Jacobus Arminius

Western Philosophy 17th-century philosophy
Name: Jakob Arminius
Birth: October 10,1560
Death: October 19, 1609
School/tradition: Calvinism, Molinism
Main interests
Notable ideas

Jacobus Arminius (aka Jacob Arminius, James Arminius, and his Dutch name Jacob Harmenszoon) (October 10,1560–October 19, 1609), was a Dutch theologian and (from 1603) professor in theology at the University of Leiden. He wrote many books about theological problems.

Life

Jacobus was born in 1559, only five years before the death of John Calvin, at Oudewater, Utrecht. His father Herman died while Jacob was an infant, leaving his mother a widow with small children. A priest, Theodorus Aemilius, adopted Jacob and sent him to school at Utrecht. His mother was slain during the Spanish massacre of Oudewater in 1575. About that year Arminius was sent to study theology at the University of Leiden by the kindness of friends.

Arminius enrolled at Leiden at the age of 17 and after five years of education — still too young for a pastorate — he traveled to study at Calvin's academy in Geneva. Theodore Beza, Calvin's hand-picked successor, was the chairman of theology at the university, and admiration flowed both directions in his friendship with Arminius. Beza later defended Arminius by saying "let it be known to you that from the time Arminius returned to us from Basel, his life and learning both have so approved themselves to us, that we hope the best of him in every respect…" Arminius remained at Leiden from 1576 to 1582. His teachers in theology included Lambertus Danaeus, Johannes Drusius, Guillaume Feuguereius, and Johann Kolmann. Kolmann believed and taught that high Calvinism made God both a tyrant and an executioner. Under the influence of these men, Arminius studied with success and had seeds planted that would begin to develop into a theology that would later compete with the dominant Reformed theology of John Calvin.

Arminius began studying under Theodore Beza at Geneva in 1582. He was called to pastor at Amsterdam and was ordained in 1588. He was reputed to be a good preacher and faithful pastor. In 1590 he married Lijsbet Reael.In late 1587, at the age of 28, Arminius returned to Amsterdam to fulfill his desire to be a pastor.

Arminius' entry into the predestination debate that was raging in Amsterdam happened only two years after his return when he was asked by city officials to refute a modified form of Beza's high Calvinism. According to historic tradition, Arminius' study of the Scriptures led him to the conclusion that the Bible did not support Calvin's strict interpretation of predestination. However, he was not a controversialist by nature and did not escalate the debate.

Nevertheless, when Arminius received his doctorate and professorship of theology at Leiden in 1603, the debate over Calvinism roared back to life. Arminius rose to the forefront of the debate, teaching and that the "high Calvinist" views predestination and unconditional election made God the author of evil. Instead, Arminius insisted, God's ection of believers was conditional on their response in faith. Furthermore, Arminius argued, God's exhaustive foreknowledge does not mean that he pre-determines whether a person will respond in faith to God's grace or not.

Arminius and his followers believed that a national synod should meet to win tolerance for their views. His opponents, fearing any changes to the strict Calvinist confessions of the Dutch Reformed Church, maintained the authority of local synods and denied the necessity of a national convention. When the Dutch State General finally called together both parties, Arminius' opponents (led by fellow professor Franciscus Gomarus) errors on regarding the doctrine of grass, the authority of Scripture, the Trinity, original sin, and works salvation. Arminius not only denied the charges, but cited argued that his views were more compatible with Calvin's than those of his opponents.

While Arminius was acquitted of any doctrinal error, the process left him terribly weak. Still seeking to win legal tolerance for his views, he accepted an invitation of the State General to a "friendly conference" with Gomarus but his health caused the conference to end prematurely. Two months later, on October 19, 1609, Jacobus Arminius died.

Theology

Arminius is best known as the founder of the anti-Calvinistic school in Reformed Protestant theology, and thereby lent his name to a movement which resisted some of the tenets of Calvinism—Arminianism. Although he accepted the basic Calvinist attitude that fallen humans are basically depraved and dependent on God's grace for salvation, Aminius held that free will played a significant role in the process. Among the controversial points he affirmed were:

• Grace is resistible: God takes initiative in the salvation process and His grace comes to all people. This grace acts on all people to convince them of the Gospel, draw them strongly toward salvation. However, the offer of salvation through grace does not act irresistibly in a purely cause-effect, deterministic method. Contrary to Calvin, Luther, and Augustine, Aminius taught that grace can be both freely accepted and freely denied.[11]

• Man has free will to respond or resist: Free will is limited by God's sovereignty, but God allows all people the choice to accept the Gospel through faith, simultaneously allowing all men to resist.

• Election is conditional: Arminius defined election as "the decree of God by which, of Himself, from eternity, He decreed to justify in Christ, believers, and to accept them unto eternal life." God alone determines who will be saved and his determination is that all who believe Jesus through faith will be justified. Yet, those who are elected remain free to resist and thus frustrate God's will to save them.

The early Dutch followers of Arminius' teaching were also called the Remonstrants, after they issued a document containing five points of disagreement with classic Calvinism, entitled Remonstrantiœ (1610).

He became a professor of theology at Leiden in 1603, and remained there for the rest of his life. The theology of Arminianism was not fully developed during Arminius' time, but was systematized after his death and formalized in the Five articles of the Remonstrants in 1610. The works of Arminius (in Latin) were published at Leiden in 1629, and at Frankfort in 1631 and 1635. After his death the Synod of Dordrecht (1618–1619) judged his theology and its adherents anathemas.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, embraced Arminian theology and became its most prominent champion. Today, Methodism remains committed to Arminian theology, and Arminianism itself has become one of the dominant theological systems in the United States.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Arminius, Jacobus, James Nichols, William Nichols, and Carl Bangs. The Works of James Arminius. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Book House, 1986. ISBN 9780801002069

• Bangs, Carl. Arminius; a Study in the Dutch Reformation. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1971. ISBN 9780687017447

• Clarke, F. Stuart. The Ground of Election: Jacobus Arminius' Doctrine of the Work and Person of Christ. Studies in Christian history and thought. Bletchley, Milton Keynes: Paternoster, an imprint of Authentic Media, 2006. ISBN 9781842273982

• Stanglin, Keith D. Arminius on the Assurance of Salvation: The Context, Roots, and Shape of the Leiden Debate, 1603-1609. Leiden: Brill, 2007. ISBN 9789004156081

External links

All links retrieved September 28, 2007.

• Jacobus Arminius - CCEL
• The Works of James Arminius, Vol. 1 - CCEL
• The Works of James Arminius, Vol. 2 - CCEL
• The Works of James Arminius, Vol. 3 - CCEL
• "Who Was Arminius?" by W. Robert Godfrey (Calvinist perspective)
• Profile page for Jacobus Arminius on Find A Grave

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