomfort; because in asking the Hebrews and not the Greeks “Who is YWHW?” he finds himself immediately at odds with classical Christian theology.
“In… much classical Christian theology, ‘God’ can be understood in terms of quite settled categories that are, for the most part, inimical to the biblical tradition. The casting of the classical tradition… is primarily informed by the Unmoved Mover of Hellenistic thought… a Being completely apart from and unaffected by the reality of the world” [p.1]
We have come to a point – or perhaps we have always been there – where the God revealed by the Hebrew testimony is rather embarrassing to our sensibilities. The Hebrews speak of a God affected by the passing of time; a God emotionally invested in his creation and sometimes those emotions are even mixed. They speak of a God whose mind is not settled and what’s worse, they don’t seem to mind this God at all! This God repents, He laughs, He tests, He changes His mind and what’s more, He allows his creation to move Him to action and at other times, they have the power to stay His wrathful hand.
“It is common to be embarrassed about the anthropomorphic aspects of this God, so embarrassed as to want to explain away such a characterization or at least to transpose it into a form that better serves a generic notion of God…. All such embarrassments, however, fail to do justice to the scriptural tradition.” [p.2]
Again, Walter Brueggemann has called us out on the carpet; all of us! Classical Christianity cannot escape the ugly reality that we have since near the beginning been embarrassed of the Hebrew testimony of God and so silenced it. It does not jive well with our sensibilities, our Hellenistic sensibilities. But who is the guilty one; are they or are we? It is not they who are being unfaithful to the scriptures; indeed they wrote them! And instead of being embarrassed of the Hebrew testimony of YWHW we ought to be embarrassed of our selves. It will no longer do, in my mind, to dismiss the challenge of the Old Testament as embarrassing “anthropomorphic” ramblings of ancient people. Christianity needs – to some extent – to put Classical Christian Theology on trial and the judge ought not to be Aristotle, but Abraham. Classical Christian Theology is in need of purification, and its filter ought to be the scriptures.
Were the Remonstrants Pelagian?
Calvinists are perhaps the strongest defenders of Total Depravity in Christendom! And of course. Who better to stand up and proclaim humanities total and complete inability – without the grace of God – to make any move, inclination, or will towards God, then those who take their cue from St. Augustine, the originator of the doctrine of Original Sin who battled against the Pelagian Heresy?
The doctrine of Total Depravity took center stage and became the focus of articulation for Calvinists during the Dutch Reformed Synod of Dort (1618-1619) in response to certain concerns voiced by the Remonstrants, who were themselves (at this point in history) Dutch Reformed Calvinists. Arminius was the strongest voice of the Remonstrants, but did not live long enough to attend the Synod. Other Calvinists strongly opposed the Remonstrants.
“In preparation for the Synod to discuss these issues, some of these Calvinists wrote down their views on Human depravity:
“That man has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will, inasmuch as he, in the state of apostasy and sin, can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do any thing that is truly good (such as saving Faith eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ, through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or will, and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will and effect what is truly good, according to the Word of Christ, John 15:5, “Without me ye can do nothing.”
That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of all good even to this extent, that the regenerate man himself, without [the grace of God], can neither think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that all good deeds or movements that can be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ.”
What a strong Calvinist statement of human depravity and our absolute helplessness apart from God to provide for our salvation! It affirms that human beings are so depraved that they cannot think, will, or do anything that is truly good. Furthermore, humans cannot save themselves by their own efforts, faith, or free will because they live “in the state of apostasy and sin.” It describes their utter helplessness to think, will, or do good, or to withstand temptations. The only hope for salvation is from God – to be born again and renewed by the Holy Spirit of God. The statement affirms that only God can renew human understanding, thinking and willing so that humans can do good, for Jesus said that without Him humans can do nothing. Indeed, it affirms that any good deed “that can be conceived” must be ascribed only “to the grace of God in Christ.”
One might infer that such a strong Calvinist statement was voicing the opinions of the strong Calvinists who formed the majority at the Synod of Dort (the Remonstrants were systematically excluded so that their views had no real representation at the Synod). In fact, this statement is a quote from Articles III and IV of the issues raised by the Remonstrants. Such a strong affirmation of human depravity and the complete inability of humans to save themselves means the Remonstrants cannot responsibly be called Pelagians or even semi-Pelagians. Pelagians and semi-Pelagians affirm that natural human beings can initiate or respond to God completely independent of God’s grace. Nothing could be more foreign to the beliefs of these Arminian Remonstrants than the notion that sinful humans could initiate, much less earn, their own salvation. Just as there are different kinds of Calvinists, with many Calvinists bristling at being called hyper-Calvinists, it is totally inappropriate for theologians to describe these Arminian Remonstrants as Pelagian or semi-Pelagian in doctrine. Indeed, the Synod of Dort unfortunately mislabels the Arminian Remonstrants as “entirely Pelagian.” Let us abstain from calling them what they were not. The Arminians at Dort were Calvinists – members of the Reformed congregations – who had concerns about the extremes to which some Calvinist theologians had taken Calvinism, at points probably further than Calvin himself. Caricaturing the Remonstrants as Pelagians or semi-Pelagians is, therefore, historically inaccurate and inapproapriate.”
This quote was taken from Whosoever Will [p. 3] and is a part of the ongoing internal dialogue among the South Baptist (SBC).
Tagged Arminianism, Calvinism, Remonstrants, Synod of Dort
When Roger Olson and John Piper Meet For Coffee… D.A. Carson Is Sure To Juggle!
When back in 2007 D.A. Carson got wind that Roger Olson and John Piper were duking it out over the issue of the collapse of the Minnesota bridge, he had them flown in to face each other like men. Here is the account of that story (surely it is fiction… but hey, it’s fun):
So a reader of The Secret Diary of D.A. Carson tipped the Don off the other day about a little tiff that’s been happening between John Piper and Roger Olson. A lot could be said about this, but basically it boils down to a Calvinist and an Arminianist arguing over why the bridge in Minnesota collapsed a little while ago.
The Don is a lover, not a fighter, so I hate to see people at odds with one another (you know, unless someone disagrees with me). So I called up those two crazy cats and convinced them to head towards the Chicago area so that we could work things out. I had TEDS fly them into town first class (you wouldn’t believe how much money we have laying around from the outrageous tuition we charge) and then I picked them up from the airport in the Dragon Wagon.
Now Piper and I go way back, but I’ve only met Olson a handful of times. I’m pretty sure that made John a little overly confident because he seemed to assume that the two of us were going to work together to bring Roger down.
We met in a neutral territory: Bennigan’s. After ordering three Monte Cristo sandwiches, the conversation went something like this:
(Read the rest of this near true (but not true) dialogue here.)
Tagged Arminianism, Calvinism, D.A. Caron, John Piper, Roger Olson
Truly T.U.L.I.P.
The acronym T.U.L.I.P was invented by the followers of John Calvin as a convenient way to sum up the Philosophy and Creeds of their theology, in response to the five points of the Remonstrants. “Remonstrant” means, “one who protests”, and these protesters were the followers of Jacob Arminius who were protesting the Magisterium of Calvinism, in favor of having the liberty to disagree with Calvin’s idea of Particular Election.
The reason for this post is because traditionally followers of Arminius have readily rejected all (but one or two) of the Calvinist T.U.L.I.P. But recently I read a post in which one Arminian writer utilizes the T.U.L.I.P. acronym in favor of the Biblical teaching on these matters:
Total Depravity
Mankind is totally depraved, but God has extended His common grace to all so that every man or woman can search and find God [through the prompting and calling of the Holy Spirit].
Unconditional Election
[God has unconditionally Elected Christ before the foundation of the world to die for all men, and in this way] God elected all men to salvation but most refuse His offer.
Limited Atonement
The atonement of Christ is open to all men everywhere and is limited only by our refusal to be saved [our rejection of God's saving grace].
Irresistible Grace
The “common grace” [prevenient grace] of God is given to all men everywhere and it is irresistible, but saving grace can be refused by a stubborn heart.
Perseverance of the Saints
Once saved, a person will always be saved unless by defiant, continual, purposeful, rebellion he or she refuses God’s grace and chooses apostasy – from which there is no return.
Source:
The framework for this Arminian reinterpretation of T.U.L.I.P. was taken from the article The Triumph of Arminianism (and its dangers) by Keith Drury. I slightly modified each point.
