Calvinist Dutch Reformation, Part 1: Augustinianism

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What Does it Mean to be: Calvinist Dutch Reformation, Part 1: Augustinianism Bill Petro your friendly neighborhood historian billpetro.com/lighthouse 1 4 Views of Baptist Beginnings Continental English English Silver Line Separatists (1) Separatists (2) of Grace •Calvinistic •non-Anglican, non-Presb, Puritans, •non-Protestant •Zurich, Congregational •non-Anglican, birth of Church •Holland, •credo-baptism •Holland, 1851 US, •England •1644 London, •1612 England, Landmarkism General Particular Baptists Baptist Confession 2 Sacramentalization Re -evaluation Rediscovery Formulation Augustine Calvin Pelagius Arminius 01/10/2010 3 Objectives By the end of this session you should be able to: • Trace the development of 17th century “Calvinism” • Differentiate Arminianism from “Calvinism” • Contrast Augustine and Pelagius 4 Spread of Calvinism 5 Pendulum of History 6 Theology: 16th & 17th centuries 16th Catholicism Calvin 17th Arminianism “Calvinism” 7 Tightrope of Predestination • Excessive curiosity in what God has not revealed • Excessive timidity in teaching what He has revealed 8 Calvin on Predestination Institutes, Chapter 21. Of the eternal election, by which God has predestinated some to salvation, and others to destruction. • “All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation” • “God by his secret counsel chooses whom he will while he rejects others.” 9 Three Concepts • Justice – man gets what he deserves… condemnation • Mercy – man doesn’t get what he deserves… rescue • Grace – man gets what he doesn’t deserve… glory 10 Calvin on Predestination “We maintain that this counsel, as regards the elect, is founded on His free mercy, without any respect to human worth, while those whom He dooms to destruction are excluded from access to life by a just and blameless -- but at the same time incomprehensible -- judgment.” 11 12 Jacobus Arminius • a.k.a. James Harmens • 1560-1609 • Studied under Theodore Beza • Dutch theologian • Professor: Leiden University • Differed with Calvin on: – Unconditional election – Irresistible grace – Perseverance – Predestination 14 1-Word Summary • Catholic Church Merit • Luther Justification • Zwingli Sovereignty • Anabaptists Credobaptism • Calvin Omnipotence • Pelagius Ability 15.

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Pelagius Britannicus
THE REAL 5TH-CENTURY PELAGIUS BRITANNICUS VS OUR ALLEGED 19TH-CENTURY “ULTIMATE PELAGIAN,” HENRICUS Bishop Augustine never met this monk and spiritual counselor Pelagius in person, even when he passed through Hippo in late 410. While in Rome, Pelagius had been the sponsor of a “moral rearmament” or “spiritual athleticism” movement. He seems to have been able to appeal particularly to affluent church ladies, whom he urged to set an example through works of virtue and ascetic living. The bishop saw the attitudes of Pelagius’s followers as dangerously similar to the error of Donatism, in that they fancied that they could by their own virtue set themselves apart from the common herd as ones upon whom God was particularly smiling. While Pelagius had gone off to the Holy Land and had there become an unwilling center of controversy as he visited sacred sites, others back in Africa were wading into this fracas with the hierarchical church authority Augustine. Whatever the merits of the case, of course the bishop’s side was going to prevail and the monk’s side was eventually going to be suppressed. How is this of relevance? Its relevance is due to the fact that, recently, in a book issued by the press of Thoreau’s alma mater Harvard University, Henry is being now characterized as the “ultimate Pelagian”! Go figure. “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project Pelagianism HDT WHAT? INDEX PELAGIANISM PELAGIUS 355 CE Pelagius was born, presumably somewhere in the British Isles such as in Ireland (because of his name Brito or Britannicus — although the Pelagian Islands of Lampedusa, Linosa, and Lampione are in the Mediterranean between Tunisia and Malta).
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Anselm on Grace and Free Will
Anselm on Grace and Free Will Katherin A. Rogers University of Delaware Anselm is the first philosopher to attempt a systematic analysis of libertarian freedom. Regarding grace, he embrace’s the position that grace is necessary for salvation and unmerited, while preserving a role for human freedom that is not in the least Pelagian. This paper sketches the problems with Augustine’s compatibilism and with Pelagianism, and shows how Anselm reconciles human choice with classical theism, which entails that God is the source of everything that has ontological status. The paper concludes with an argument that, although Anselm holds that God does not offer grace to everyone, he could and should have done so. I take Anselm to be the first philosopher to attempt a genuinely systematic analysis of a libertarian brand of free will.1 The problem that confronts him regarding grace is this: there are very good theological reasons to toe the Augustinian line that grace is absolutely necessary to save fallen man and cannot possibly be merited in any way at all. But if it is grace which saves, and if it is not given in response to some free choice on the part of the created agent, then the importance of human freedom seems to be exhausted with the story of the original fall. The task before Anselm is to defend post-lapsarian human freedom without falling into the error of Pelagius. A sketch of the problems with Augustinian compatibilism, and then a quick survey of Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism with their attendant difficulties, will show why it is so vital that Anselm reject both sides of the earlier debate and carve out a third way which ascribes all saving power to divine grace, but which retains a small, but decisive, causal role for created freedom.
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Pelagius' View of Ideal Christian Women in His Letters
_full_journalsubtitle: Journal of Patrology and Critical Hagiography _full_abbrevjournaltitle: SCRI _full_ppubnumber: ISSN 1817-7530 (print version) _full_epubnumber: ISSN 1817-7565 (online version) _full_issue: 1 _full_issuetitle: 0 _full_alt_author_running_head (neem stramien J2 voor dit article en vul alleen 0 in hierna): 0 _full_alt_articletitle_deel (rechter kopregel - mag alles zijn): Pelagius’ View of Ideal Christian Women in his Letters _full_is_advance_article: 7 _full_article_language: en indien anders: engelse articletitle: 0 Pelagius’ View of Ideal ChristianScrinium 16Women (2020) in67-88 his Letters 67 www.brill.com/scri Pelagius’ View of Ideal Christian Women in his Letters Critical Perspectives of Recent Pelagian Studies Comparing Chrysostom’s View in his Letter to Olympias Nozomu Yamada Professor, Department Policy Studies, Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan [email protected] Abstract The Pelagians’ ascetical practices were aiming at neither a kind of elitism nor perfec- tionism, rather, they simply tried to instruct their women disciples on the physical and spiritual care management in Eastern Christian ascetic manners. Pelagius emphasized the free will of women and their dignity as being in the image of God. This was quite different from the negative evaluations of women’s free will by Jerome, Augustine, and later Western priests, but quite similar to the affirmative perspectives of women’s free- dom of will by Eastern Church fathers like John Chrysostom. In this presentation, I would like to focus on the letters to Demetrias from Jerome, Pelagius, and Ps. Prosper; Pelagius’ letters to a widow and a married woman; and Chrysostom’s letter to Olympias. Critically considering the previous research on the letters to Demetrias (by A.S.
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The Doctrine of Sin in the Thought of George R. Knight: Its Context and Implications
Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Master's Theses Graduate Research 2009 The Doctrine of Sin in the Thought of George R. Knight: Its Context and Implications Jamie Kiley Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses Recommended Citation Kiley, Jamie, "The Doctrine of Sin in the Thought of George R. Knight: Its Context and Implications" (2009). Master's Theses. 47. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses/47 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. ABSTRACT THE DOCTRINE OF SIN IN THE THOUGHT OF GEORGE R. KNIGHT: ITS CONTEXT AND IMPLICATIONS by Jamie Kiley Adviser: Denis Fortin ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Thesis Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: THE DOCTRINE OF SIN IN THE THOUGHT OF GEORGE R. KNIGHT: ITS CONTEXT AND IMPLICATIONS Name of researcher: Jamie Kiley Name and degree of faculty adviser: Denis Fortin, Ph.D. Date completed: December 2009 George R. Knight attempts to chart a middle course between various historical extremes on the doctrine of sin. His view of the Fall and of the consequent effects on human nature is not as pessimistic as that of theologians in the Augustinian tradition (including Martin Luther and John Calvin), who stress the complete corruption of human nature and the loss of free will.
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"Pelagius: the Making of a Heretic," the Evangelical Quarterly 42.1
The Evangelical Quarterly A Theological Review, International in Scope and Outlook, in Defence of the Historic Christian Faith Editor: F. F. BRUCE. M.A., 0.0. VOL. XLII JANUARy-MARCH, 1970 No. 1 PELAGIUS: THE MAKING OF A HERETIC 31 his own rational soul or whether he will rebel against it. Thus PELAGIUS: THE MAKING OF A Epictetus (c. A.D. 50-138), the Stoic teacher, declared, "This is the HERETIC law which God has ordained,. and He says, 'If you wish any good thing, get it from yourself' ".2 The true Stoic was the self by JAMES BRECKENRIDGE sufficient master of his fate. No circumstances could harm him, for they are the circumstances he would have freely chosen'. R. JAMES BRECKENRIDGE, whom we welcome for the first Whatever befell his body, his soul remained unscathed., Only D time to the pages of THE EVANGELICAL QUARTERLY. is a the individual could corrupt himself by the abuse of freedom. lecturer in Church History and World Religions at California Baptist It is not surprising that many of the motifs found in Stoicism Theological Seminary. Covina. He is a graduate of California Baptist reappear in the early Christian Fathers. Stoics arid Christians Theological Seminary and the University of Southern California. alike agreed in their affirmation that the world is governed by DURING th~ twi~ight years of t~e R:oman E~pire ma~~ of the Providence in opposition to the doctrine that the world came into . 'Pagan literati found consolatIon m the mIdst of polItIcal and being by chance. Of course there were crucial differences between moral chaos by turning to Stoicism, that philosophical tradition Stoicism and the gospel.
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Pelagian Controversy and Augustinian Victory
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The Problematic of the Augustinian Doctrine of Grace for Contemporary Theology D
Journal for Christian Theological Research Volume 5 Article 2 2000 Nature Dis-Graced and Grace De-Natured: The Problematic of the Augustinian Doctrine of Grace for Contemporary Theology D. Lyle Dabney Marquette University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/jctr Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Dabney, D. Lyle (2000) "Nature Dis-Graced and Grace De-Natured: The rP oblematic of the Augustinian Doctrine of Grace for Contemporary Theology," Journal for Christian Theological Research: Vol. 5 , Article 2. Available at: http://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/jctr/vol5/iss2000/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal for Christian Theological Research by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 12/18/2017 Nature Dis-Graced and Grace De-Natured: The Problematic of the Augustinian Doctrie of Grace for Contemporary Theology D. Lyle Dabney, "Nature DisGraced and Grace DeNatured: The Problematic of the Augustinian Doctrine of Grace for Contemporary Theology," Journal for Christian Theological Research [http://apu.edu/~CTRF/articles/2000_articles/dabney.html] 5:3 (2000). Nature DisGraced and Grace DeNatured: The Problematic of the Augustinian Doctrine of Grace for Contemporary Theology D. Lyle Dabney Marquette University , Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1. "Contemporary theology" Kilian McDonnell writes, "has turned from a theology of the Word to a theology of the world".(1) That statement, it seems to me, neatly sums up the current situation in theology.
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Text Version
Appendix A Fictional Pause: The Story of Then P a g e | 2 A Fictional Pause The intention of the story is not to convince or sway the Reader that one perspective was or is right. Rather, the use of fiction will hopefully allow us an opportunity to better appreciate a different time during the Christian church’s history. It is by hearing a story that we might begin to imagine how Then was, in order to explore generative ways to better understand our Now … Throughout our conversation, we have explored Original Sin and Blessing, as it unfolded within the Pelagian Debate, through an academic medium. As with any form of communication, it has both advantages and challenges. Good communication hopefully conveys information and makes space for learning. Moreover, as we have endeavoured to make relational space to invite new co-created meaning, it is sometimes difficult to do so in a medium that remains traditionally grounded in truth-positioning. I am often struck that whenever we begin to use words, we are telling stories. Regardless of the medium, whether prose, poetry, the academic or pulp, we long to weave meaning. When we do that well, it has been my experience that it is relational. It happens in the narratives we attempt to impart to one another. When done well, we listen deeply to one another. This does not mean letting go of one’s own opinion, but it invites us to open to hearing something new. It is often in such spaces and places that new meaning might be mutually discovered.
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Pelagianism Michael S. Horton
Pelagianism Michael S. Horton We possess neither the ability, free will, power, nor the righteousness to repair ourselves and escape the wrath of God. It must all be God's work, Christ's work, or there is no salvation. Cicero observed of his own civilization that people thank the gods for their material prosperity, but never for their virtue, for this is their own doing. Princeton theologian B. B. Warfield considered Pelagianism "the rehabilitation of that heathen view of the world," and concluded with characteristic clarity, "There are fundamentally only two doctrines of salvation: that salvation is from God, and that salvation is from ourselves. The former is the doctrine of common Christianity; the latter is the doctrine of universal heathenism." (1) But Warfield's sharp criticisms are consistent with the witness of the church ever since Pelagius and his disciples championed the heresy. St. Jerome, the fourth century Latin father, called it "the heresy of Pythagoras and Zeno," as in general paganism rested on the fundamental conviction that human beings have it within their power to save themselves. What, then, was Pelagianism and how did it get started? First, this heresy originated with the first human couple, as we shall see soon. It was actually defined and labeled in the fifth century, when a British monk came to Rome. Immediately, Pelagius was deeply impressed with the immorality of this center of Christendom, and he set out to reform the morals of clergy and laity alike. This moral campaign required a great deal of energy and Pelagius found many supporters and admirers for his cause.
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A Heretic Reconsidered Pelagius, Augustine, and "Original Sin"
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Early Church Development Course Z the Medieval Church 5Th-14Th Centuries
Lesson #9 z Early Church Development Course z The Medieval Church 5th-14th Centuries § Christian Church and Roman Empire Alliance § Rome eventually split East and West § Church split along the same lines § As Rome went into decline in all sectors of life, the Christianity of the West began to engage more politically z Saint Augustine • Best theologian to study to appreciate the transition of Christianity in the Middle Ages • Established “Anew the Ancient Faith” • Almost every medieval theologian traces their roots through Augustine. • Augustine is a towering figure in church history. He serves as the climax of patristic thought in Latin”—the Latin world—“and was the dominant influence on the Latin Middle Ages—so much so as to be called the ‘Architect of the Middle Ages.’ ” z Saint Augustine Cont’d § Justo González writes this: “Augustine is the end of one era as well as the beginning of another. He is the last of the ancient Christian writers, and the forerunner of medieval theology. The main currents of ancient theology converged in him, and from him flow the rivers, not only of medieval scholasticism, but of sixteenth-century Protestant theology.” § Theology of the Western world is really interpretations of the theology of Saint Augustine. z Saint Augustine Cont’d § Originated from North Africa. Born in Thagaste, modern day Algeria. § He came from an upper class family. § Mom was a Christian, father was a pagan, but converted to Christianity just before he died. § During his teen years, Augustine was very sexually active – “Lord make me celibate, but not yet.” z Saint Augustine, Cont’d § The Pear Tree Incident – 16 year old Augustine steals some pears and feeds them to the pigs.
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Four Views on the Role of Grace in Salvation
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