WJEC/Eduqas RS for A2/Yr2: Religion and Ethics (DRAFT)

T4 Determinism and free will

Arminius: The Elect and the possibility of rejecting God’s grace and the election of believers being conditional on faith. The Declaration of Sentiments Rustin Brian writes: ‘The issues of predestination and election were so important to Arminius that he risked everything… to defend his fundamental impulse, namely, that all are elect in Christ, and thus have the real possibility of salvation. God does not will that anyone should perish or be damned.’ This is a crucial point to understand about Arminius. His belief was that despite God’s providence and middle knowledge, the fundamental principle was that salvation was available to all. All do not choose salvation, but in principle and within the workings of his theology, they could do. However, God’s middle knowledge foresees the conditional predestination of humanity. The fact still remains, God’s grace and the possibility of salvation are prior to this predestination. In order to clarify his views, Arminius was asked to present them He did so in what is called his Declaration of Sentiments . The Declaration of Sentiments has four sections (decrees). The first decree is Christological: Christ fulfills roles as ‘Mediator, Redeemer, Saviour, Priest and King’. It is through Christ that people receive salvation. This is the foundation upon which the rest of the decrees rest. The second decree reads: ‘To receive into favour those who repent and believe, and, in Christ, for HIS sake and through HIM, to effect the salvation of such penitents and believers as persevered to the end; but to leave in sin and under wrath all impenitent persons and unbelievers, and to damn them as aliens from Christ.’ It is this decree that deals with election and reprobation but according to scholars it is meant to be generic and not about individuals. Stranglin and McCall write, ‘It is a decree of corporate salvation and condemnation with reference to the properties of belief and unbelief in general.’ Arminius states, ‘election to salvation and reprobation to condemnation are conditional. God chooses those who are foreknown to be penitent believers, and he condemns those he knows to be impenitent unbelievers.’ Key quotes Arminius is careful to differentiate his understanding of man’s free will and ability to do good from that of Pelagius … since it always remains dependent upon the work of God’s grace in and through man. (Strudebaker) God’s grace is a ‘gratuitous affection’ … It is also an ‘infusion’ of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit which pertains to the regeneration and renewing of man. It is not, however, irresistible, since Arminius sees many scriptural examples of those who do, indeed, ‘resist the Holy Spirit and reject the grace that is offered’. (Strudebaker) SkevingtomWood writes, ‘What distinguishes Arminius and Calvinism, in other words, is not that the latter has a doctrine of election or predestination while the former does not. Rather, what distinguishes them is the ground of election or predestination. For Calvinists, election is unconditional. For Arminius, it is

Specificationco ntent Arminius: The Elect and the possibility of rejecting God’s grace and the election of believers being conditional on faith.

Key quote It is, moreover, markedly and deliberately Christ-centred and Christ-controlled. Instead of starting off with God’s predestination of individuals, Arminius puts first the decree by which God appointed his Son Jesus Christ for a ‘Mediator,

Redeemer, Saviour, Priest and King’. (Skevington-Wood)

DRAFT

Jesus Christ is Mediator, Redeemer, Saviour, Priest and King.

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