Augustine, Arminius, and R.C. Sproul on Christian Perfection

Matthew Pinson Sometimes Arminius has been (inaccurately) interpreted as laying the groundwork for a doctrine of Christian perfection. With regard to perfectionism, Arminius said in his Declaration of Sentiments that he “never actually stated that a believer could perfectly keep the precepts of Christ in this life.” Nor…

Was Arminius a Molinist? Richard Watson’s Answer

Matthew Pinson The other day I came across a wonderful quote that I had forgotten about from Richard Watson’s Theological Institutes. I thought the readers of this blog would enjoy it. It concerns Molinism, or middle knowledge, the theory of divine foreknowledge articulated by the sixteenth-century Jesuit theologian…

Did Arminius Think the Intellect Can Know the Good and Direct the Will Despite Sin?

Matt Pinson Recently I was re-reading Richard Muller’s God, Creation, and Providence in the Thought of Jacobus Arminius. Muller is thestellar scholar of Reformed scholasticism whose work, on the whole, has richly informed my thought and for whom I have great appreciation. Muller’s work, however, has emphasized his…

Symposium Recap: Reflections on Arminius’s Doctrine of Individual Election

by Kevin L. Hester In his presentation, “Reflections on Arminius’s Doctrine of Individual Election,” J. Matthew Pinson, president of Welch College, introduced his personal reflections on the nature of predestination and its placement in modern Arminian theological circles. At the heart of his discussion is the common misconception…

Who’s Afraid of the Word “Synergist”?

by Matthew Pinson A Theological Dirty Word Recently I’ve noticed that, over the past century, Arminians have increasingly used the word “synergist” to describe themselves, rather than seeing it as a negative epithet, as most Christian theologians have. I have blogged before here about how Arminians are “not necessarily synergists,”…