Arminianism

Arminianism, a doctrine in Christianity, formulated in the 17th century, which declares that human free will can exist without limiting God's power or contradicting the Bible. Named for the Dutch Calvinist Jacobus Arminius, the doctrine gradually became a liberal alternative to the more rigid belief in predestination held by High Calvinists in Holland and elsewhere (see Calvinism; Predestination).

Arminius, who studied in Geneva under the French Protestant theologian Theodore Beza, returned to his native Holland and was a professor of theology (1603-1609) at the Leiden University. He believed predestination was biblical and true—that God had intended some persons for heaven and others for hell, as indicated by Jesus' reference to “sheep and goats.” But he focused on God's love more than on God's power in speaking of election, the process by which God chose those intended for heaven.

After Arminius died, a group of ministers who sympathized with his views developed a systematic and rational theology based on his teachings. In their declaration, a remonstrance issued in 1610, the Arminians argued that election was conditioned by faith, that grace could be rejected, that the work of Christ was intended for all persons, and that it was possible for believers to fall from grace.

At the Synod of Dort or Dordrecht (1618-1619), the High Calvinists prevailed over the Arminian Party and condemned the Remonstrants. The Synod of Dort declared that Christ's work was meant only for those elect to salvation, that people believing could not fall from grace, and that God's election depended on no conditions. Remonstrants were not tolerated at all in Holland until 1630, and then not fully until 1795. They have, however, continued an Arminian tradition in the Netherlands into the late 20th century.

The British theologian John Wesley studied and affirmed the work of Arminius in his Methodist movement during the 18th century in England. American Methodists for the most part have leaned toward the theology of the Remonstrants. In popular expression Arminianism has come to mean that no predestination exists and people are free to follow or reject the gospel.